Nuages (Clouds) from Trois Nocturnes
Nuages renders the immutable aspect of the sky and the slow, solemn motion of the clouds, fading away in grey tones lightly tinged with white.
Biographer Léon Vallas recorded Debussy's comments on the genesis of this piece:
One day, in stormy weather, as Debussy was crossing a bridge in Paris with a friend, he mentioned that on a similar kind of day the idea of the symphonic work "Clouds" had occurred to him: he had visualized those very thunderclouds swept along by a stormy wind; a boat passing, with its horn sounding.
Composer
Claude Debussy
Arranger
Michael Allen
Duration
6' 20"
Instrumentation
423.11 / tmp - Trumpet in E flat (alternate for B flat trumpet provided), Piccolo in B flat, Trumpet in B flat, Flugelhorn, 2 Horns, 2 Tenor Trombones, Bass Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Timpani
Difficulty
Grade 5 - advanced university / professional ensemble
File Format
Full score and parts in PDF available for download.