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La Mer Research Paper

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La Mer was composed during a tumultuous period in Debussy’s life. Not only were his personal affairs public knowledge, but his bohemian lifestyle kept Debussy on the fringes of a modern day, “starving artist.” A year prior to its commencement, Pelleas and Melisande (1902 pr.) had garnered Debussy’s first real success; placing the composer in the hall of French notoriety. The success of Pelleas set up his standing in the artistic community and became the precursor to Debussy’s attribution to genius and ranked La Mer as “the best symphony ever written by a Frenchmen.” Work on La Mer commenced in 1903, where Debussy spent the better part of two years completing (1905). The three-movement work makes use of Debussy’s asymmetrical movement construction

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