Overview

"Rêverie" was written in 1890. It was first published by Éditions Choudens in 1891 and later appeared in the music section of L'Illustration (issue 2751) on November 16, 1895. The piece was also published by Fromont in 1905.

Debussy was not happy with the piece. In a letter to Madame Fromont in 1905, he wrote, "You are wrong to publish 'Rêverie'… It was not important and was made quickly to help Hartmann; in short, it's not good."

Despite Debussy's opinion, "Rêverie" became well-known. It has been transcribed for other instruments, including violin and piano by Alberto Bachmann (Fromont, 1912), piano four hands by Henri Woollett (Fromont, 1913), and cello and piano by Ferdinando Ronchini (Fromont, 1914), among others.

The first public performance of the piece was given on February 27, 1899, by pianist Germaine Alexandre.

Analysis

Harry Halbreich described "Rêverie" as a very pleasant piece of music with a simple but clear melody that is very appealing.

The piece is listed as L 76 (68) in the catalog of works by Debussy, created by musicologist François Lesure.

In popular culture

The song "My Reverie" by Larry Clinton uses the melody from Debussy's "Rêverie." Isao Tomita's album Snowflakes Are Dancing features a version of "Rêverie" created using electronic sounds, along with other works by Debussy. The piece also plays an important role in the first season of Westworld.