Golliwog's Cakewalk

"Golliwog's cakewalk" can be found in "Children's Corner", a collection of piano pieces written by the French composer Claude Debussy (1862 1918). He created this series of 6 pieces for his little daughter, but it is clear that all of them were actually meant for adults. "Golliwog's cakewalk" is the last of the six pieces and is about a negro doll that dances the cakewalk. Debussy chooses a cheerful jazz-like theme (ragtime) and combines it with the melancholic so-called Tristan chord by Richard Wagner, which makes the piece work as a parody. The piece is full of syncopation and banjo-like effects and large dynamic differences, which work very effectively. Golliwog's Cakewalk