Debussy: Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum

The title of Debussy’s first movement of his “Children’s Corner”, called “Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum”, is a wry reference to a title used for many centuries for instructional books and music. It literally means “steps to Parnassus” and implies the student will ascend in understanding and skill each step up the way to the abode of the Greek gods.

He was poking fun at other sets of exercises, including Czerny’s.

In no way could you associate what you hear with his title. I was left with a problem: what might people visualize while listening to this music? What is the mood? Is it heavy or light, darker or sunny, cheerful or serious, thoughtful or just fun? I asked my wife what she visualized, and she immediately thought of children blowing on dandelions.

I thought that was a good idea but feared I would have trouble finding good pictures.

It turns out that I was wrong, so this idea basically worked great. But to get even more pictures I added to this the idea of blowing bubbles. I believe this theme is perfect for the music, which to me is bubbly, playful and just plain fun.

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