Debussy: Deux Arabesques

The word Arabesque is from an Italian term meaning "Arabian in fashion". In the world of architecture, an Arabesque is an ornament or style that makes use of fruit, flowers, or foliage and sometimes animal figures to produce an intricate pattern of interlaced lines. Found in many Middle Eastern buildings, the delicate beauty of the Arabesque soon became synonymous with an ethereal quality in general, like that found in Claude Debussy's musical compositions. The two Arabesques have become some of Debussy's most popular compositions, a fragile expression of the composer's fascination with the exotic East!