En blanc et noir | |
---|---|
Suite for two pianos by Claude Debussy | |
![]() Manuscript of the beginning | |
English | In White and Black |
Other name | Caprices en blanc et noir |
Catalogue |
|
Composed | 1915 |
Dedication |
|
Movements | 3 |
Premiere | |
Date | 21 December 1916 |
Location | Paris |
Performers |
|
En blanc et noir (French: [ɑ̃ blɑ̃ e nwaʁ]; English: "In White and Black"), L. 134, CD. 142, is a suite in three movements for two pianos by Claude Debussy, written in June 1915. He composed the work on the Normandy coast, suffering from cancer and concerned about the involvement of France in the Great War. The work is full of personal literary and musical allusions. Each movement comes with a literary motto. In the second movement, Debussy quoted Luther's hymn "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" as a symbol of militant Lutheran Germany. The three movements were dedicated respectively to three people: Serge Koussevitzky, Jacques Charlot (an associate of Debussy's publisher who was killed in the war), and Igor Stravinsky.