These were a suite of six pieces Debussy composed and dedicated to his young daughter, Claude-Emma (also known as "Chouchou"). She was also a talented pianist and reportedly could play this suite by age nine. (I was eleven when I learned it.)
1) Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum 2) Jimbo's Lullaby 3) Serenade for the Doll 4) The Snow Is Dancing 5) The Little Shepherd 6) Golliwogg's Cakewalk
(Per YouTube the pianist here is Debussy himself, recorded in 1913.) [media=https://youtu.be/W9YrFVwwuus]
(Debussy and Chouchou)
Chouchou was said to be a talented singer as well, like her mother, Parisian chanteuse Emma Bardoc. Debussy once told a friend that the birth of his only child was the "greatest gift" of his life and they remained close. Chouchou lost her beloved father to cancer in 1918, and sadly, was taken herself at the young age of 15 by a diphtheria pandemic the following year.
" The sound of the sea, the curve of a horizon, wind in leaves, the cry of a bird leave manifold impression in us. And suddenly, without our wishing it at all, one of these memories spills from us and finds expression in musical language...I want to sing my interior landscape with the simple artlessness of a child."
