I have included below a Dropbox link to a Dorico file of the three movements of Debussy’s “La Mer” for users who may be interested. The playback template is set to Silence so users are free to choose the sound library or libraries of their choice.
Background: I made the file because I am fascinated by Debussy’s music and wanted to explore his methods. The file is not condensed because I like to highlight and listen to selected passages at will. Because I am not preparing the score for live performance I have not included harp pedal diagrams which are large in number and unnecessary to get accurate playback and have also omitted most text that has no impact on playback using my instrument libraries—“Plus calme et très expressif” or “Sur le chevalet” for strings, for example. Otherwise, I have attempted to accurately reproduce the score in the Dover publication “Three Great Orchestral Works in Full Score” that I have used as my source and which is included in the IMSLP website. In addition, I have reviewed Dorico’s proofreading suggestions and made related changes. However, I will be happy and even grateful to hear of further corrections that should be made including to tempi. The music is in the public domain.
(This file updated on June 24, 2026 to correct the bracketing throughout and to change the title of the instrument list from “Des Instruments” to “Les Instruments”.
Thanks, this is lovely! I saw the Chicago Symphony play the @$% out of this piece with Esa-Pekka Salonen back in March, it was spectacular. And I’ve been digging into Roy Howat’s analysis in Debussy in Proportion as well, so this Dorico file is very helpful!
Thank you, Stephen! I would love to have experienced the Esa-Pekka Salonen performance too! It feels good to be able to share this file with you after benefitting from your wonderful file of “Le Sacre du Printemps”! On the subject of Debussy, I am particularly fascinated by his response to poetry, whether as inspiration for “Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune”, his songs for voice and piano, or his opera “Pelléas et Mélisande”, a personal touchstone.
Look at THAT!!! I bought Dorico for the 70% off price during the 40 years anniversary because paying 30% of the full Dorico price … “This will never happen again! don’t be dumb-cheap, even if you don’t need it in 3 years!” echoed in my head for several seconds. Now I’ve been poking around with a bona fide score and actually gotten pretty far for a noob on the first day. Notes are notes but scoring is scoring! So thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Thank you very much for sharing your work on Debussy with us. You are spot on about your “silent” template. This provides an ideal opportunity to audition different orchestral libraries.
