Debussy wanted to distance himself from what he considered the emotional excess of the Romantics and instead wanted to write music that, through sound, created an ambience similar to that of the Impressionist painters and Symbolist poets of his day.
All books initially copyrighted in the US from 1964 through 1977 have had their copyrights automatically renewed (by law) and the copyrights are still in force. The initial copyright term was 28 years; the renewal was for 67 more years.
For more information on public domain works, see  Using Works in the Public Domain .. All works published in the United States before 1923 are in the public domain -- that is, not protected by copyright law. Works published after 1922 but before 1978 are protected for 95 years from the date of publication.But if the work was created, but not published, before 1978, the copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years.If the author died over 70 years ago and the work was never published, copyright terminated on December 31, 2002.or more information on public domain works, see  Using Works in the Public Domain .. All works published in the United States before 1923 are in the public domain -- that is, not protected by copyright law. Works published after 1922 but before 1978 are protected for 95 years from the date of publication.