Info: "Masques" is a companion piece to what I would say is the far better known and more frequently played "l'Isle Joyeuse". Debussy completed both in 1904 following an extended vacation to the British Isle of Jersey with his wife-to-be, Emma Bardac. And both were strongly influenced by two well-known paintings of the Belgian artist Watteau -- they were essentially musical evocations of Watteau's efforts. Personally, I find "Masques" equivalent in brilliance to "l'Isle Joyeuse" and not so technically difficult, but for some reason, it doesn't get programmed much, at least in my experience.