Iberia

Claude Debussy (trans. Makoto Onodera)

Claude Debussy

General Info

Year: 1905-1908 / 2012
Duration: c. 22:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Brain Music
Cost: Score and Parts (rental) - 55,000 yen

Movements

Par les rues et par les chemins - 7:38
Les parfums de la nuit - 8:46
Le matin d'un jour de fete - 4:34

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo (doubling Flute)
Flute I-II
Oboe
English Horn (optional)
Bassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet Solo (3) and I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II (I doubling B-flat Soprano Saxophone)
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III (I doubling Flugelhorn)
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba (div.)
String Bass
Harp
Timpani
Precussion (4 players), including:

*Castanets

*Crash Cymbal

*Glockenspiel

*Marimba

*Snare Drum

*Suspended Cymbal

*Tambourine

*Tubular Bells

*Vibraphone

*Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Images pour orchestre, L. 122, is an orchestral composition in three sections by Claude Debussy, written between 1905 and 1912. Debussy had originally intended this set of Images as a two-piano sequel to the first set of Images for solo piano, as described in a letter to his publisher Durand as of September 1905. However, by March 1906, in another letter to Durand, he had begun to think of arranging the work for orchestra rather than two pianos.

Ibéria is the most popular of the three orchestral Images and itself forms a triptych within the triptych. Its sections are:

Par les rues et par les chemins (Along the streets and along the paths)
Les parfums de la nuit (The scents of the night)
Le matin d'un jour de fête (The morning of a festive day) – a procession of a 'banda de guitarras'

Impressions of Spain inspired this music. Richard Langham Smith has commented on Debussy's own wish to incorporate ideas of juxtaposing elements of the visual arts in musical terms, including a quote from Debussy to Caplet from a letter of 26 February 1910: "You can't imagine how naturally the transition works between 'Parfums de la nuit' and 'Le Matin d'un jour de fête. Ça n'a pas l'air d'être écrit."

- Program Note excerpted from Wikipedia

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Japan Ground Defense Force Central Band (Akira Takeda, conductor)
Audio CD: Japan Ground Defense Force Central Band (Akira Takeda, conductor) - 2012

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

University of Memphis (Tenn.) Wind Ensemble (Albert Nguyen, conductor) - 26 March 2025

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Danse (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kurokawa) (1890/2005/2014)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kano) (1908/2015)

All Wind Works

The Afternoon of a Faun (arr. Walters) (1894/1950/1999?)
The Afternoon of a Faun. See also: Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune
Arabesque No. 1 (arr. Iijima) (c. 1890/2005)
Ballet from "The Petite Suite" (arr. Boyd) (1973)
Beau Soir (arr. Warner) (1880/1971)
Children's Corner Suite (arr. Winterbottom) (1908/1922)
Cinq Préludes (arr. Deseure) (1910,1913/2009)
Clair de Lune (orch. Blair) (1890/1905/2021)
Clair de lune (arr. De Meij) (1890/1905/2017)
Clair de Lune (arr. Erickson) (1890/1960)
Clair de Lune (arr. Hautvast) (1890/1905/2011)
Clair de Lune (arr. Smith; ed. Schietroma) (1890/1905/1999)
Clair de Lune (arr. Wallace) (1890/1905/1995)
Clair de Lune (arr. Weiss) (1890/1932)
Danse (arr. Boyd) (1890/1983)
Danse (arr. Scheiwiller) (1890/2019)
Danse (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kurokawa) (1890/2005/2014)
Danses Sacrée et Profane (arr. Odom) (1904/2019)
Danses Sacrée et Profane (tr. J. Lloyd) (1904/2019)
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 from "Nocturnes" (arr. Patterson) (c. 1899/2007)
Fêtes (arr. Schaefer) (c.1899/1959)
Fêtes from "Three Nocturnes" (tr. Tatebe) (c.1899/1999)
Four Debussy Songs (trans. Anderson) (2018)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Akey) (1910/1995)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Beyrent) (1910/2013)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Brand) (1910/1986)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Bernotas) (1910/2013)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Moss) (1910/2007)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Sparke) (1910/2007)
Golliwogg's Cakewalk (arr. Lewis) (1908/2004)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (arr. Curnow) (1908/1985)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kano) (1908/2015)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (arr. Schietroma) (1908/1999)
Hommage à Rameau (arr. Hunsberger) (1905/2009)
Ibéria (arr. Onodera) (1908/2012)
La Cathédrale Engloutie (arr. Mortimer) (1910/2016)
La Cathédrale Engloutie. See also: The Engulfed Cathedral
La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin (arr. Hautvast) (1909-10/)
La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin (Clarinet Quartet) (arr. Hautvast) (1909-10/2011)
La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin (Saxophone Quartet) (arr. Hautvast) (1909-10/2011)
La Mer (trans. Odom) (1905/)
La Mer (arr. Blomhert) (1905/2010)
Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien (1911)
Le Petit Nègre (arr. Wilson) (1909/2020)
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. Scatterday) (1891/1908/)
Marche Écossaise (tr. Schaefer) (1891/1908/1964)
'Menuet' from Suite Bergamasque (arr. Southard) (1890/2012)
Minstrels (tr. Scarbrough) (1910/2016)
Pagodes (arr. McWade) (1903//1923/2023)
Pagodes from "Estampes" (arr. Grainger) (1903/1928/1996)
Pagodes from "Estampes" (arr. McWade) (1903//xxx)
Petite Suite (arr. Brakkee) (1889/1999?)
Petite Suite (arr. Kimura) (1889/1998)
Petite Suite (tr. Winterbottom) (1889/1927)
Pour invoquer Pan, dieu du vent d'été (orch. Fellenz) (1914/1915/2024)
Préludes (tr. Perales) (1910/2016)
Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune (tr. Sousa) (1894/1921)
Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune (tr. Sousa; ed. Summers) (1894/1921/2025)
Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune. See also: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and The Afternoon of a Faun
Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune (arr. Stalmeieir) (1894/1992)
Prelude from "Suite Bergamasque" (arr. St. Louis) (1890/1905/2023)
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (tr. Hindsley) (1894/1973)
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. See also: Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune
Premiere Arabesque (1891/)
Première Rhapsodie (arr. Cohen) (1910/1987)
Première Rhapsodie (arr. Yodo) (1910/)
Première Rhapsody (tr. Baars) (1910/2016)
Première Rhapsody (arr. Walker; ed. Pappas) (1910/1963/2004)
Rapsodie (arr. Miguel Silva) (1911/2020)
Reverie (arr. Boo) (1890/)
Rêverie (tr. George) (1890/2018)
Rêverie (arr. Nestico) (1890/1973)
Rêverie (tr. Thompson) (1890/2011)
Rhapsodie for Alto Saxophone (arr. Baars) (1911/2018)
Sarabande (tr. Bennefield) (1894/1901/2020)
Sarabande (tr. Erickson) (1894/1967)
Sarabande (arr. Howland; ed. Gregory) (1894/2018)
Sarabande (arr. Nelson) (1894/1964)
Sarabande (arr. Scheiwiller) (1894/2019)
Suite Bergamasque Mvt 2 Menuet (arr. Thompson) (1890/1905/)
Syrinx
Three Debussy Pieces (arr. Singletary)
Three Pieces from "Children's Corner" (orch. Sheen) (1908/1988)

Resources

Images pour orchestre. Wikipedia. Accessed 8 August 2025
Perusal Score

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