Claude Debussy The Golliwogs Cakewalk

No. 4 in Claude Debussy s Children s Corner Suite. At the time of its composition, Golliwoggs were in fashion, due partly to the popularity at that time of the novels of Florence Kate Upton ( golliwog is a later usage). They were stuffed black dolls with red pants, red bow ties and wild hair, somewhat reminiscent of the blackface minstrels of the time. This is a ragtime piece with its syncopations and banjolike effects. The dynamic range is quite large and very effective. The B section of this dance is interrupted on several occasions by the lovedeath leitmotif of Richard Wagner s opera Tristan und Isolde, marked avec une grande émotion (with great feeling).