L’isle joyeuse

Claude Debussy

General Info

Year: 1904 / 2005
Duration: c. 7:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Piano
Publisher: Bravo Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $100.00 | Score Only (print) - $22.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Harp
Timpani
Percussion, including:

Bass Drum
Castanets
Chimes
Crash Cymbals
Glockenspiel
Marimba
Snare Drum
Suspended Cymbal
Tambourine
Tam-Tam
Triangle
Vibraphone
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Considering the piano music of Debussy (1862-1918), L'isle joyeuse (The Isle of Joy) is in the larger scale, needing virtuosity to perform. It was composed in 1904, between Estampes (1903) and Images (1905-07). While Debussy's style is often more subdued, this piece is joyous and colorful with a grandiose climax.

Debussy was inspired by The Embarkation for Cythera of Watteau, French Rococo painter of the 18th century, and so titled the piece. The island of Cythera had a shrine of Aphrodite (Venus) that lovers eagerly visited in ancient days. In fact, Watteau's picture is considered to depict the debarkation from Cythera, because the lovers are on the island, ready to leave.

- Program Note from publisher

Commercial Discography

Audio CD: Hebron High School Wind Symphony (Andy Sealy, conductor) - 2011

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

Louisiana: V
Tennessee: VI
Texas: V. Complete

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Hebron High School (Carrolton, Tx.) Wind Symphony (Andy Sealy, conductor) - 9 March 2018 (83rd Annual ABA National Convention)
Guyer High School (Denton, Tx.) Wind Ensemble Band (Amy Woody, conductor) – 2016
Hebron High School (Carrollton, Tx.) Wind Symphony (Andy Sealy, conductor) – 17 December 2010 (2010 Midwest Clinic)

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Danse (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kurokawa)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kano) (1908)

All Wind Works

The Afternoon of a Faun (arr. Walters) (1894/1950/1999?)
Beau Soir (arr. Warner) (1880/1971)
Children's Corner Suite (arr. Winterbottom) (1908)
Clair de Lune (arr. Hautvast) (1890/1905/2011)
Clair de lune (arr. De Meij) (1890/1905/2017)
Clair de Lune (arr. Wallace) (1890/1905/1995)
Danse (arr. Boyd) (1890/1983)
Danse (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kurokawa)
Danses Sacrée et Profane (arr. Odom) (1904/2019)
Danses Sacrée et Profane (tr. J. Lloyd) (1904)
Debussy: Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Akey) (1910/1995)
The Engulfed Cathedral (tr. Longfield) (1910/1987)
The Engulfed Cathedral (arr. Miller) (1910/1986)
The Engulfed Cathedral (tr. Patterson) (1910/1993)
The Engulfed Cathedral. See also: La Cathédrale Engloutie
Fêtes (arr. Schaefer) (c. 1899/1959)
Fêtes from "Nocturnes" (arr. Patterson) (c. 1899/2007)
Fêtes from "Three Nocturnes" (tr. Tatebe) (c.1899/1999)
Four Debussy Songs (trans. Anderson) (2018)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (arr. Curnow) (1908/1985)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kano) (1908)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Beyrent) (1910/2013)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Brand) (1910)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Bernotas) (1910)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Moss) (1910/2007)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Sparke) (1910/2007)
Hommage à Rameau (arr. Hunsberger) (1905/2009)
La Cathédrale Engloutie (arr. Mortimer) (1910/2016)
La Cathédrale Engloutie. See also: The Engulfed Cathedral
La Mer (trans. Odom) (1905/)
L’isle joyeuse (arr. Mashima) (1904/2005)
L'isle joyeuse (arr. Volans) (1904/1995)
Marche Écossaise (tr. Onodera) (1891/1908/2015(?))
Marche Écossaise (tr. Onodera) (Octet) (1891/1908/2015(?))
Marche Écossaise (tr. Schaefer) (1891/1908/1964)
Marche Écossaise (tr. Scatterday) (1891/1908)
'Menuet' from Suite Bergamasque (arr. Southard) (1890/2012)
Minstrels (tr. Scarbrough) (1910/2016)
Pagodes from "Estampes" (arr. Grainger) (1996)
Petite Suite (arr. Brakkee) (1889/1999?)
Petite Suite (tr. Winterbottom) (1889)
Petite Suite (arr. Kimura) (1889/1998)
Premiere Arabesque (1891)
Première Rhapsodie (arr. Yodo)
Première Rhapsody (tr. Baars) (1910/12016)
Première Rhapsody (arr. Walker; ed. Pappas) (1910/1963/2004)
Reverie (arr. Boo) (1890/)
Rêverie (tr. Thompson) (1890/2011)
Sarabande (tr. Bennefield) (1894/1901/2020)
Sarabande (tr. Erickson) (1894/1967)
Sarabande (arr. Howland; ed. Gregory) (1894/2018)
Suite Bergamasque Mvt 2 Menuet (arr. Thompson)
Three Debussy Pieces (arr. Singletary)
Three Pieces from "Children's Corner" (orch. Sheen) (1908/1988)

Resources

Perusal score