VI Golliwogg's Cakewalk ~ Debussy ~ Sergei Kvitko

The best version I have ever heard of Debussy's sixth and final piece from "Children's Corner Suite", 'Golliwogg's Cakewalk'' is performed here by Sergei Kvitko ~ http://www.sergeikvitko.com & http://www.bluegriffin.com/index.php/BGR-Artists/Sergei-Kvitko.html

A Golliwogg is a doll, a black doll with large white eyes, that was the subject of a book by Florence Kate Upton. Unfortunately, the character became a symbol of racism in the U.S. The grotesque looking doll often had large paws for hands and, sometimes, claws. The fact that the character carried racist connotation in the states didn't carry over to France, where Debussy, 'artiste Parisien', composed the piece.
A 'Cakewalk' is a dance. The origins of the dance are found in the southern U.S. in the period of slavery. The dance was a way for slaves to mock their masters, dancing about and joking the aristocratic and grandiose gestures of southern high-society, the rich folks who owned the slaves.
Debussy, ever the man to mock or play upon icons, used the piece to poke fun at the German composer of the opera "Tristan und Isolde", Richard Wagner. This piece was composed during the height of tension between French and German composers. Debussy references what has come to be known as the "Tristan Chord", a new and innovative series of notes that opened Wagner's popular opera. You will hear the notes, which carry a slight dissonance, around 1:17, followed by a "laugh" or mimicing of laughter; this repeats several times throughout the piece, the staccato notes unmistakable as laughter. Debussy was thumbing his nose at the German system of art (or lack thereof, as he saw it) and the Germans in general. The "War to End All Wars" ensued 10 years after the publishing of this Suite and Debussy would pass away from cancer during the bombings of his beloved France by German aircraft.

The wonderful CD can be purchased at http://www.bluegriffin.com/index.php/Compact-Disks/Of-Lands-and-People-Far-Aw... or at Amazon ~ http://www.amazon.com/Lands-People-Far-Away/dp/B001DQYCCW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&...

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Golliwogg's
• Golliwoggs
• Cakewalk
• Claude
• Debussy
• Sergei
• Kvitko
• Children's
• Childrens
• Corner
• Suite
• Classical
• Music
• Piano

[ianjcameron]

Fine piece, and a nice history lesson. But the cakewalk was a stylized form, as was ragtime in general (it can be argued that the cakewalk was the father of the rag) and this piece is not a cakewalk, although it comes close to it around 1:50. From Scott Joplin's 1902 folk ballet 'The Ragtime Dance':

"Let me see you do the rag-time dance, Turn left and do the cakewalk prance, Turn the other way and do the slow drag - Now take you lady to the World's Fair And do the rag-time dance."

[MrIlikecheesealot]

@IFeelASongCominOn FINALLY. America is filled with a stupid pluralist society. Americans fear talking about racism, because they are insecure about it. If people ever question you about racism just ask them one simple question: on one side of the street there are black thugs, on the other side of the street there are white thugs which side of the street will you walk on? Obviously it's a catch 22, but that's beside the point.

[Teddyb1939]

@IFeelASongCominOn Well said!! It is getting so freedom of speech is going out of the window. A lot of people are annoyed but PC stops them showing it.

[magalisandra]

Wonderful!! I'm gonna play this song this year but I'm just starting, and listening to you, I think I'm so far from doing well! Sorry for my english, I'm from Spain =P You are incredible!!

[Teddyb1939]

Hi Billy. have just listened to Billy the Kid,> love your site.The Debussy piecehas a change of title when played on the radio in England.Golliwogg is omitted.PC & all that.

[HERIBERTO37ify]

Buen video