En blanc et noir is a suite for two pianos composed in Normandy during June, 1915. The title, “In White and Black,” refers to the colors of piano keys. Debussy said the three movements “derive their color and feeling merely from the sonority of the piano.” Further, he remarked that “these pieces need to draw their color, their emotion, simply from the piano, like the ‘grays’ of Velázquez, if you understand me.” Each movement comes with  a dedication and a literary motto.

The first movement, dedicated to conductor Serge Koussevitzky, is prefaced with a line from the libretto to Gounod’s opera, Roméo et Juliette: “He who stays in his place and does not dance quietly admits to a disgrace.”

The second movement is dedicated to the memory of Jacques Charlot, a business associate of Debussy’s publisher who had been killed in action in the war. It is prefaced by a passage from François Villon’s Ballade against the enemies of France. Martin Luther’s hymn “Ein feste Burg” (A Mighty Fortress) is quoted, as is the French “Marseillaise.” 

The third movement is dedicated to Igor Stravinsky, and is prefaced by a quotation from Charles of Orléans: “Winter, you are nothing but a villain.”

~ Program notes by Charley Samson, copyright 2023