Debussy: Masques

1. how you come across to it:
At first I'm attracted by the title - usually I appeal to works exploring the theme of mask/ambiguity/disguise.

2. why this piece?
The piece is written during the escapade with his newly met lover, Emma Bardac (who was once the mistress of Faure), around the time he composed L'isle joyeuse. One may expect the piece as thrilling as L'isle joyeuse. On the contrary, it's dark and neurotic.

3. (and...)
Marguerite Long wrote of Masques:
"I hear Masques – a tragedy for piano one might call it – as a sort of transparency of Debussy’s character… He was torn with poignant feelings which he preferred to mask with irony. The title Masques represents an ambiguity which the composer protested with all his might: “It is not the Italian comedy, it is the tragic expression of existence”"

http://www.litart.co.uk/isle.htm#Masques