Tiffany Bux Music 001 Professor Deaver 26 April 2010 The Life and Works of Claude Debussy Achille-Claude

e Debussy was a French composer who lived from August 22nd, 1862 to March 25th, 1918. Although he is not considered one of the most influential of all the French composers he is noted specifically for his ability to create his sensory components not formed around one key or pitch. Debussys music defines the transition from the late-Romantic style into a more twentieth century modern style. There is not much to be said about Debussys childhood; most think it wasnt all that wonderful since he rarely liked to speak of it. All that is really known is the basics. He was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye and is the eldest of five children. His parents were named Manuel-Achille Debussy (father) and Victorine Manoury Debussy (mother); his father owned a shop where he sold china and crockery while his mother worked as a seamstress (Diane Enget 2). In 1867 Debussy and his family moved to Paris. This is where he met Gabrielle Dupont, whom Debussy was in a relationship with for ten years. Debussy was quite the traveler after he and his family made the move to Paris. Debussy then left Gabrielle Dupont for a fashion model by the name of Rosalie Texier, whom he married. In 1904 Debussy became bored with Texier and moved on to his next devotee, Emma Bardac, the wife of a Parisian banker. Upon eloping with Emma

Bardac, she was pregnant with his child, Claude-Emma Debussy (also known as Chouchou). Unfortunately, Calude-Emma passed away a year after her father due to the diphtheria epidemic of 1919 (Steve Schwartz for Classical Net 1). However, during all of Debussys love affairs and conquests he managed to accomplish many things for being so under-looked. According to Diane Enget, In 1880 and 1881 he went for summer employment to Russia as pianist to Tchaikovsky's patron, Mme von Meck. Failing to win the Prix de Rome in 1883, he succeeded in 1884 with the cantata L'Enfant prodigue. He spent 2 years at the Villa Medici, Rome, where he met Liszt, Verdi, and Boito, and heard Lohengrin (Enget 2). After Debussy won the Prix de Rome for his cantata The Prodigal Son, a poem set to music, he traveled the Rome the following year. While in Rome in 1885, he wrote the opera Tristan und Isolde; however while writing this opera, Debussy grew terribly homesick for Paris. He returned to his home (Paris) in 1887 (Encyclopedia of World Biography 1). In 1889 Debussy saw a performance by the Javanese gamelan, which affected him strongly by ways of influence. According to the website, Encyclopedia of World Biography, This orchestra, with its variety of bells, gongs, and xylophones (instruments made up of a series of wooden bars that sound different notes when struck with two small hammers), produced a series of soft effects and rhythms that Debussy loved (1). From 1890 to 1900 Debussy brought several features of the gamelan into play with others already present in his style to produce a new kind of sound. This new sound led to many of Debussys finest masterpieces such as Ariettes oublies , Prlude l'aprs-midi d'un faune (Afternoon of a Faun), and the String

Quartet; all of which were mostly composed during Debussy's mature period (Encyclopedia of World Biography 1). During Debussys mature period, he completed his first large-scale piece called Nocturnes (1893-1899). Nocturnes was produced while he worked on his on his only completed opera, Pellas et Mlisande. Debussy based his opera on a play by Maurice Maeterlinck. After its completion in 1902, the publicity surrounding the opera made Debussy the most controversial musical figure in France (Encyclopedia of World Biography 1). During this time period in France, people either loved Debussys work or hated it. Regardless of that fact, Pellas et Mlisande still remains to be the key work of Debussys creative life. The word nocturne brings to mind a nighttime picture while listening to the music. According to the book Listen by Joseph Kerman and Gary Tomlinson, Debussys Three Nocturnes... might be describes as impressionist symphonic poems, though they have no narrative programs. They suggest various scenes without attempting to illustrate them literally (Kerman and Tomlinson 332). When writing Three Nocturnes, Debussys main influence was an artist by the name of James McNeill Whistler, who painted many famous atmospheric paintings (332). The first... Clouds, is a pure nature picture The second, Festivals, depicts mysterious nighttime fairs and parades. The third, Sirens, includes a womens chorus along with orchestra singing not with words but just vowels adding an unforgettable timbre to the orchestra (Kerman and Tomlinson 332). In Clouds, the listener first hears a quiet series of chords coming from clarinets and bassoons. The sound of the clarinets and bassoons give off a feeling of

cumulus clouds moving softly through the sky. The chords are not definitive and make no strong or bold declarations; this is said to be why it is one of Debussys finest innovations (332). Fates paints a very lively bunch of people celebrating and dancing. The music gradually gets louder and mixes with the music of the dancing. Eventually it dies away as the procession disappears into the distance (Steve Schwartz for Classical Net 1). The third movement, Sirens, describes the sea and the many rhythms that can be heard when we listen to it. It pays note to the Greek mythological creature, the siren, as she sings and attracts sailors, which she then kills. It gives off an overall feel of the ocean and the calling and rhythm of the waves (Steve Schwartz for Classical Net 1). Another one of Debussys most famous works is La Mer, Trois Esquisses Symphoniques or The Sea, Three Symphonic Sketches. Like Nocturnes, this piece is also divided into three movements. The first movement is titiled "De Paube a midi sur la Mer" ("From Dawn till Noon on the Ocean). The second is Jeux de Vagues" ("Play of the Waves"). Lastly, the third is called "Dialogue du Vent et de la Mer" ("Dialogue of Wind and Sea") (Old and Sold Antiques Digest 1). According to the website Old and Sold Antiques Digest, The movement begins as mysteriously as the echo in a sea-shell. The listener gets the feeling of the ocean crashing in the sun as winds whisper and waves curl. The mood becomes tumultuous, as the movement gets louder. Debussy does not use any melodic lines,

but rather keeps a share strong timbre throughout the piece. The middle movement of this symphonic structure sounds like a dance of elements (the wind, the ocean spray, etc). The last movement is wilder ocean filled with sharper winds then any of the previous; it is almost as if one is hearing the sounds of a storm (Old and Sold Antiques Digest 1). Debussy uses his scale of whole tone intervals and harmonic crashes, and in a broad figure that wonderfully reflects the surge and motion of the great white-manned horses of the sea (Old and Sold Antiques Digest 1). During Debussy's life, critics of that time period compared his music to the Impressionist painters. They applied the term Impressionism to his music so that whenever someone thought of Debussy this would be the first thing that would come to a persons mind. Many times, Debussy found his music being compared to a painting, but rarely to the Impressionists. This probably worked out for the best because much he did not care for many Impressionists works (Steve Schwartz for Classical Net 1). However, Steve Schwartz feels Debussy does not reproduce impressions, but physical realities (Classical Net 1). In Paris on March 25, 1918, Achille-Claude Debussy passed away due to rectal cancer. This was at a time eight months before the French could celebrate a victory during World War I. In the present day his wife and daughter are buried with him (Diane Enget 2). Debussy will always be remembered for his famous works. Paris recognizes him as one of the most influential people of their culture. He will live on through his music as orchestras and soloists continue to play them today.

Works Cited Kerman, Joseph. Tomlinson, Gary. Listen Sixth Edition. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. Pg 332. Enget, Diane. "Debussy Life in Jersey by Diane Enget". 24 April 2010 <http://www.litart.co.uk/index.htm> Schwartz, Steve. "Classical Net". 24 April 2010 <http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/debussy.php>. "Encyclopedia of World Biography ". 24 April 2010 <http://www.notablebiographies.com/De-Du/Debussy-Claude.html>. "Old and Sold Antiques Digest". 24 April 2010 <http://www.oldandsold.com/articles06/sy46.shtml>.