the influence of the symbolists and the impresssionists on claude debussy

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1942

Te In uence of the Symbolists and theImpresssionists on Claude Debussy Marie A. McDonagh Loyola University Chicago

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THE INFLUENCE OF THE SYMBOLISTS ND THE IMPRESSIONISTS

ON CL UDE DEBUSSY

by

Marie A McDonagh

A t he s i s submitted in p r t i l fUl f i l lment

o f the requirements fo r the degree of

Master of Arts

in

Loyola Univers i ty

June 1942



VIT

Marie A. McDonagh was born in Chicago, I l l i n o i s

August 20, 1890.

She was graduated from S t . Xavier Academy Chicago,

I l l i n o i s June 1908, and received a t e ache r s c e r t i f i c a t e

from Chicago Normal College, Chicago, I l l i n o i s February

1911, and a t eache r s c e r t i f i c a t e from the ChicagoMusical College, Chicago, I l l i n o i s June 1918.

The Bachelor of Philosophy degree with a major in

French was confer red by the Univers i ty of Chicago,

Chicago, I l l i n o i s December 1924.

Since September 1935 the wri te r has been engaged in

teaching French and music in the Chicago High Schools .



T BLE OF CONTENTS

CH PTER

In t roduct ion • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

I Biographical Sketch • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

P GE

1

Debussy s Associat ions . • • • • • • • • • • • • • 18The poets of h i s day How he used t h e i rpoems and those of t h e i r predecessors

inh i s

songs and composi t ion.e l l ~ a se t Melisande

Maeterl inck and the opera.• • • • • • • • • 39

IV Other Compositions of Debussy • • • • • • • • • • 53Charac te r i s t i c s of Impressionism andSymbolism found in them.

Bibl iography • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 61



INTRODU TION

France, dur ing the l a t t e r years of the n ine teen th and with

the beginning of the twent ie th centur ies i s marked with a grea t

change in a l l the a r t s . I t was an era of individualism which

brought about a development in every f i e l d : Cezanne and Monet

in pa in t ing , Rodin in scu lp tu re , Mallarme and Verlaine in po-

et ry, and Claude Debussy in music.Speaking to h is imaginatory v i s i t o r Monsieur Croche,

Debussy remarked:

J o s a i l u i d i re que des hommes avaient cherche,l ea una dans l a poesie , l ea aut res dans l a pe in tu re(a grand peine j y a jou ta i quelques musicians)

secouer l a v i e i l l e pouss iere des t r ad i t i o n s , e tque c e l a n a v a i t eu d a u t r e r e s u l t a t que de l e sf a i r e t r a i t e r de symbol is tes ou d imp ress ion is te s ;termes commodes pour mepriser son semblable . l

Revol t aga ins t t r ad i t i o n manifested i t s e l f ea r ly in Debus-

s y s l i f e , long before he found himself in the midst of the

movement t ha t absorbed Par i s and which so s t rong ly a ff ec ted and

inf luenced him.

In t r ac ing the l i f e of the composer in Chapter I I have

pointed out the ci rcumstances , tendencies , and assoc ia t ions

t h a t had d i r e c t bear ing on the development of the man and of

lc laude Debussy, Monsieur Croche, A nt id i l e t t an te . Pa r i s :L ib ra i r i e Gallimard, 1921 p . ~ 0

i



the a r t i s t

In Chapter I I have b r i e f l y explained the symbol is t move-

ment and have t r i e d to show in d e t a i l how Debussy t r ans fe r red

the technique of the symbol is ts to music in the poems he chose

fo r h i s songs and in the Prelude a l A p r ~ s - m i d i Faune.

Chapter I I I has been devoted e n t i r e l y to the opera Pel leas

Melisande and have endeavored to po in t out in comments on

both orchest ra and t ex t how Debussy has enhanced the Maeter-l inck drama in tonal color and legendary atmosphere and has

vei led i t in e lus ive sugges t iveness .

In Chapter V have dea l t with Debussy's composit ions fo r

orchest ra and piano to show how he a lso used in them the tech-

nique of the symbolists and the impressionis ts . I l l u s io n s ,

imagery, fan ta sy, longings, and dreams are evoked in the music.

I t has not been my purpose to be technical and to analyze

according to musical opinion; t ha t have d e l ib e r a t e ly avoided.

have only t r i e d to show how closely the poets of France were

l inked with the music of Debussy. To them the world i s i ndeb t -

ed fo r a t r u ly grea t musicien f r an sa i s .



CHAPTER I

The l i f e of Achil le-Claude Debussy i s not an open book fo rhe l ived l a rge ly in a world of h i s own dreams, loving sec lus ion

and so l i tude and happiest in communing wi th nature which he

s tud ied in a l l i t s moods and aspec ts .

He t e l l s us in Monsieur Croche A nt id i l e t t an te :

Je m'e ta i s a t t a rde dana l ea campagnea rempliesd'automne ou me r e t en a i t invinciblement l a magiedes v i e i l l e s f o r e t s . De l a chute des f e u i l l e sd ' o r ce lebran t l a glor ieuse agonie des arbres ,du g r ~ l eangelus ordonnant aux champs de s 'endormir, montait une voix douce e t persuas ive quic o n s e i l l a i t l e plus p a r f a i t oubl i . Le s o l e i l secouchai t tout seu l sans que nul paysan songeata prendre, au premier plan, une a t t i t u d e l i t h ographique. B ~ t e se t gens r en t r a i en t p a i s ib l es ,ayant accompli une besogne anonyme dont l a beautea v a i t cec i de s p e c i a l qu 'e l l e ne s o l l i c i t a i t pasplus 'encouragement que l a desapprobat ion

il les e t a ent l o in , l e s discuss ions d a r t oudes noms de grands hommes prennent par fo i s l a pparence de ' g ros mots . ' El le e t a i t oubliee l ap e t i t e f i ~ v r ea r t i f i c i e l l e e t mauvaise des' p remie res ' ; j e t a i s seu l e t delicieusementdes in te resse ; peu t -e t re n a i - j e jamais plusaime l a musique qu 'a ce t te epoque ~ j e n ' enentendais jamais pa r l e r. El le m'appara i ssa i t

dans sa beaute t o t a l e e t non plus par p e t i t sfragments s ~ p h o n i q u e sou ly r iques surchauffese t e t r i q u e s . l

I t was a t Saint-Germain-en-Laye on August 22, 1862, in a

simple home above the china shop kept by h i s paren ts , Manuel

Achil le Debussy and Victor ine Manoury Debussy t ha t Achi l l e -

1M Creche A nt id i l e t t an te , pp. 23-24.



Claude the e ldes t of f ive chi ldren was born. According to

the records of the church of S t . Germain he was ch r i s t ened on

Ju ly 31 1864. A s i s t e r of h i s f a the r Octavia de l a Fer ron

n i ~ r was h i s godmother and Achille-Antoine Arosa an in f luen

t i a l f r i end of the family was h i s godfather. When Achi l l e

Claude was about t h ree years old h i s family l e f t S t . Germain

en-Laye and made t h e i r home in Clichy-Par i s . So f a r as has

been recorded there was nothing ex t rao rd ina ry about the ea r lyyears of the c h i ld . His primary educat ion was the usual one

but shy and r e t i r i n g by nature he did no t take p a r t with the

other ch i ld ren in dancing and s ing ing French fo lk songs but

watched them from a dis tance a t t h e i r p lay. e took grea t

pleasure in co l lec t ing and mounting b u t t e r f l i e s with which he

decorated the walls of h i s room. From magazines he cut out

p r i n t s and co lor fu l scenes to f ea s t h i s eyes on When alone.

On Sundays and hol idays in company with h i s fa ther he would

take walks in the parks and gardens to hear the open a i r con

c e r t s .

When he was s ix years old and fo r severa l summer seasons

a f t e r he v i s i t e d a t Cannes with h i s godparents and i t was

there t h a t he poss ib ly had h i s f i r s t glimpse of the sea which

a l l h i s l i f e was to be dear to him and which he depicted in h i s

music in a l l i t s grandeur and ever-changing moods. There too



he enjoyed a l i f e of luxury fo r Arosa was a man of means a

banker with excel lent t a s t e who indulged the boy generously.

But fo r young Achi l l e these pleasures were not l a s t i n g ; h i s

godfather married another woman and passed out of h i s l i f e . To

be d is i l lu s ioned a t such an impressionable age caused the boy

to become even more shy and r e t i r i n g than he had been and fo r

solace he turned to nature ; he took long walks in the woods or

sa t fo r hours brooding alone by the sea .To Arosa however must be given the c r e d i t fo r s t a r t i n g

h i s godson on h is musical ca ree r r a the r than having him go i n t o

naval serv ice as the e lder Debussy had planned fo r h i s son.

Arosa was a lover of the a r t s and was an exce l l en t judge of

modern pa in t ings pr iz ing many of the b e t t e r ones in h i s own

personal co l l ec t ion . Young Achil le showed an ap t i tude fo r

pa in t ing but Arosa wished him to have a musical educat ion a l so

and While s t i l l a t Cannes he placed him under C eru t t i an

I t a l i a n fo r h i s f i r s t lessons in piano. The old pro fesso r did

not c r ed i t the ch i ld with any unusual t a l e n t but had a fond

ness fo r him and wanted to be near him to keep a close watch

over him.

I t was fo r a former pupi l of Chopin one Mme Maute de

F l e u r v i l l e the mother- in-law of Paul Verla ine to discover the

po ten t i a l a r t i s t in the boy. When she heard him p lay she was



4

immediately impressed and begged him to l e t her take him in

hand. Old Ceru t t i was overjoyed. Here was a grea t opportuni ty

fo r the boy. With grea t enthusiasm the lessons began and in a

few months under the ca re fu l tu te lage of an a r t i s t who gave her

serv ice gra tu i tous ly, Achi l le prepared fo r the r i g i d entrance

examinations to the Par is Conservatoire which he took and

passed success fu l ly.

In the autumn of 1873 in h i s eleventh year he was r eg i s -t e red in the c lasses of the bes t in s t ruc to r s in the Conserva-

t o i r e . The shy and awkward youth was a mis f i t in h i s new su r

roundings. At the time he was described as un gros garcon

cour t , massi f , t rapu, t imide , gauche, v ~ t umodestement comma

un enfant du peuple, avec l a l l u r e ~ t r n g ed 'un p e t i t b ohemien.

Sa t ~ t e t r e s a l longee , au f ron t bas e t s a i l l a n t ( le 'double

f r o n t ' qui ava i t su rp r i s sa fami l le lo ra de sa naissance) , se

c o i f f a i t d 'un bere t de marin a pompon rouge, souvenir de

Cannes e t de l ' une de ses premieres vacat ions , b ~ r e tqui

l e l e v e musician conserva longtemps. 2

e was made fun of by most of h i s fel low s tudents and some

of the older i n s t ru c to r s considered him an oddity fo r the queer

musical thoughts t h a t he t r i e d to express and fo r h i s st range

i n t e rp re t a t ions of the c l a s s i c s . Yet in sp i te of a l l t h i s he

2LeonVal las , Claude Debussy e t

Temps. Par i s :F. Alcan,

1932, p . 5.



5

was acknowledged an exce l l en t p i a n i s t and he c a r r i e d o ff many

medals of award in compet i t ive examinat ions.

But he was not happy in composition c lasses to be forced

to adhere to the i ron c lad ru le s of t r a d i t i o n a l harmony. He

was eager to wri te but what he had to say could not be ex-

pressed i f he was to keep within the narrow l imi ta t ions of the

musical formulas t h a t he was t aught . He had heard convent

b e l l s r ing ing out matins , the angelus from a d i s t an t church,mil i t a ry t rumpets and bugles from an old gar r i son ; a l l these

produced tones and overtones t ha t were pleas ing to hear ye t

they fol lowed no harmonic law. Why he argued, could he no t

make use of them i n h i s own wri t ing? Why could he no t rep ro -

duce in music such color and perfume in the diverse degrees of

i n t ens i ty as he f e l t them? He i n s i s t ed t h a t h i s ear alone was

h i s guide and as ea r ly as h i s four teen th year made h i s f i r s t

attempt to wri te in h i s own p a r t i c u l a r musical language. He

composed a song to Nuit d ' e t o i l e s , a poem of Theodore de Ban-

v i l l e in which he t o t a l l y disregarded the ru le s of t r a d i t i o n a l

harmony. I t was the beginning of a p er s i s t en t r ev o l t . Such

presumption i rked some of h i s masters who now looked upon him

with contempt and disfavor. Two however, remained loyal to

him fo r they recognized h is unusual a r t . They were Lavignac

and Guiraud, younger i n s t ruc to r s with more open minds than the



6

others ; they caut ioned him to be pa t i en t and conservative while

he was s t i l l subjec t to examinations and competi t ions . Gui-

r aud ' s comment on the boy 's f i r s t e ffo r t s was: C'es t t ~ s

i n t e re s san t , tou t Qa, mais i l faudra l e r ese rv i r pour plus

t a rd ; ou bien, vous n 'aurez jamais le Pr ix de Romel 3

In the summer of 1880 good for tune smiled on Debussy. Up-

on the recommendation of Marmontel, h i s i n s t ruc to r in the upper

piano c lass a t the conservatory, Mme von Meek, the patronessof Tschaikowsky, engaged Bussyk: as she a ffec t iona te ly re fe r re

to him, as a family p i a n i s t . In a l e t t e r addressed to Peter

I l y i t c h , Mme von Meek spoke of the new v i s i t o r in her home.

Yesterday a young p i a n i s t ar r ived from P ar i s ,recommended to me by Marmontel. I brought himhere to take care of the chi ldren during thesummer and to play with me. This young manpossesses a r e a l v i r t u o s i t y, but i t seems to met ha t h i s expression leaves much to be desi red ,al though he i s a splendid accompanist . He i syoung, however, only twenty. He h a s n t l ivedenough ye t and probably has not suffe red a ta l l 4

At the Chiteau de Chenonceaux, Achi l le again t a s ted of

the l uxu r i e s t ha t he had known a t Cannes with uncle Arosa. He

l ived sumptuously in the e legant atmosphere of an a r i s t o c r a t i c

home. His dut ies were not d i f f i c u l t and he was well paid fo r

h i s summer ho l idays . He gave lessons to the ch i ld ren in the

3Leon Val las , · c i t . , p . 29.

4NadejdaVon Meek

and Catherine D. Bowen, Beloved Friend.New

York: Random House, 1937, p . 377.



7

mornings played four-handed music with Mme von Meek in the

af ternoon doing the music almost e n t i r e l y of Tschaikowsky.

In the evening the family assembled fo r a musicale. He accom-

panied J u l i a the oldes t daughter who sang and with a Pol i sh

v i o l i n i s t and a Russian c e l l i s t a l so engaged musicians he

took no end of de l igh t in playing t r i o s .

There were hours in the day when Bussyk was f ree to do as

he pleased ; he climbed the Alps; he took long walks alone orwith Sophie von Meek to whom he was a t t r ac t ed the f i r s t moment

he saw h e r. All too soon the happy hol iday ended and he was

forced to r e tu rn to Par i s leaving h i s h ea r t behind with Sophie.

He resumed h i s s tud ies a t the Conservatoire s t i l l a t odds

with some of h i s t eachers . Desirous to earn money he became a

profess ional accompanist. Among those fo r whom he played was a

Mme Vasnier whose p leas ing voice appearance and charm i n -

s t an t ly won h i s admirat ion. For the present Sophie was forgo

ten . That there was a l i a i so n between Debussy and Mme Vasnier

has been suggested by same biographers ; o thers claim t was

only a very deep f r i endsh ip .

The doors of the Vasnier home were opened wide to him.

Each day he went there to p lay fo r madame and would s tay on to

s tudy and compose. I t was in sp i r ing fo r him to work in the

quie t of such elegant surroundings and in the presence of the



8

lovely lady to whom he dedicated many songs. A place was s e t

fo r him a t the dinner table and of ten he s tayed on to pass the

evenings to play cards and chat with M Vasnier who a l so became

h i s f r i end and from whom he learned much and took wise counsel .

Summer came again and he re jo ined the von Meeks who gree t -

ed him a f f e ~ t i o n a t e l yThey t raveled in I t a l y and Germany and

he broadened with the l i f e and cul ture t ha t he enjoyed. When

the time came to leave in the f a l l , Mme von Meek, who, withthe r e s t of her family, had grown extremely fond of the p e t i t

Pa r i s i e n , presented him with a gold watch and chain as a p a r t -

ing g i f t and asked him to re tu rn the following summer, t h i s one

to be passed on t h e i r es ta t e in Russia .

He was met by the family in Moscow where they spent sev-

e r a l days v i s i t i n g po in t s of i n t e r e s t in the c i t y and a t tending

concerts and the opera. His sens i t ive ears and eyes were a l -

ways on the a l e r t to capture new impressions and he was ever

l i s t en in g fo r new sounds and musical co lo r ing . The gypsy music

of the Russians fa sc ina t ed him and he showed a keen i n t e r e s t in

the Russian na t iona l music, newly born in the school founded by

Glinka who headed the famous group known as The Five . They,

too , were breaking away from the t r a d i t i o n a l and were crea t ing

f resh musical idioms. I t gave him courage and s e l f assurance

and when he reached Brai low, the country place of the von



Meeks he spent most of h is f r ee time in wri t ing .

An abrupt ending came to Bussyk 's happy associa t ions with

the a r i s t o c r a t i c Russians . Sophie von Meek had grown u p she

was no longer the l i t t l e g i r l to whom he was a t t r ac t ed three

summers e a r l i e r and now he bel ieved himself madly in love with

he r. He went to her mother to beg her to permit him to marry

Sophie. The answer was h i s dismissa l ; h is bags were packed

and he was ordered to leave immediately. Nothing was more absurd than the union of "a von Meek and a Bussy, penni less min

s t r e l from Par is boulevardsl"

Heartbroken he re turned home and back to the Conservatoire

to cont inue h i s s tud ies fo r two years more, enter ing a l l the

compet i t ions open to him. At l a s t he was ready fo r the pre

l iminary examination fo r the Grand f : de Rome which i s he ld

each year. The successfu l candidate rece ives a scholarsh ip to

l ive a t the Vi l l a Medici in Rome a t the expense of the French

Government, there to devote himself to h i s a r t i s t i c endeavors,

and from time to time submit h i s compositions to the I n s t i t u t

These works are ca l led the "Envois de Rome.

efore Debussy was twenty-two years of age, he was awarded

the Grand Pr ix , which he r id icu led l a t e r in M Croche Anti

d i l e t t a n t e

Le pr ix de Rome e s t un jeu ou p l u t e t un spor tna t iona l . On en apprend l e s r ~ g l sdans des en-



d ro i t s nommes: Conservatoire , Ecole des BeauxArts , e tc Or, en a r r ivan t a Rome, on nes a i t pas grand chose , - - tou t au plus sa i t -on sonmet ie r1 - -e t l o n voudrai t que ces jeunes gens,deja t roubles pa r un complet changement de v ie ,se donnent a u x - m ~ m e sl e s leQOnS d energienecessa i re s A une me d a r t i s t e . C es t imposs ib le 1 Et s 1 1 on peut l i r e le rappor t annualsur l e s envois de Rome, on s e tonnera de l as ~ v e r i t ede ses termes; ~ a n e s t pas l a fau tedes pensionnaires s i l eu r es the t ique e s t un peuen desordre, mais bien ce l l e de ceux qui l e s envolen t dans un pays ou tou t par le de l a r t l eplus pur en l es l a i s s an t l i b r es d i n t e r p r e t e r

ce t a r t a l e u r guise ."Au su rp lus , l e flegme academique, avec l equel ces messieurs de l I n s t i t u t designentce lu i d en t r e tous ces jeunes gens 5u1 seraa r t i s t e , me frappe par son ingenuite? Qu ensaven t - i l s? E u x - m ~ m e ss o n t - i l s bien su r d ~ t r edes a r t i s t e s ? Ou prennen t - i l s done l e d r o i tde d i r i g e r une dest inee auss i mysterieuse?Vraiment, 11 semble qu en ce cas , i l s f e ra i en tmieux de e en remettre au simple j eu de l a

cour te p a i l l e , qui sa i t ? l e hasard e s t p a rfo is s i s p i r i t u e l ••• Mais non, 11 fau t cherchera i l l e u r s ••• Ne pas juger su r des oeuvres decommande e t d une forme t e l l e q u i l e s t imposs ib le de savoir exactement s i ces jeunes genssavent l e u r metier de musicien ••• Qu on l e u rdonne, s i l o n y t i e n t absolument, un c e r t if i c a t de hautes e t u d e s , mais pas un c e r t i f ic a t d im a g in a t io n , c e s t inu t i lement grotesque 1"5

10

I t i s obvious tha t Debussy s sojourn in the Roman cap i t a lwas a f a i l u r e musical ly. He f e l t himself imprisoned and the

forced rou t ine t h rus t upon him hampered h i s freedom of expres

s ion. Often he would s t ea l away for solace and i n sp i r a t ion to

the church of San Maria dell Anima to enjoy i t s a rch i t ec tu ra l

5M Croche A nt id i l e t t an te , pp. 27-30.



beauty and co lo r fu l i n t e r i o r and to l i s t e n to the l i t u r g i c a l

works o f Pales t r ina and Orlando de Lasso whose use of the old

church modes s t i r r e d and fasc inated him.

To meet the demands of the I n s t i t u t , he composed h i s "En-

vois de Rome, which he admit ted gave him no s a t i s f a c t i o n and

were no t a f r ee , n a tu ra l expression of h i s own ideas , but

r a th e r the oppressive submission to spec i f i ed requirements.

Granted t ha t h is music su ffe red and t ha t he made l i t t l eheadway while he was c lo i s t e red in the Vi l l a , he used h i s time

well in reading to fu r ther h i s neglected education. e tu rned

to poe t ry, a s i s t e r a r t t h a t was to inf luence a l l h i s l a t e r

composi t ions . When alone in h i s "Etruscan tomb," as he c a l l e d

h i s green room, he read and s tud ied the poems of Verlaine and

Baudela i re . I t i s poss ib le t ha t he had a copy of the Fleurs

Mal with a preface by Theophile Gaut ie r, who made the fol lowing

ana lys i s :

Les vers de Baudela i re , qui accepte l e s p r i n -cipales ameliorat ions ou reformes romant iques ,t e l l e s que l a rime r iche , l a mobi l i te f acu l t a -t i v e de l a cesure , l e r e j e t , 'enjambement,l ' emp lo i du mot propre ou technique, l e rythmeferme e t p la in , l a coulee d 'un sau l j e t du grandalexandr in , tout l e savant mecanisme de prosodiee t de coupe dans l a stance e t l a s t rophe , acependant son arch i tec ton ique p a r t i c u l i ~ r esesformulas ind iv idue l le s , sa s t ruc tu re reconnai-sable , ses sec re t s de metier, son t ou r de mains i l o n peut s 'expr imer a i n s i , e t sa marqueC. B. qu'on retrouve toujours appl iquee su rune rime ou sur un hemist iche I l aime



l 'harmonieux entrecroisement de rimes quieloigne l ' echo de l a note touchee d 'abord , e tpresente A l o r e i l l e un son naturel lement imprevu, qui se completera plus t a rd comme

ce lu i du premier vera , causant ce t t e s a t i s -f a c t i 8 n que procure en musique l ' a cco rd p a rf a i t .

12

The close associa t ion of poetry with music, the f i n e ap

prec ia t ion of co lo r, perfume and a l l t ha t comes to one through

the senses s t rong ly resemble Debussy's own sens i t ive f ee l ings .

Like Baudelai re he, too , was confused and weighed down by h i sown suffe r ing and mirrored in the poems he read were h i s own

thoughts . Take fo r example correspondances :

La Nature e s t un temple ou de vivants p i l i e r sLaissent par fo i s s o r t i r de confuses paro les ;L homme y passe a t r aver s des forSts de symbolesQui l ' obse rven t avec des regard fami l ie rs .

omme de l o n ~ sechos qui de l o in se confondentDans une tenebreuse e t profonde u n i t e ,Vaste comme l a n u i t e t comme l a c l a r t e ,Les p a r ~ s l e s couleurs e t lea sons se repondent.

I l e s t des parfums f r a i s comme des cha i r s d ' en fan t s ,Doux comme l ea hau tbo i s , ver ts comme l e a p r a i r i e s ,- -E t d 'au t r e s , corrumpus, r iches e t t r iomphants ,

Ayant l ' expans ion des choses i n f i n i e s ,

omme l ' ambre , l e muse, le benjoin e t l ' e n c e n s ,Qui chantent l e a t r anspor t s de l e s p r i t e t des sens .

Verlaine was not en t i r e ly new to Debussy fo r while he was

s t i l l in Par i s he had read the ~ t e sGalantes in the l i b r a ry of

the Vasnier home. He se t to music a group of the poems and

6charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du Mal, precedees d une not icepar Theophile G a u t i e r : - Par i s , Galmann-Levy, 1920, p . L.



13

dedicated the songs to Mme Vasnier. In h i s fu r the r reading of

the poet while in Rome he fami l iar ized himself with other s u i t

able verses t h a t he used l a t e r in h i s songs, and doubtless he

found a kinship in such l i n es as :

I l pleura dans mon coeurComma l p leu t sur l a v i l l e .

Quelle e s t ce t t e langueurQui p e n ~ t r emon coeur?

In the Vi l l a Medici, Debussy f e l t himsel f imprisoned even

as was Verlaine when he wrote Romances paroles (1874) from

which the foregoing passage i s taken. And again , from the

P o ~ m e ssa tu rn iens , he found h is own tormented s t a t e o f mind ex-

pressed i n ,

Et je m en vaisAu vent mauvais

Qui m emporteDe ~ a de laPare i l l a

Feu i l l e morte.

Beside the poetry of h i s na t ive land he had access to

t r a n s l a t i o n s of Shakespeare and Dante Gabriel Rosse t t i to which

he gave time and thought. From the l a t t e r he chose the poem

La Demoiselle elue for h i s f i n a l Envoi de · I t was to be a

canta ta for solo voices , chorus, and orches t r a . Although the

idea was conceived a t the Vi l l a and the wri t ing of i t begun

the re , he did no t f i n i sh the work u n t i l long a f t e r he re turned

to Par i s , when he f e l t himself f ree and able to wri te as he

des i r ed .



14

Twice he f l ed from the Vi l l a de Medici , the second time to

re tu rn to h i s beloved Par i s where a new l i f e fo r him began. He

haunted the cabare ts of Montmartre a t nigh t and f requented the

bras se r i e s . He had thrown off the yoke of the academicians and

was through with l au rea tes and envois . Except fo r r egu la r

v i s i t s with Paul Dukas, he shunned a l l o the r musical associa tes

Achil le-Claude Debussy was no more. From t h a t time on he was

known only as Claude Debussy.

By chance, shor t ly a f t e r h i s r e tu rn to P ar i s , he met M

Leon Ba i l l y who was not only a publ i sher but one who fos te red

and gathered around him in the back room of the Lib ra i r i e

l A r t n d ~ p e n d a n ts t rugg l ing young geniuses , the fu tu re poets

and a r t i s t s of the impress ion is t s and the symbolists . I t was

M Ba i l l y who published Debussy's e a r l i e r compositions and i t

was he who in troduced him to Mallarme, Verla ine , Henri de

Regnier and o the r poets who became h i s in t imate f r i ends .

He was always a welcomed guest a t the Mallarme Tuesdays

where he knew he was understood and apprec ia ted . In t h i s a r

t i s t i c atmosphere, there was companionship and a f r ee exchange

of ideas t h a t immediately affec ted Debussy's l i f e and ca ree r.

The dominating f igu re , l'homme au chAle, le grand, le

beau, l e mysterieux Mallarme i s lauded by Po iza t in the f o l -

lowing excerpt from Du Classicisme au Symbolisme:



omme nous l avons aime1 Quelle a r i s t o c r a t i eunique l y ava i t dans sea m n i ~ r e sinf in imentcour to ises1 Quelle ardente , que l le de l ic ieuse ,quel le ent ra inante e t tendre melancol ie dans les p i r i t u e l sour i re , un peu v o i l e , de sea beauxyeux e t de son f i n visage1 Quelle inoubl iab lem u s i ~ u ee t a i sa voix 1 Quel instrument e t a ison ame 1 Et comme de son index l eve i l nousdes igna i t l i n v i s i b l e 1 La lampe de Psyche al a main, chaque mardi s o i r , i l nous i n v i t a i t adescendre avec l u i dans lea tenebres que fon tlea choses, i l e c a r t a i t lea ombres e t nousmontra i t sous l eu rs robes de r ~ v e se t l eu rsdiademes de symboles, l e a r e a l i t e s s u p r ~ m e se t

l eu r aens sec re t1 Car i l se r e f u s a i t c ro i reque noua fuss ions simplement lea Messieurs quenous pa ra i s s ions e t dans l a groas ie re , p la tee t r i d i cu l e parade de l a vie i l ne voya i t ,comme Baudelaire, qu une parodie a l l egor ique ,qu une enigme dont i l f a l l a i t t rouver l a c l e f .Chaque mardi s o i r , de neuf heures a minui t ,par tan t de n impor te quel p e t i t f a i t , e t parl e moyen des analogies , i l nous r econs t ru i t a i tlea mil le poemes de l a vie profonde e t nouspromenait dans son domaine enchante , noushommes modernes, a qui i l sava i t par le r7 leu rlangue, mais constamment t ranscendante .

15

Debussy soon found the key of which Mallarme spoke. Ac

cording to h i s own musical p a t t e rn , he now began to compose

without r e s t r a i n t and i t was not long before he was spoken of

as one who possessed d i s t i n c t . ind iv idua l i ty and a r t i s t r y . Be

s ides devoting himself to music, he a l so served as a c r i t i c fo r

La Revue Blanche and l a t e r fo r l l Blas . Se l f - taugh t as a

wr i t e r, h i s cr i t ic i sms were highly pra i sed and he was con

s idered a master in h i s t reatment of any t op ic .

7Alfred Poiza t , Du Classicisme Symboliame. Par i s : Lanouvel le revue c r i t i q u e , 1929 , pp. 182-83 .



16

Although he had s tud ied with two grea t French composers,

Gounod and Cesar Franck, and in h i s t rave ls he had met Verdi ,

Borodin, Brahms and Wagner be now had nothing in common with

them. He was carry ing out what he f e l t was h i s miss ion - - to

f ree music as did the symbolists with poet ry.

"La mission de l a poesie es t d 'o u v r i r une f e n ~ t r esu r ce t

aut re monde qui es t en f a i t l e n ~ t r e de permettre au moi

d 'echapper a ses l im i t e s e t de se d i l a t e r ju squ 'a l ' i n f i n i .Par ce mouvement d 'expansion s'ebauche on s ' accompl i t l e re tou r

a l ' u n i t e de l ' e s p r i t . 8

S a t i s f i ed a t l a s t t ha t he was f r ee to wri te as he des i red

h i s l i f e now became extremely act ive and product ive . He was

recognized as a composer, conductor, p i a n i s t , and c r i t i c before

many years had passed a f t e r h i s r e tu rn to Par is . ame and

honor seldom accorded an a r t i s t in l i f e were showered upon him.

He was named fo r a vacancy in the Academie des Beaux-Arts but- death came to him before he was accepted. He was appointed a

member of the supreme council of the music sect ion of the Par i s

Conservatoire and did not h e s i t a t e to c r i t i c i z e the teaching

methods t ha t he opposed in h i s e a r l i e r years as a s tudent . His

government honored him by bestowing upon him the cross o f the

Legion of Honor. Not only was he recognized in France as a

grea t composer bu t throughout the whole musical world he was

8Alfred Poizat , ££ £ ., p . 22.



17

eminent and grea t homage was accorded him.

His a f f a i r s of the hea r t were numerous. We f i r s t saw the

hear tbroken youth par ted from Sophie von Meek; next he was

swept away by the charm of Mme Vasnier. When he re turned from

Rome i t was Gabriel le Dupont, fami l ia r ly known as Gaby l a

demoisel le aux yeux ve r t s : who in fa tua ted him. His f i r s t mar-

r iage took place with Rosal ie Texier, a dressmaker and Gaby's

f r i end , but he soon t i r e d of her and divorce followed. Anothermarried woman then a t t r ac t ed him. I t was Mme Emma Bardac, a

concert s inger and a person of cu l tu re and ref inement . After

several years of complications they f i n a l l y marr ied and t h e i r

union was a very happy one. Their l i t t l e daughter, C h o u ~ c h o

was a grea t joy to them. In h i s l a t e r years Debussy could

hard ly be ca l led le grand s o l i t a i r e , fo r he was one of a

family and loved h i s home.

The l a s t years of h i s l i f e were spent in a long agony of

su ffe r ing from cancer. Though weak and l l he continued to

w ri t e . Great ly saddened by the World War and unable to p a r t i e

pate in i t , he showed his pa t r io t i sm by s igning h i s name as

Claude Debussy, musician f r a n ~ a i s . On March 25, 1918, while

Par is was being bombarded, death mercifUlly came to him.



CH PTER I I

During the l a s t twenty years of the nineteenth century inPar i s , a r t and a r t i s t s were searching fo r new idioms o r expres

sion to break away from t r a d i t i o n a l and outworn conventional

s tandards . In poet ry Verlaine and Mallarme expressed new

theor ies t h a t words should be symbols to suggest r a th e r than

express; they were not concerned with ideas but ra ther with the

musical sound of words tha t had the power to evoke sensat ions

and tha t would appeal to the emotions and s t imula te the imagi

nat ion-- un mystere dont l a l e c t eu r d o l t chercher l a c l e f .

Theirs was a new way of looking a t the world--a new myst i -

cism, a new magic. Odor, color, music and rhythm were blend

ed in a ve i led and elusive sugges t iveness .

Le symbolisme, ce fu t su r tou t l ' e n t r e e du r ~ vdans l a l i t t e r a t u r e , ce f u t l e retournement duregard du dehors au dedans, l a contemplation dur e f l e t des choses en nous comme en une eau endormee, not re o r e i l l e tendue a des musiquess ingu l ie res qui montaient de nous e t dont learythmes d i f f ~ r i e n tetrangement des rythmesaccoutumes des Parnass iens , l e sque ls , s i bienscandes, nous semblaient r eg les comme desmarches m i l i t a i r e s Le symbolisme f u t , ene f f e t , une vio len te reac t ion contre tou t ce quil ' a v a i t precedel une r eac t ion ple ine de colerecontre tou t ce ~ quoi l a generat ion nouvel le sesen ta i t impuissante e t par t icul ierement contrele cabotinage personnel .

lAlf red Poizat , Le Symbolisme, La Renaissance du Livre, Par i s ,1919 , pp. 135-136 .

18



19

Debussy's react ionary thoughts coincided in every d e t a i l

with the foregoing summary What he was s t r i v i n g t o do fo r

music, the symbol is ts had already accomplished fo r poet ry.

Once in the sanctuary o f Stephana Mallarme's apartment where he

associa ted with Verlaine, Henri de Regnier, Maeter l inck, and

other poe t s , he found a per fec t accord and harmony of thought.

There came to him the needed impetus to car ry h i s own thoughts

to r e a l i t i e s .From a spec ia l number of the Revue Musicale, Val las quotes

the following words of Paul Dukas who was the only other musi

c ian known to have been a r egu la r guest a t the Mardi So i r s .

Verla ine , Mallarme, Laforgue nous appor ta ien tdes tons nouveaux, des sonor i tes nouvel les . I l sp ro j e t a i en t sur l e s mots des lueurs qu'on n a v a i tencore jamais vues; i l s usa ien t de procedes inconnus des poetes l eu r devanciers; i l s f a i s sa i en trendre a l a m t i ~ r everbale des e f f e t s dont on nes o u p ~ o n n i tpas , avant eux, l a s u b t i l i t e ou l afo rce ; par dessus - tou t , i l s concevaient l ea versou l a prose comme des musiciens; i l s l eu r donna ien t des soins de musicians, e t , comme desmusicians encore, combinaient l e s images e t l eu rcorrespondence sonore. La plus fo r t e influenceq u a i t subie Debussy e s t c e l l ~des l i t t e r a t e u r s .

on pas ce l l e s des musiciens.Inspi red by the Symbolistes , Debussy t r ans fe r red t h e i r

technique to h i s own f i e l d of endeavor and created a new music

a r t . In to h i s music he wrote those ve i led harmonies, l i q u id

2Leon Val las , · c i t . , p . 25.



21

was the musician under the sp e l l of the poet t ha t he found t

d i f f i c u l t to choose the verses to s e t to music t h a t would per

mit him to fu r ther enhance t h e i r beauty and give them wings to

soar to higher heights - - Qu 'on sent qui f u i t d 'une me en a l l ee

vera d ' au t r e s yeux ~ d ' au t r e s amours.

Debussy's f i r s t se lec t ion , taken from Verla ine , was

Mandoline wri t t en when he was twenty-one years o ld , before he

won the Prix de ome and severa l years before he met h i s favori t e poet . In Mandoline, the mood of the poem i s admirably

captured in the music which f lows in rhythmic de l i cacy. I t i s

a langourous serenade and evokes the ardor of youthful g a l l a n t s

who woo t h e i r f a i r l ad ies under the s ighing branches.

Tourbi l lonnent dans l ' e x t a s eD'une lune rose e t g r i s e ,Et l a mandoline j aseParmi lea f r i s sons de b r i s e

A r e f l ec t ion of Debussy's own moods and f ee l ings i s most

apparent in the Arie t te s Oubliees composed in 1888. Ardor,

impetuosi ty, anguish and disappointment are mingled with the

longings and des i r es of a lonely dreamer steeped in serene

melancholy and revery.

1

C 'es t l ' e x t a s e langoureuse,C 'es t l a fa t igue amoureuse,

• • •

Cette~

qui se lamente• • •AC'es t l a no t re , n ' e s t - c e pas?



22

A langourous ecs tasy i s evoked in the mood o f t h i s song in

which the soul laments and f inds in Nature a r e f l ec t ion of i t -

s e l f in le choeur des p e t i t e s voix and a l l the sounds and

murmurs in the f o r e s t .

2

I l pleure dans mon coeuromme i l pleu t sur l a v i l l e

Quelle e s t ce t t e langueur

Qui p ~ n ~ t rmon coeur?

C'es t bien l a p i re paineDe ne savoi r pourquoi ,Sans amour e t sans haine ,Mon coeur a t an t de paine .

Beauty and m o t i o n ~are t rans la ted in to subt le images of

tone in t h i s diaphanous nature pa in t ing . A f r ee , flowing

rhythm suggests the f a l l i n g r a in , the r e f l ec t ions i n the water,

and a l l i s sadness, f ea r, and apprehension.

3

L'ombre des arbres dans l a r i v i e r a

embrumeeMeurt comme de l a fumee

The magic atmosphere of legend and dream awakens the emo

t iona of love and l o s t hope in t h i s composit ion. The pa the t ic

and f ea r fu l song of the n igh t inga le con t ras t s with the accom-

paniment in which sounds and color blend an exquis i te p ic tu re

of r e f l ec t ions in the water.



Trois Melodies 1891

1

La mer e s t plus be l l eQue l e s cathedrale .

• • •La mer sur qui pr ieLa Vierge Mariel

23

A s in ce r i t y of fee l ing character izes t h i s song. I t i s

simple and d i r ec t and in keeping with the l y r i c a l beauty of the

poem. The waves o f the sea chant in pra i se of la v ie rge , and

the mood i s re l ig ious and r ev e r en t i a l .

2

e son du cor s a f f l i g e vera le boisD'une douleur on veut c ro i r e orphel ine .

• • • • • • •Et l a i r a l a i r d ~ t r eun soupir d'automne,Tout 11 f a i t doux par ce s o i r monotone.

Nature again i s given voice in t h i s melody. The impres-

s ions are remote and f l ee t i n g . While evening snow f a l l s the

sound of the horn complains and a wolf howls. Then a l l i s

s t i l l and a melancholy sadness gives way to re s igna t ion . De-

bussy f requent ly employs s i lence to evoke emotions. This he

has done admirably in t h i s song which he pa in t s in gray mono

tones .

3

L'echelonnement des ha les

Moutonne a l i n f i n i , merClai re dans le b rou i l l a rd c l a i r



24

Qui sen t bon l e s jeunes ba ies .• • • • • • • • A •

e cloches commes des f l u t esDans l e c i e l comme du l a i t .

Peace and t r a n q u i l l i t y are evoked in t h i s p ic tu re of r u r a l

England. The music i s de l ica te and enchant ing and changes as

i t flows in space while color ing the hedges, then gl id ing on

ward to the sea where emotions mingled with the c lea r mis t .

From Ver la ine ' s Aquarelles , Debussy chose Green to ex

press the joy and ecs tasy of youthful love a l ive to the cool ,

f resh panoply of spr ing .

Et puis voic i mon coeur,qui ne bat que pour vous.

With Spleen he used dark tonal co lor ing to add sombre-

ness to the poem.Le c i e l e t a i t t rop bleu, t rop tendre ,La mer t rop ver te e t l a i r t rop doux.Je cra ins tou jours , - -ce qu ' e s t d a t t e n d r e l -Quelque fu i t e at roce de vous.

~ t e sGalantes 1892

En Sourdine

Veiled muted tones color t h i s de l i ca te song of love. The

peaceful se t t i n g of the fo r es t , the song of the n igh t inga le and

the a t tending lovers are framed in a dream-l ike fan ta sy.

Et quand, so lennel , l e s o i r

Desc h ~ n e s

n o i r a , tombera,Voix de not re desespoi r,Le ross ignol chantera .



25

2

Clair de Lune

A Watteau canvas i s given l i f e ; i t i s f u l l of love l iness

and enchantment in an atmosphere of shimmering moonlight min-

gled with song in a minor key. Melancholy pervades the accom-

paniment suggest ive of a r t i f i c i a l pleasure .

Tout en chantant sur l e mode mineurL'amour vainqueur e t l a vie opportune,I l s n ' o n t pas l a i r de c ro i r e a l eur bonheurEt l eu r chanson se m ~ l au c l a i r de lune .

3

Fantoches

Scaramouche e t Pulc ine l laQu'un mauvais dessein rassembla

Gest iculent , no i r s surl a

lune .This song might be ca l led a study in black and white. I t

i s a fantasy t ha t i s shadowy and d e l i ca t e . The accompaniment

c rea tes the atmosphere and i s suggest ive of the manipulat ions

of the s t r ings of the marionet tes .

4Chevaux de bois

Tournez, tournez , bona chevaux de bo is ,• • • • • • • • • • • •Tournez, tournez au son des hautbois ,• • • • • • • • • • • • •Tournez au son de l ' accordeon,

u vio lon , du trombone fous ,

• • • • • • • • • • • • •Tournez, tournezl le c i e l en veloursD'as t re s en or se v ~ t lentement .



26

A s p i r i t of fun and ga ie ty i s evoked in t h i s song with the

co lo r fu l atmosphere of the f a i r and the s trange sounds of the

instruments out of tune . Merrymaking grows h i l a r ious as the

wooden horses of the merry-go-round gallop f a s t e r and f a s t e r .

The music slackens as the pace l essens and a l l fades to a

peaceful qu ie t under a velvet sky.

In speaking of e r l a i ~ spoet ry, Alfred Poiza t says: Ce

que ce t t e poesie evoque avec une i n t en s i t e sans egale , c e s t l a

musique de l a j o i e ou de l a souffrance quotidiennes, le s e n t i

ment de l a vie , de l a vie nue, physiologique, ~ ls. pensee

n e s t plus que l e rAve du sang qui abreuve l a c h a i r. 4

nd in se t t i n g t h i s poetry to music in h i s songs, i t i s

with added i n t en s i t y t ha t Debussy weaves mystery, ardor, beautyand emotion in to a de l i ca te atmosphere f i l l e d with nuances-

la nuance toujours .

Poetry to Stephane Mallarme was music; he had no i n t e r e s t

in the meaning of words alone but r a th e r i n t h e i r musical

sounds and rhythms which would produce emotions and suggest

images. I t i s i n t e re s t ing to note t ha t he wrote h i s l a s t

poems in the form o f a page of music, showing how c lose ly he

wished to be a l l i e d to t ha t a r t .

4Poiza t , u Classicisme Symbolisme, p . 29.



27

stephane Mallarme e s t un sage qui nous i n v i t e , dans

l A p r ~ s - m i d id 'un Faune , ' ~ nous eb lou i r de l 'Un ive rs , en le

contemplant t ravers le Desir, comme t r ave r s l a pulpe lumi

neuse des ra isons v ides . 5

This famous eclogue was a source o f i n sp i r a t ion fo r one of

Debussy's grea t orches t r a l preludes , a composit ion considered a

masterpiece, and by many c r i t i c s thought to be the f i n e s t tone-

poem ever wri t ten , fo r he t r ans la t ed in to music images and

moods unl ike any t ha t had ever before been revea led by a com-

poser.

With extremely de l i ca te music Debussy suggests the drowsy,

langorous faun wakening in the f o r e s t in the heat o f the summer

haze t h a t causes him to day-dream of dancing nymphs, Cesnymphes, je l e s veux perpe tuer. The music i n t ens i f i e s as he

indulges in h i s r ever ie of pagan de l igh t and i s climaxed as h i s

fancy would have him bel ieve t h a t he has Venus in h i s arms.

Je t i ens l a re ine l Gui l t gives way to d es i r e . The vis ion

vanishes and the music becomes l impid and shadowy l i ke f loa t in&

glimmering clouds as the faun cur l s himself upon the w rm so f t

grass to s leep and to dream again.

Sans plus 11 fau t dormir en l ' o u b l i dublaspheme,

• • • • • • • •

5Ernes t Raymond, f Melee Symbolis te , Vol. I I . P ar i s : LaRenaissance du Livre, 1920, p . 61.



Couple, adieu; je vais vo i r l 'ombre quetu devins .

28

Vallas c a l l s i t a chef-d 'oeuvre , sans doute, de l ' impressionnisme musical , dont l e s t r en t e - t r o i s annees qui ont passe

depuis sa r ev6 la t ion n 'o n t en r i en at tenue l ' o r i g i n a l i t e n i

fane l ea couleurs e t l ea nuancea. 6

In a l e t t e r to Jean Aubrey dated March 25, 1910 and pub

l i shed in Le onde Musical , Debussy quotes what Mallarme him

s e l f sa id of the pre lude: Je ne m a t tenda is pas quelque

chose de pare l l Cette musique prolonge 1 ' emotion de mon poeme

e t en s i tue le deco.r, plus passionn6ment que l a couleur.

I t was not u n t i l the summer of 9 3 t ha t Debussy attempted

the se t t ings fo r Mallarme's Trois P o ~ m e s With them he i s ex

tremely sub t le . All i s f an tasy and he has found music to en

hance each jewel- l ike word with sheer beauty.

Soupir

Fide le , un blanc j e t d'eau soupire vera l 'A zu r l

The mood evoked i s one of autumnal melancholy.

Place t f u t i l e

Pr incesse l l j a loue r l e des t in d une H€beQui poind su r ce t t e t a s se au ba ise r de vos l ev res• • • • • • • • • • • • •Princesse , nommez nous berger de vos sour i res .

6Leon Val las , Claude Debussy. Par i s : F. Alcan, 1926, p . 83.



29

A charming grace i s added to t h i s poem by i t s se t t i n g of

a d ign i f ied minuet.

Eventai l

0 r ~ v e u a e ,pour que je plongeu pur de l i ce sana chemin

• • • •Sens- tu le paradis faroucheAinsi qu 'un r i r e enseve l i .

The musical cadences in the poem are developed in the

de l ica te t ransparency of the rhythmic movement of the fan which

symbolizes f u t i l i t y .

The Cinq Poemea of Charles Baudelai re gave Debussy an op

por tun i ty to indulge f r ee ly in wr i t ing color impressions and

i l l u s i o n s .

Le Balcon

Lea so i r s i l lumines par l ' s r d e u r du charbon,Et l e s so i rs au balcon, voi les de vapeurs roses;• • • • • • • •Noua avons d i t souvent d ' imper i ssab les choses .

• • • • • • • • • • • • •Je sa is l ' a r t d 'evoquer l ea minutes heureuses,E t r e v i s mon passe b l o t t i dans tea genoux.

• • • • • • • • • • • •Ces serments, ces parfums, ces ba ise r s 1nf1n1s,Rena i t ron t - i l s d 'un gouffre i n t e r d i t a nos sondes,Comme montent au c i e l l ea s o l e i l s r a jeun i sA p r ~ ss ~ t r elaves au fond des mers profondes?

In t h i s song Debussy shows t h a t l i ke the poet he possesses

l ' a r t d 'evoquer l ea minutes heureuses and he has t r ans la t ed

in to h i s music the rhapsody expressed in the poem and has given



3

l i f e again to a summer evening of de l igh t passed on a balcony

while the sun i s se t t i ng . Poem and song symbolize hope which

in the f i n a l verse i s f e l t in a l l i t s i n t en s i t y fo r the music i f

f i l l e d with the confidence tha t as the sun r i s e s from the depthf

of the sea happiness too w i l l be reborn from an unfathomable

abyss . 0 serments a parfums a ba ise r s i n f i n i s 1

The poem Harmonies du Soir i s f i l l e d with imagery and

harmonies.

Voici venir l e s temps o ~ vibran t sur sa t igeChaque f l eu r s 'evapore a ins i qu'un encensoir ;Les sons e t l e s parfums tournent dans l a i r du s o i r ,Valse melancolique e t langoureux v e r t i g e l• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Le violon r ~ m i tcomme un coeur qu'on a f f l i g e ,

• • • • • • • • • • • •Le c i e l e s t t r i s t e e t beau comme un grand reposoi r.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Un coeur t endre , qui h a i t l e neant vaste e t n o i r lu passe lumineux recue i l le tou t v es t i g e l

Le s o l e i l s e s t noye dans son sang qui se pige ,Ton souvenir en moi l u i t comme un o s t en so i r l

In t h i s melancholy rever ie there i s a mingling of the sen

suous and the s p i r i t u a l which Debussy has r i ch ly colored with

h i s music. The splendor of the heavens l ikened to a great r e -

pos i to ry and the dazzl ing refulgence from the monstrance are

emphasized in the accompaniment agains t the melancholy vocal

declamation of un coeur tendre qui h a i t le neant vaste e t

n o i r.



Le Je t d'Eau

Dans l a cour l e j e t d 'eau qui j a seEt ne se t a i t n i n u i t n i jou r,E nt re t i en t doucement l ' ex t aseo ce s o i r m'a plonge l 'amour.

• • • • • • • • • • • •0 t o i que l a n u i t rend s i be l l e ,Q u ' i l m'es t doux, penche vera t e s se in s ,D'ecouter l a p la in te ~ t e r n e l l e

Qui sanglote dans l e s bass in s l

Lune, eua sonore, n u i t benie ,Arbres qui prissonnez autour,Votre pure melancol ieE s t l e miro i r demon amour1

31

Again, as with many of h i s songs, Debussy makes use of

the accompaniment to produce the mood of the poem. Vague,

sub t le , and e lus ive i s the cease less p lay of water from the

founta in bathed in moonlight, the t rembling of the t r ees , andthe lamentat ions o f the ardent love rs .

Recueil lement

Sois sage &ma Douleur, e t t i e n s - t o i plust r anqu i l l e

Tu reclamais l e So i r ; i l descend; l e voic iUne a t m o s p h ~ r eobscure enveloppe l a v i l l e

ux uns por tant l a paix , aux aut re le souci .

La Mort des Amants

Nous aurons des l i t s ple ins d 'odeurs l e g ~ r e s

Des divans profonds comma des tombeaux,Et d 'e t ranges f l eu r s sur des 6 t a g ~ r e s

Encloses pour nous sous des cieux plus beau.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Et plus t a rd un Ange, en t r ' ouvran t lea por tes ,



32

Viendra ranimer, f i d ~ l ee t joyeux,Les miroirs t e rn i s e t l e s flammes mortes.

These two songs are f i l l e d with in tense fee l ing and symbo-

l i z e hope, melancholy, s t rugg le , and sorrow. Debussy shows a

t rue consciousness in them of an analys i s made by Alfred Poiza t

t ha t , I l n ' y a dans le monde e t en poes ie , que deux grandee

r ~ a l i t e s l 'amour e t l a mort toutes deux t ranscendantes parce

qu te l le s nous ramenent a l a v er i t e de no t re mystere Et

nous re trouverons par tout chez Baudela i re l ' idee que l 'Univers

v i s ib le n ' e s t que l a f igure al legor ique, l ' i n d ech i f f r ab l e texte

d 'une autre r e a l i t e plus proport ionnee ' impor tance de

l homme e t a l a grandeur de Dieu, car, s i l e s choses n ' e t a i e n t

que ce q u ' e l l e sont , ce s e r a i t une aff reuse der is ion: q u ' e s t

ce d i re , s inon que l a v ie ne peut a t r e que surnature l le?" 7

From the poems of Paul Bourget, two of the se t t ings of

Debussy's songs are musical landscapes:

Voici que l e printemps, ce f i l s l ager d 'Avr i l ,Beau page en pourpoint ver t brode de roses blanches.

"Paysage sent imental"e c i e l d 'h iv e r, s i doux, s i t r i s t e , s i dormant,U l e s o l e i l e r r a n t parmi des vapeurs blanches .

The one i s the freshness of spring t h a t serves to evoke

memories of happier days and con t ras t with the second, whose

bleak sk ies of winter cas t shadows upon t roubled h e a r t s and

l o s t loves .

7Poiza t Du Classicisme au S • 83-84 .



Les Cloches

Les feu i l l e s s ' ouvra ien t sur l a bord desbranches del ica tement ,

Les cloches t i n t a i e n t l g ~ r se t f ranches ,Dans l e c i e l clement.

33

From ea r ly childhood Debussy was fasc inated by b e l l s and

h i s music shows great va r i e ty in reproducing ca r i l l o n - l i k e

tones . In Les Cloches the mood i s dreamy, t r anqu i l , and

flowing with the constant background of the rhythm of the b e l l s

tha t sus ta ins the imagery inspi red by the poem.

In the Chansons de B i l i t i s of Pier re Louys, Debussy i s

wholly aware of pagan Greece.

La f l t t e de Pan

Pour le jour des Hyacinthies ,

I l m'a donne une syr inx f a i t e deroseaux bien t a i l l e s ,Unis avec l a blanche e i r e qui e s t

douce a mes levres comme l e mie l .

Le Chevelure

Cette n u i t , j a i r ~ v

J ' av a i s t a chevelureAuteur de mon cou.

Le Tombeau des Naiades

Les sa tyres sont morts ,Les sa tyres e t l e s nymphes auss i .• • • • • • • • • •

ais res tons l e i , ou e s t l eu r tombeau.

The musical atmosphere i s sensuous, pass iona te , and en

chant ingly gracefu l . o quote from of Music: As songs



4

they have the remote, s t a t i c beauty of a f r i eze about to be

given l i f e . Some such music whispers of the surface of Keats '

Grecian Urn. The 'Chansons de B i l i t i s are somewhat cold , in

ca lcu lab ly d i s t a n t , but extremely b eau t i f u l . a

Because of h i s fondness fo r the unusual Debussy went f a r

beyond a l l his predecessors and h i s contemporaries in h i s

se lec t ion of mater ia l and h i s t reatment o f i t . I t d id not

mat ter what type of poem he chose to s e t t o music; in each and

every one i s r e f l e c t e d h i s own ind iv idua l persona l i ty, l i b e r t y

of thought and freedom of imaginat ion. Deta i l i s suppressed

and emphasis placed on atmosphere which has the power to sug-

ges t a world of dreams through i l l u s i o n .

C 'es t l a musique avec sas u b j e c t i v i t ~

absolue,son immense pouvoir de suggest ion, qui devai tr ~ l i s e rl e rSve du symbolisme. Et ce fu t Debussy qui f u t le premier a en t ra ine r l a musiquedans c e t t e vole I l a su s ' adop te r a toutesl e s m e n t l i t ~ s I l s e s t penche su r tous l e sgrands p o ~ t e sde nos jours e t auss i de l a Renaissance; i l l e s a t o u c h ~de sa baguet te f i e r ique ,e t l e s harmonies f ines e t n u a n c ~ e sl e s atmosphereslangoureuses e t a t t en d r i es , ont r e v ~ l ~des mill i a r s de diamants qui gSsa ien t , t e ines , parmi l e smots pas assez vivan t s .

Debussy's highly ind iv idual s ty le t h a t was developed

through the years by h i s close assoc ia t ion with the symbol is ts

Sw Brockway and H Weinstock, en of Music. New York: Simonand Schuster, 1939, p . 573.Dan1el Chenneviere, Claude Debussy e t oeuvre. Par i s :Durand e t F i l s , 1913, p . 116.



35

whose poems were a source of i n sp i r a t ion fo r him t o s e t to

music, had i t s beginning when he was a youth of four teen . At

t h a t time he was impressed by a poem of Theodore de Banvil le

ca l led :

Nuit d ' ~ t o i l e s

Nuit d e t o i l e s , sous t ea vo i le sSous t a b r i s e e t t e s parfums,Tr i s t e l y r e , qui soupireJe r ~ v eaux amours defunts .

n i n s t i n c t i v e fee l ing for harmonic freedom prompted the

young react ionary to wr i te a se t t i n g for the poem t h a t would

give wings to thought and would r e f l e c t the sadness of a dream

of dead loves . The tendency toward a new musical idiom was

evident i n t h i s song and car r ied through to per fec t ion in the

composit ion of the matured a r t i s t .

The e a r l i e r poets o f France a lso claimed an i n t e r e s t fo r

Debussy but i t was not u n t i l the l a t e r years of h i s l i f e t h a t

he se t t h e i r poems to music. He wrote as one group Trois

hansons de France in 1904.

Le temps a l a i s s ~son manteauDe vent , de f ro idure e t de pluye,E t s e s t ves tu de broderye,De s o l e i l r a i an t , c l e r e t beau.

- -Char les d 'Orleans .



2

La Grotte

Aupres de ce t te g ro t t e sombreoU l o n re sp i re un a i r s i doux,L'onde l u t t e avec l e s cai l louxEt l a lumiere avec que l 'ombre.

- -Tr i s t an l 'He rmi t e .

3

Pour ce que Plaisance e s t morteCe may suis vestu de noi r.

- -Char les d 'Orleans .

36

In these songs Nature again arouses the emotions. Music

suggest ive of wind and r a in , a gent le breeze, l impid and l i qu id

l i g h t s and shadows evoke the gladness of spr ing when winte r ' s

cloak i s thrown off - - the melancholy reminiscence near the dark

grot to and May in mourning because Pleasurei s

dead.The c r i t i c s of Debussy may have a difference of opinion

regarding some o f h i s compositions but they a l l agree t h a t in

h i s i n t e rp re t a t ion o f the poetry of Fran¥ois Vil lon he mani

f e s t s the height of h i s genius .

In 1910, not many years before h i s death , he composed the

Trois Bal lades de Vil lon.

Ballade de Vil lon a s'amyeTr i s t e e t l en t (avec une expression ou i l y a t an t

d 'angoisse que de regre t )

Faulse beaute , qui t an t me couste cher,

Rude en e ff ec t , hypocr i te doulceur,mour dure, plus que fe r, a mas cher.



37

The music evokes the agony of the pain of a cankerous love

t ha t slowly e a t s away as ru s t s e a t i ron .

Ballade que f e i t Vil lon a reques te de sa m ~ r epour p r i e r Nostre-Dame

Dame du c i e l regente t e r r i enne 1Emperiere des infernaux pa lus ,Recevez moy, vos t re humble chres t ienne .

• • •

En ces t e foy je vuei l vivre e t mourir.Of th i s poem Louis Cons says Elle e s t une des plus b e l l e s

e t une des e r n i ~ r e sf l eu r s de l a poesie re l ig ieuse du Moyen

ge vers sa f i n . • .Pour l u i comma pour sa pauvre ~ r l a

Vierge e s t le seul refuge.nlO

For one who did not cont inue to l i v e in the f a i t h in which

he was bapt ized , Debussy shows a devout and pious soul in ad

dress ing Our Lady and evokes the s p i r i t of the Moyen Age.

Ballades des femmes de Par i s

Prince aux dames par i s i ennes ,

De bien pa r l e r donnez l e p r ix .Vil lon i s gay and j ov ia l in t h i s ba l l ad as he compares

l ad ies o f other lands with the dames par i s i ennes , and in h i s

s e t t i n g Debussy enhances i t with charm and f lowing, rhythmic

grace .

lOLouis Cons, Anthologie L i t t e r a i r e de l a Renaissance Franc a i s e . New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1931, p .



38

That Debussy was g i f t ed with the imaginat ion of a genius

and possessed the f ine r s e n s i b i l i t i e s t h a t made i t poss ib le fo r

him to reach the peak of a r t i s t r y in music i s brought out in

the s tudy of him by Louis Laloy.

I l e t a i t reserve Claude Debussy de nousrendre le musicien humaniste, sens ib le ~ toutesl es beautes , sachant l i r e , sachant ~ c r i r eal o c c a s io n , e t sur tou t sachant vivre

Claude Debussy r u t le sauveur, parce q u i lvena i t au temps marque, parce q u i l ava i tm ~ d i t el exemple des a r t s f r a t e rne l s , e t s u r-t ou t p a r ~ eq u i l ava i t ecoute l e s voix de l an a t u r e ~ ~

l lLouis Laloy, Claude Debussy. Lea Bib l ioph i l e s f a n t a i s i s t e s ,1909, pp. 5 and 73.



CH PTER I I I

In October, 1889, Debussy paid h i s l a s t v i s i t to Bayreuth.

Once an ardent admirer of Wagner he now re turned to Par is d i s -

i l l u s io n e d and no longer in accord o r even in sympathy with the

German master. He had a d i f f e r en t concept ion of ope ra t i c a r t

and contended t h a t music should convey the inexpressib le . To

h i s f r iend , Ernes t Guiraud, h i s former professor a t the Conser-va to i r e , he confided: "Je rAve de poemes qui ne me condamnent

pas a p e r p ~ t r e rdes ac ts longs, pesants ; qui me fou rn i s sen t des

s ~ n e smobiles, diverses par l e s l ieux e t l e ca rac te re ; ou l es

personnages ne discutent pas , mais subissen t l a v ie e t l a . sor t l

Wherewould he

f i n dthe poet to s a t i s f y

h i sdesi res? He

searched fo r one whose theor ies were l i k e unto h i s own.

Celui qui, d i s a n t l e s choses demi, me p e r-met t ra de graffe r mon rave su r l e s ieu; qui con-cevra des personnages dont l h i s t o i r e e t l ademeure ne seront d'aucun temps, d'aucun l i eu ;qui ne m'imposera pas despotiquement l a scene af a i r e e t me l a i s s e r a l i b r e , i c i ou l a , d ' a v o i rplus d a r t que l u i e t de parachever son ouvrage.Mais q u i l n a i t c r a i n t e l Je ne su iv ra i pas l e serrements du theAtre l y r ique ou l a musique pre -domina isolement; ou l a poesie es t r e l ~ g u e ee tpasse au second plan , e t o u f f ~ epar l ' h ab i l l ag emusical , t rop lourd . u theAtre de musique onchante t rop . I l f a u d ra i t chanter quand cela envaut l a peine e t reserver l e s accents pathet iques .I l do i t y avoi r des differences dans l ' ene rg ie

lLeon Val las , Claude Debussy e t temps, p. 68.

39



de l e x p re s s lo n . I l e s t necessa l re par endro l t sde pelndre en camafen e t de se conten ter d uneg r l s a l l l e Rlen ne do l t r a l e n t l r le marchedu drame.2

4

Three years passed since Debussy so expressed himsel f ;

then in the spr ing of 1892 Maeter l lnck s poe t i c drama, Pel leas

Mellsande, was published in Brusse ls . During the summer of

t h a t same year Debussy picked up a copy o f the play in one o f

the bookshops of Par i s . e was ca r r ied away with enthusiasm

fo r he had found an idea l t ex t to se t t o music. No sooner had

he read the play than musical themes came to h i s mind suggest-

ive of the mysterious charac ters and legendary atmosphere.

These he immediately j o t t ed down. I t was the beginning of an

opera e n t i r e l y d i ff e ren t from any ever before wri t ten , a work

t ha t he labored over meticulously fo r t en yea rs , po l i sh ing and

c a re fu l ly r ev i s ing i t and often destroying page upon page t ha t

he had spent hours c rea t ing . When f i n a l l y completed and pre-

sented a t the Opera Comique al though i t suffered severe ly from

the pens of many c r i t i c s i t was en thus ia s t i ca l ly received and

praised by others and came to be regarded as a grea t master-

piece of the century.

A wri te r of our own day says:

The place of Pel leas in the upper brackets o fthe l y r i c drama depends on q u a l i t i e s which arepecu l i a r to i t and which are momentous in t h e i r

2Ib1d. , p . 68.



Act I

r e l a t i o n to the opera t i c form, even more than onthe ind iv idua l i ty of the musical idiom. The workholds i t s unique pos i t ion in the thea te r becauseof

1 . The word s e t t i n g , which enables the sungt ex t to move with almost the natura lness ofspeech;

2 . The sugges t ive background of the orches t r a ,which suppl ies fo r the drama what may be termeda tonal envelope, without cons t i tu t ing i t s e l f

e i t h e r an accompaniment fo r the s ingers o r ase r i e s of symphonic expressions in compet i t ionwith them;

3 . The mood expressiveness of the score which

in i t s r e t i cence and l ack o f emotional s t r e s stakes on the mystery of the other-wor ld ly, andends in being p ~ o f o u n l yhuman in i t s sympathyand 1 t s pathos .

The Opera

41

The opening theme suggests the haunt ing and melancholy

atmosphere of the fo re s t and the foreboding and f a t a l i s t i c doom

t h a t i s des t ined to engulf the charac te r s . The episode of the

meeting of the wounded Golaud, l o s t in the woods, with the

f r igh tened Melisande who s i t s t rembling and weeping a t the

edge of the well i s t r ea ted by Debussy with utmost s impl ic i ty

and re se rve . The poe t ' s words are chanted to s o f t chordal ac-

companiment and a t times the voices declaim alone. The episode

ends with unce r t a in ty and vagueness as Melisande asks t imidly

O ~ a l l e z-vous? Pla in t ive chords t ha t suggest ev i l premonition

accompany Golaud's reply, Je ne s a i s pas - - Je su i s perdu auss i .

3oscar Thompson Debussy, an and A r t i s t New York: DoddMead and Company 1934, p . 347.



4

Imminent doom and d i sas t e r are r e f l ec t ed in the clos ing theme.

Six months pass . e n e v i ~ v ereads to Arkel the l e t t e r t h a t

Golaud has wri t t en to Pe l l eas t e l l i n g of h i s marriage to Meli-

sande, a creature as s trange and mysterious as the day he f i r s t

met her. In p la in chant - -a tone speech o f beauty, accompanied

by organ- l ike chords, she begins as the score indicates- -s im

plement e t sans nuances-- Un so i r, je l ' a i trouvtie tou t en

pleura . Je ne sa i s n i son ~ g e n i qui e l l e e s t . The music

ceases abrupt ly and in a choked voice, she reads on e t

sanglote s i profondement qu'on a peur. A gr ipping fea r i s

marked by the in te r lude t ha t follows while she waits fo r King

Arke l ' s comment Cela peut nous pa ra l t r e et range, parce que

nous ne voyons jamais que l ' enve r s des des t inees , l ' enversm ~ m ede l a nAtre . This solemn declamation i s fol lowed by

powerful orches t ra l music suggest ing res ignat ion to the i n ev i t

able . Arkel s ings- -avec une emotion grave- - Qu ' i l en s o i t

omme i l a voulu; je ne me suis jamais mis en t r aver s d'une

dest inee; i l s a i t mieux que moi son aveni r.

Genevieve orders a lamp put up in the tower to welcome

Golaud and Melisande and the scene closes with a br i e f theme

of heightened hope t ha t gradual ly fades away symbolizing what

i s to fol low.

Gloom and so l i tude surround the old cas t l e and a slow,

sof t ,melancholy theme adds a sombreness to the dark gardens and



43

dense fo r es t t h a t f r igh ten Melisande who walks with Genevieve.

The music becomes i n t ens i f i ed as fea r engulfs Melisande; i t i s

symbolic of her to r tu red soul . Suddenly i t br ightens and from

e n e v i ~ v ecomes a ray of hope: Regardez de l aut re ce te , vous

aurez l a c l a r t e de l a m e r . Pel leas appears and jo ins them.

The th ree contemplate the calm s t i l l sea .

Nous aurons une t e m p ~ t ece t t e n u i t ; 11 y en a toutes l e s

nu i t s depuis quelque temps e t cependant e l l e e s t s i calma main

t enan t .

A ship leaves por t , sa i l o r s voices are heard gradual ly

fading away in the dis tance .

On s 'embarquera i t sans l e savoi r e t 1 on ne rev iendra i t

p lus .The music envelopes the scene; t i s haunting and oppres

s ive , f u l l of foreboding and doom.

As the act ends Pel leas t e l l s of h i s plans to leave .

Melisande 's ray of hope vanishes . Deeply s t i r r e d she whispers,

Oh 1 pourquoi par tez-vous? So so f t t h a t i t fades to 'p resque

plus · the music i s suggest ive of the d i s t r e s sed h ear t s .

Act I I .

To escape the s t i f l i n g hea t of noonday in the gardens,

Pe l l eas and Melisande f ind r e l i e f by the old abandoned wel l ,

the Fountain of the Blind . The music evokes the f reshness of



44

the cool c l ea r water t h a t once had miraculous powers and the

s t i l l n e s s and sec lus ion of the se t t i n g . Nature i s at tuned with

love and there i s gladness and l ightsome joy expressed in voice

and orchest ra t h a t surges on in animation as happiness increases

u n t i l suddenly M6lisande drops her wedding r ing t ha t she had

been toying with and t f a l l s i n to the founta in . The cas t l e

b e l l r ings ; then there i s s i lence . Frenzy se izes Melisande

with the thought of what Golaud wi l l say when he discovers her

l o s s . Her f e a r s increase and the music becomes more ag i ta ted

u n t i l Pel leas calmly declaims La v e r i t e , l a v e r i te . n i n t e r

lude follows t h a t suggests suspense, uncer ta in ty, g u i l t , and

punishment.

Melisande goes to at tend Golaudw o

has been wounded.Voice and orches t ra suggest her preoccupied and t roubled soul

as she so l i c i t o u s ly i nqu i re s about h i s comfort . She weeps, Je

ne su i s pas heureuse i c i . Golaud r a i i ze s t h a t l i f e in the old

cas t l e fo r one so young i s sad . The music augments the voice

in the u t t e r gloomy pic ture o f the old cas t l e and i t s aging

inhab i tan t s . There i s tenderness and a hopeful promise of a

b r ig h t e r fu ture and the music heightens in tone and color u n t i l

Golaud discovers the l o s t r ing . The orchest ra i s s i l e n t . La

bague de nos noces, oh es t - e l l e? he declaims. Angrily he de

mands t h a t she recover i t and sends her away to f ind Pel leas to



5

aid her in the search . This dramatic moment i s enhanced by the

orches t ra depic t ing the cave by the sea , the lovely colored

seashe l l s and the r i s ing t i d e ; they are f l ee t ing impressions

symbolic of Melisande's emotions. s the scene closes the

dis t r augh t maid sobs Je ne su i s pas heureuse and goes to

Pe l l e a s . n in ter lude augments the unhappy s i t u a t i o n .

s a na ture -pa in te r Debussy adds co lo r and s ign i f i cance to

the scene of the dark gro t to agains t a s t a r l e s s sky, to theper i lous pa th t ha t leads to the cave wi th in , and to the roar of

the grot to and the d i s t an t sea . This s i n i s t e r p ic tu re c lea r s

as P e l l ~ a ssings to a joyful accompaniment, Oh, voic i l a

c la r t61 But with the f lood of l i g h t Melisande i s h o r r i f i e d a t

the s igh t of three beggars as leep and c r i e s out , Allons-nous

en . The music expresses the weakness of Melisande's h e a r t and

body and slowly and qu ie t ly fades away.

Act I I I .

A legendary and f a i ry - l i k e atmosphere i s evoked by the

music t ha t speaks o f a n igh t o f l ove l iness with innumerable

s t a r s in the sky. With d e l i c a t e l y r i c a l beauty Debussy pa in t s

the background as M6lisande leaning from the window of one of

the towers of the chateau l e t s her h a i r f a l l in cascades to en-

velope P e l l ~ a s I l s m' inondent encore jusqu ' aux genoux 1 E t

i l s son t doux, i l s sont doux comme s ' i l s tombaient du c i e l l he



46

s ings . Then with growing animation and pass ion the music sup

por t s the ecs t a sy o f the lovers , but changes suddenly as the

s t a r t l e d Melisande s ings , J ' en t ends un b r u i t de pas . Laisse

moil I t i s Golaud who comes upon them. Ne jouez pas a ins i

dans l ' o b s c u r i t e , he declaims while the orchest ra i s s i l e n t .

Then laughing nervously he remarks, Vous ~ t e des enfan t s .

Quels enfan t s l Detached chords accentuate h i s nervousness and

he leaves taking Pe l l eas with him. There i s an in te r lude s o f t -

ly reminiscent of f l ee t ing happiness which works up with an

animated crescendo and then c loses so f t l y on ' t r e s l o i n t a i n . '

A theme marked ' l ou rd e t sombre' gives out the horrors of

the scene of the underground vau l t s of the c a s t l e . Golaud

s ings o f the s tagnant water and the s tench of death . Voyezvous l e gouffre Pel leas? he asks , and here the orches t ra

evokes a pic tu re of deep and dark s ign i f i cance . Pe l l eas c r i e s

out , J ' e tou ffe i c i , sor tons .

They leave in s i lence and r e l i e f comes to Pel leas as he

breathes again on the t e r r a c e . The music i s ' joyeux e t c l a i r . '

e sings of the sea and i t s f re sh breeze. Here Debussy has

pain ted a sympathet ic sea , sooth ing and r e f r esh ing , and l a t e r

he colors the f r esh ly watered f lowers along the wal l t h a t give

o ff a f r agran t scen t in s t r i k i n g con t ras t to the previous scene.

The b e l l s of noon r ing and there i s joy and ga ie ty in t h i s pas -



47

sage as ' l e s enfan t s d e s e n d e n t ~l a plage p o u r ~ba igner. '

Melisande appears a t a window in the tower and the happy music

ends as Golaud in ser ious declamation warns P e l l ~ a st h a t what

he overheard the night before must not be repeated . Ce n ' e s t

pas l a premiere fo i s que je remarque q u ' i l p o u r r a i t y avoir

quelque choses en t re vous.

Golaud, dis t r augh t with the thought of growing old and

with the f e a r t h a t a l l w i l l forsake him, quest ions l i t t l e

Yniold about what he knows of Pe l l eas and Melisande. The music

works up in i n t ens i ty and p ara l l e l s the growing rage and j e a l -

ousy in the old man. I t i s climaxed in f ru s t r a t i o n as he c r i e s

out , Ah 1 misere de ma vie 1 while heavy s i n i s t e r chords r e -

i t e r a t eagain

andagain h i s hopelessness.

Helaments , Je su i s

i c i comme un aveugle qui cherche son t r e so r au fond de l ' ocean .

Je su i s i c i comme un n o u v e a u - n ~perdu dans l a f o r ~ t . In the

c los ing i n t e r lu d e , the music pulsa tes with pangs o f j ea lousy

and becomes more and more animated and ag i ta ted suggest ing the

r i s i n g anger in Golaud's hea r t .

Act IV.

Melisande i s stunned t o l ea rn t ha t Pe l l eas i s going away.

She agrees to meet him a t the Fountain of the Blind fo r, Ce

sera l e dern ie r s o i r . A tender episode follows as Arkel t e l l s

Melisande how much he has p i t i e d he r. Hopefully he s ings , Un



48

peu de jo ie e t un peu de s o l e i l vont enf in r e n t r e r dans l a

maison. With the music a l i g h t breaks through d ispe l l ing the

darkness. I t symbolizes Melisande's f a i r and gent le youth .

Et c ' e s t t o i , maintenant , qui va ouvr i r l a p o r t e a l ' e r e

nouvel le que j ' e n t r e v o i s . Muted chords in marked con t ras t sug

gest ive of youth and old age accompany Arke l ' s theme, Lea

v i e i l l a r d s ont besoin quelquefois de toucher de l eu rs l ev res l e

f ron t d'une femme ou l a joue d 'un enfant pour c ro i re encore

l a f r a icheur de l a vie e t e lo igne r un moment l ea menaces de l a

mort .

Golaud a t t h i s moment appears and denounces Melisande in

angry accusat ions . The music i s sharp and accented as he

se i zes he r by the h a i r and throws her to the ground with a mad-dened shr iek . Brought to h i s senses by Arkel and ' a f f ec t an t un

calme souda in , ' Golaud leaves a l l to f a t e . J ' a t t e n d r a i le

hasa rd . The scene c loses as old Arkel sings compassionately,

Si j ' e t a i s Dieu, j ' a u r a i s p i t i e du coeur des hommes. Debussy

has found music f u l l of p i t y and unders tanding fo r the p o e t ' s

words and the c los ing in te r lude i s one of compassion and pro-

found emotion.

The love scene by the founta in which takes place in t h i s

ac t had a spec ia l appeal to Debussy when he read the play fo r

the f i r s t t ime. e was of the same opinion as Maeterl inck who



49

contended tha t the t hea t re should rep resen t the t rue inner l i f e ,

one of contemplat ion. In t h i s scene which he chose above a l l

others in the play to be the f i r s t to s e t to music, Debussy 's

pr inc ip les are most c l e a r ly def ined and executed. he ac t ion i

continuous and un in te r rup ted ; the musical emotion and the emo-

t i ons of the charac ters in the drama are made s imul taneous;

the music does not h inder the changes of sent iment and pass ion

f e l t by the charac te r s , and in t h e i r ges tu res , t h e i r c r i e s ,

t h e i r joys and in t h e i r sorrows there i s p e r f e c t l i b e r t y with-

out any r e s t r a i n t .

s the scene opens Pel leas declaims sadly, C'es t le der-

n ie r so i r. I l f a u t que tout f i n i s s e . J ' a i joue comma un en-

f an t au teur d'une chose que je nes o u p ~ o n n i s

pas . he musicthen augments h i s s t a t e of f ea r and h i s des i r e to f l ee without

seeing Melisande again . J ' a i joue, en r ~ v eau tour des

pieges de l a des t inee • • • Je f e r a i s mieux de m'en a l l e r sans

l a revo i r. Presen t ly Melisande appears and music of e c s t a t i c

joy and l y r i c a l beauty colors the episode as the lovers meet,

u n t i l t i s climaxed with a moment o f s ig n i f i c a n t s i l e n c e . he

fee l ing of heightened and profound emotion i s expressed in ex-

treme s impl ic i ty without orches t ra and in the n a tu ra l in tona-

t i ons o f spoken French, Pe l l eas i s heard t s ing , Je t ' a ime ,

to which in a whisper Melisande responds, Je t ' a ime a u s s i .



50

Clanging chords accompany the gra t ing sound of the c a s t l e

gates as they are closed fo r the n igh t . From the shadow of a

t ree Golaud sp ies upon the lover s , who seeing him, despera te ly

bid each other farewe l l . Pel leas s ings , Oh, oh 1 tou tes l e s

e to i l e s tombent " Groups of descending chords evoke the f a l l

ing s t a r s and suggest the inev i t ab le doom. Golaud s t r ikes

Pe l l eas down with his sword. Melisande in b rea th less f l i g h t

s ings , "Ohl Ohl Je n ' a i pas de courage " and the ac t ends withan in te r lude express ing t e r r o r .

.£1 v.A sad and sombre atmosphere i s evoked by music f u l l of

tenderness and f ee l ing tha t sus ta ins the poe t ' s words in t h i s

f i n a l ac t . Melisande, pale and wan, l i e s i l l in bed. Golaud,tormented with remorse, accuses himself of her i l l n e s s . e

begs her forgiveness and s ings , "Je t ' a i f a i t t an t de mal,

Melisande. Je ne puis pas te d i r e le mal que je t ' a i f a i t .

Mais je l e vo is , je le vois s i c la i rement aujourd 'hui , depuis

le premier jou r. Et t o u t e s t de ma faute , tout ce qui e s t

a r r i v e . " The music expresses repentance but suddenly i t

changes suggest ing the reawakening ja iousy in Golaud's h ear t .

e demands the t r u th . "As-tu aime Pel leas?" She answers sim

ply and quickly, Mais oui , je l ' a i aime. o e s t - i l ? The

fury in Golaud's mind increases and sharp accented music sug-



51

gests h i s anxie ty to l ea rn the t r u th . Ominous chords accompany

h i s declamat ion, Je ne saura i j amais l Je vais mourir i c i

comme un aveugle1 Arkel en te r s and the music i s again expres

s ive of tenderness and compassion. He shows Melisande her

ch i ld and as i f in prophesy the mother mournfully s ings , El le

e s t p e t i t e - - E l l e va pleure r auss i . J ' a i p i t i ~d ' e l l e .

The serving-women of the c a s t l e en te r and s t and s i l e n t l y

along the wall to awai t Melisande 's death . A b r i e f in te r ludeof sho r t detached tones bespeaks the imminent gloom. Desperate

l y, Golaud t r i e s to speak s.gain to Melisande alone but Arkel

quie t s him, aware tha t a soul i s about to depar t from ea r th .

The hushed solemnity of the music evokes the sombre atmosphere

of the death chamber, and gravely the old man s ings , I l f au t

p ar l e r a voix basse , maintenant . I l ne f a u t plus l ' i n q u i e t e r .

L ' b e humaine e s t t r ~ s s i l enc ieuse . The s p i r i t of Melisande

i s symbolized in the music tha t abounds in pathos and which ac

companies the words of the poet , C ' e t a i t un p e t i t ~ t r s i

t r an q u i l l e , s i t imide e t s i s i l enc ieux . C ' e t a i t un pauvre p e t i t

~ t r mysterieux comme tou t le monde.

s the serving-women kneel in prayer, the soul of Meli

sande depar t s .

C ' es t au tour de l a pauvre p e t i t e , i s Arke l ' s solemn

comment Another l i f e remains to replace the tu rbu len t s p i r i t



52

of Melisande. The clos ing in te r lude symbolizes the f l i g h t of a

soul t ha t in l i f e was shrouded in mystery and remained myster i -

ous to the end.

Did Debussy i n h i s score of P e l l ~ a se t M ~ l i s a n d eaccomplis

a l l t h a t he hoped to do when f i r s t he read the Maeter l inck

drama? The words o f Romain Rolland are most convincing t h a t he

did :

e t h ~ i t r emusical , t e l que nous l imaginonsen France (s inon t e l qu on nous le s e r t ) , do l to f f r i r l harmonie des a r t s qui concourent leformer; nous demandons que l a balance s o i t tenueegale en t re l a poesie e t l a musique; e t s i l eu r6qui l ib re deva i t ~ t r e rompu nous p r e f ~ r e r i o n stoujours que ce rAt au p r o f i t de l a poesie ,ce t t e musique, plus consciente e t plus ra i sonnee C e s t pour ~ t r e revenu, avec des moyensnouveaux, a ce t idea l de sobr ie te musicale e t ded e s i n t ~ r e s s e m e n t

qui met l e genie du compositeurau serv ice du drame, que Debussy a e te s i f o r t .I l n a po in t cherche a dominer l e poeme de Maeterl i nck , l e n g l o u t i r sous l e s f l o t s de sa musique;11 s e s t ass imi le l u i , au poin t qu a l h e u r epresen te aucun r a n ~ a i sne s e r a i t plus capablede penser une page du ~ r a m e san i que l a musiquede Debussy chante au s s i t o t en l u i .

4Romain Rolland, Musicians d a u jo u rd h u i . Par is : Hachette e tCie . , 1908, pp. 200-201.



CH PTER IV

In no o ther land but France could music so thoroughly

na t i ona l such as Debussy wrote be born. He was a t r ue ch i l d o f

France, a romantic dreamer, an arden t l ove r of na tu re and the

b e a u t i fu l as well as sensuous, imagina t ive , and a r t i s t i c . Typi

c a l Gal l i c q u a l i t i e s are ev iden t in a l l h i s composi t ions ; they

are l og ica l , d ig n i f i e d , devoid o f extravagance, and possess ana r t i s t i c f inesse and r e s t r a i n t . He i s a glowing example of

French cu l tu re and p u r i t y of t a s t e . Blessed with a pene t ra t ing

mind, a keen musical ea r, and a v iv id imaginat ion , toge ther with

the oppor tun i t i e s of the a r t i s t i c environment i n to which he was

thrown, t i s no t surpr i s ing t h a t he should develop a unique an

in imi tab le s ty le and one f a r surpass ing h i s predecessors .

He was the poet of mis ts and foun ta ins , clouds and r a i n ;

of dusk and o f g l i n t s of sun l igh t through the l eaves ; he was

moonstruck and seas t ruck and a l o s t sou l under a sky bespent

with s t a r s . All h i s senses were t r ibu ta ry to h i s musical i n s p i

r a t ion . • • In t ransmut ing Nature in to harmony he has made

sonorous h i s own emot ions ." l

In h i s o rc h e s t r a l works and h i s piano compositions the i n -

f luence of the symbol i s t s and impres s ion i s t s i s qu i t e as appar-

Thompson, Debussy, Man and A r t i s t p . 23.

53



5

ent as was t raced in deal ing with h i s songs, the Prelude a

l Apres-midi d un Fauna, and the opera, Pe l l eas e t Melisande.

Seul de tous ses contemporains, Debussy, quiau ra i t voulu ~ t r pe in t re e t qui devai t s e s s a y e rdans l a poesie , mani fes ta i t a lo rs une s e n s i b i l i t een accord p a r f a i t avec ce l l e s des impress ion is tese t des symbolis tes . omme eux i l vou la i t e v i t e rl e s l ignes regu l ie res e t l e s rythmes s y m e t r i q ~ e s

en r r ~ t n tdes formes, des coupes, i n ed i t e s .

His grea te s t o rc h e s t r a l achievement, wri t ten in 1905, con

s i s t s of a group of impressionis t ic sketches whose very t i t l e shave a poe t i c meaning. Not in any other composit ion did he em-

ploy such l a rge orches t ra l e ffec t s or give such f r ee r e in to

h i s imaginat ion. To t h i s work, he gave the t i t l e :

La Mer t r o i s esquisses symphoniques)y:-De l aube midi sur l a mer.2 . Jeux de vagues.3 . Dialogue du vent e t de l a mer.

Debussy s sea i s a sea of dreams, vaporous and evanescent, a

tone pa in t ing pure ly sub jec t ive , a myst ic v is ion of the ever

changing and r e s t l e s s aspects of the deep, t e r r i f y i n g and fo re

boding, y e t i t beckons and lu res with i t s weird and capr ic ious

enchantment, i t s mysterious voices and diaphanous phantoms.The l i s t e n e r i s wont to embark upon t h a t unknown and phantasmal

sea o f dreams to v i s i t lands apar t from a world of r e a l i t y whe

longings and desi res are s a t i s f i e d .

v a l l a s , Claude Debussy e t temps, p . 75.



55

Three Nocturnes fo r orches t r a wr i t t en from 1897 to 1899 in

elude:

NuagesF ~ t e sS i r ~ n e s(scored fo r o rches t r a

and choir of women s voice.s, though they s ing nowords. I t i s t r ea t ed as p a r t of the ins t rumenta lf ab r i c . )

Debussy was concerned only with the motion and rhythm of

the ob jec t s in the Nocturnes. Again, i t i s not the r e a l i t y but

fan tas ia s upon the objec ts and in h i s imaginat ion he l inge rs in

a f a i r y region . n explanat ion from Debussy himself gives

s igni f icance to h i s work.

Le t i t r e 'Nocturnes ' veut prendre i c i un sensplus general e t su r tou t p lus deco ra t i f . I l nes a g i t done pas de l a forme hab i tue l l e du Noc-

tu rne , mais de tou t ce que ce mot cont ien t d ' im-press ions e t de l u m i ~ r e sspec ia les .

'Nuages ' : c e s t l a s p e c t immuable du c i e l avecl a marche l en te e t melancolique des nuages, f i n i ssan t dans une agonie gr i se , doucement t e in t ee deb lanc . ·

' F ~ t e s ' :c e s t le mouvement, le rythme d a n s ~ n tde l 'a tmosphere avec des ec la t s de lumiere brusque,c e s t auss i 1 1 episode d 'un cor tege (v is ion eblouis-sante e t chimerique) passan t a t r ave r s l a f ~ t e ,

se confondant en e l l e ; mais le fond r e s t e , s ' ob -s t ine e t c e s t toujours l a f ~ t e e t son melange demusique, de p o u s s i ~ rlumineuse pa r t i c ipan t unrythme t o t a l .

' S i r ~ n e s ' :c e s t l a m e r e t son rythme inno t rab le ,pu is , parmi l e s vagues argentees de lune , s ' en tend ,r i t e t passe l e chant mysterieux des Sirenes .3

I t i s sa id t h a t Debussy never v i s i t e d Spain except to cross

the f r o n t i e r fo r one day to see a b u l l - f i g h t in San Sebast ian ,

• 92 •



56

y e t he was ab le to t r a n s l a t e i n t o h igh ly colored sound what he

imagined Spain to be - - a Spain o f h i s own d e s i r e s . e chose to

c a l l i t by the name the ancient Greeks gave t when he wrote

h i s symphonic poem fo r o rches t r a in th ree sec t i ons :

Ib e r i a1 . Par l e s rues e t par l e s chemins.2 . Lea Parfums de l a n u i t .3 . Le Matin d 'un jour de f ~ t e

Manuel de Fa l l a , the Spanish o m p o s e ~sa i d of the composi t ion ,

"the echoes from the v i l l a g e s a kind of s e v i l l a n a - - th e gener ic

theme o f the work--which seems to f l o a t in a c l e a r atmosphere

of s c i n t i l l a t i n g l i g h t ; the in tox ica t ing s p e l l of Andalusian

n ig h t s , the f e s t i v e gayety of a people dancing to the joyous

s t r a i n s o f bands, g u i t a r s and bandurras • • • a l l t h i s whir l s

in the a i r approaches and rece ives , and our imaginat ion i s

con t inua l ly kept awake and dazzled by the power of an i n t ense ly

express ive and r i c h l y var i ed music ."4

In mate r i a l and in h i s var ious forms of t rea tment f o r h i s

piano composi t ions , Debussy employs only the sub jec t s t h a t are

su i t ab l e to h i s own p a r t i c u l a r and novel s t y l e . With them he

i s s t i l l the poet and dreamer, ever crea t ing an enchant ing

imaginat ive world through i l l u s i o n s and tona l images, thus

ing inward thoughts and emotions. e has searched fo r and faun

e ff e c t i v e l ove l iness in co lo r and atmosphere to c rea te any mood

4Thompson ~ · £ 1., p . 170.



he might wish to evoke.

Two p ar t i cu l a r l y f ine examples are to be found in the

su i t e s known a s:

Images, P r e m i ~ r ese r i e . 1905.Ref le t s dans l ' e a u .

ommage a RameauMouvement

Images, e u x i ~ m ese r i e . 1908.Cloches A t r ave rs l e s f e u i l l e s .

Et l a lune descend sur le templequi f u t .

Poissons d ' o r .

57

Mystery and rapturous beauty are woven toge ther in these

tone p ic tu re s ; the clouds play upon the shimmering blue water ;

the s i lvery moonlight i s luminous and l i qu id ; the sound of

be l l s ca r r i e s from a fa r and mingles with the gen t l e swaying of

the l eaves ; and viv id splashes of orange and gold suggest the

grace of swimming f i s h .

Picturesque though they a re , they have a more profound

s ign i f i cance . I t i s the world around u s , but seen with an i n -

tense and unique v is ion , and the melancholy t h a t pervades t h i s

music i s no personal complaining but the under lying melancholy

of human l i f e i t s e l f . 5

Of a l l h i s composi t ions , Debussy's two books of twenty-

four preludes show him as the highly ind iv idual crea t ive a r t i s t

t ha t he was. Each shor t work i s d i s t i n c t i v e in cha rac t e r and

5cons tant Lambert, Music Hol London: Faber and Faber, 1934,• 35.



58

form and unl ike any models of h i s predecessors . They are

shadowy p ic tu res with melt ing ou t l ines and are purposely void

of d e t a i l . They are as var i ed and unique as t h e i r unusual and

s ign i f i can t t i t l e s and have ome to be known as examples of

sonorous impressionism.

Like the symbolis ts , Debussy went back to fo lk - lo r e and

legends fo r sub jec t matter as in La a t h ~ d r a l eenglout ie in

which be l l s are heard from under the water as they r ing from thchurch bur ied beneath the sea . Other composit ions were in

sp i red by a Greek f r i e z e a pos t card received from China and

one from Spain , f i reworks seen on a ho l iday, the eccen t r i c

wooden d o l l of the Fol ies Bergeres, and boats l y ing a t anchor.

Nature alone was h i s insp i ra t ion fo r wri t ing many other gems.

In g iv ing t i t l e s to h i s pre ludes , which, by the way, he

placed a t the end r a th e r than a t the beginning of the work, he

d i f f e r s from o the r composers, for u n t i l h i s day pre ludes were

known only by the opus number.

In the complete l i s t o f these composit ions i t seems f i t to

give the opening no ta t ions fo r the i n t e rp re t a t ion by the p e r

former, fo r they p a r t i a l l y suggest the impress ion i s t i c mood and

atmosphere tha t Debussy in tended to evoke with his music.

Douze Preludes , l e r l i v r e

I . Danseuses de Delphes (Lent e t grave--doux

e t soutenu.)



I I . Voiles M o d e r ~ - - d a n sun rhythme sansr igeur e t ca ressen t . )

I I I . La vent dans l a pla ine (Animee--aussileg6rement que poss ib le . )

IV. Les sons e t l a s parfums tournent dans l a i rdu so i r Baudelaire. (Modere, harmonieux e t

souple . )

v Las co l l ines d'Anacapri (Tres modere.)

VI. Des pas sur l a neige (Tr i s ta e t l e n t . )

VII . Ce qu 'a vu le vent d 'ouest (Animee e ttumultueux.)

VII I . La f i l l e au cheveux de l i n T r ~ scalme e tdoucement ex p res s i f . )

IX. La s6renade interrompue (Moderement anima.)

X. La cathedrale englout ie (Profondement calma[dans une brume doucement sonore] . )

XI. La danae de Puck (Capricleux e t l eg e r. )

XII . Minstrels (Modere ~ e r v e u xe t avec h u m e u ~. )

Douze Preludes, 2me l i v re

I . Broui l la rds M o d ~ r 6 - - e x t r e m e m e n tegal e tl eger. )

I I . Feu i l l e s mortes (Lent e t melanchol ique.)

I I I . La puer ta del Vino (Mouvement de Habanera.)

IV. Les fees sont d 'exquises danseuses (Rapidee t l eger. )

V. Bruyeres (Calma, doucement expres s i f . )

VI. General Lavine--eccent r ic (Dans l e s ty l e e t

le mouvement d 'un cake-walk.)

59



VII . La t e r r a s se des audiences du c l a i r de lune(Lent .}

VII I . Ondine (Scherzando.}

60

IX. Hommage ~ S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C. (Grave.)

X. Canope T r ~ scalme e t doucement t r i s t e . )

XI. Les t i e r ce s al ternees Moderement animee.)

XII . Feux d ' a r t i f i c e "

Debussy ecoute l a nature d'une o r e i l l e conf idante . De touce qu 'e l l e off re a ses yeux, a son t a c t , ~ son imagination, 11

f a i t de l 'harmonie; i l p ra te une conscience musicale a ce qui

n ' a poin t de conscience. I l es t l a faune e t l a nafade, l e r ~ v

de l a lune sur l e s marbres e t l a m ~ l a n c o l i edes t e r r a s s e s , l e

poete du vent e t de l 'ecume, de l a m e r e t des eaux de tou t ce

qui e s t vapeur, f l u id e t nuages. I l s a i s i t le s o l e i l e t le

rythme des rayons. Toutes l e s eaux l u i pa r l en t , e t l a p lu ie

m ~ m qui r a f r a c h i t l es pleura du matin Tout obje t l u i e s t

sent iment e t sa musique e s t une pe in tu re de l ' emot ion par l 'emo

t ion : l a sub t i le magie des accords en e s t l ' in s t rumen t ; e t l a

nuance, le moyen dont i l p o s s ~ d etous l e s sec re t s e t tou t -pu is

sant alchemiste. La nuance e s t l a fee de Debussy. La nuance

e s t l a var ia t ion dans l a profondeur e t dans l e sent iment a

nuance e s t de l ' e s p r i t . " 6

6Andre

Suares, Debussy. Par i s : Emile-Paulf r e r es ,

1922, pp.2021.



62

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Dickinson, Edward. The Study o f the History of Music.c. Scr ibne r ' s Sons;-1931. -

Dumesnil, Maurice. Claude Debussy, Master of Dreams. NewYork: Ives Washburn, 1940.

Emmanuel Maurice. Pel leas e t Melisande; etude h i s to r iq u ee t c r i t i que . p a r i s : M e l l o t t ~ e1925.

Gilman, Lawrence. Debussy's P e l l ~ a se t Melisande; a guide topera. New York: - r ra rpe r ' s , 190, .

Gray, Ceci l .

Laloy, Louis.

A Surveyuof Contemporary Music.-Oxford n iv e r s i t y Press , 1938.

London:

Claude Debussy. Les Bibl iophi les f an ta i s i s t e s1969.

Musique re t rouvee. Par i s : Plon, 1928.

Lambert, Constant. Music Ho London: Faber and Faber, 1934

Leich t en r i t t , Hugo. Music His tory and Ideas . Cambridge,Massachuset ts : Harvard Univers i ty Press , 1938

Liebich, Louise. Claude Achi l le Debussy. New York and London: J . Lane, 1907.

Mauclair, Camille. His to i re de l a Musique Europeenne.Par is : Fischbacher, 1921.

McKinney and Anderson. Music in History. New York: American Book Companj; 1940.

Michaud, Regis . Modern Thoufhts and Li te ra tu re in France.New York and ondon: Funk and Wa@1lalls andCompany 1934.

Nef, Karl .n

Outl ine of the History of Music.Columbia-univers i ty Press , l935.New

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63

Poizat , Alfred . u Classicisme au Symbolisme. Par i s : Lanouvelle revue c r i t i que , 1929.

Le Symbolisme. Par is : La Renaissance duLivre , 1919.

Raymond Marcel. e Baudelaire au Surreal isme. Par i s :K. Correa, 1933. - -

Raymond Ernes t . ~ a r g ede l a Melee Symboliste. Par is :Mercure de France, 1936.

La Melee Symboliste, Vola. 1 , 2 , and 3 .Par i s : La Renaissance du Livre , 1920.

Rolland, Romain. Musicians d 'au jourd 'hu i . Par is : Hachet tee t c l e . 1908.

Spaulding, Walter R. Music:and New York:1920.

hB : and a Language. BostonThe Arthur P. Schmidt Company

S u a r ~ sAndre. Debussy. Par is : Emile-Paul f r e r e s , 1922.

Symons Arthur. The Symbolist Movement in L i t e ra tu re .LoiidOn: Constable and Company 1911.

Thompson Oscar. Debussy, E£ A r t i s t . New York: DoddMead and Company 1934.

Valery, Paul . Varia te . Par is : Gallimard.

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Claude D ebussz temps. Par i s : F. Alean1932.

Von Meek Nadejda and Bowen Catherine D Beloved Friend

the influence of the symbolists and the impresssionists on claude debussy

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