Composer of the Month

Claude Debussy (1862 – 1918) is this month’s Composer of the Month. He lived in Paris de majority of his life. He is remembered as the biggest French composer of his time since his death. However, he did not achieve this status immediately or without struggle. Like every other composer, he had to find his way. And he took his time. Moreover, in order for him to survive, he had to conform to the popular music in his younger years. A lot of music from this period, the mid-1880s, was written for the poems by late French poets, which were very popular at the time.

In de 1890s Debussy discovered his own style. Multiple compositions play a key role, one of them being his string quartet. It consists of the same four parts of a classical quartet, but that’s pretty much the only similarity to other classical masters. Debussy was inspired for this work by old composition techniques. The rhythms are erratic, the melodies are rarely suited for vocals, and the musical interplay can be very complex.

In the same year he also wrote many other songs. The biggest factor for the development of his own musical language, were these melodies based on French texts. The French language does have a cadence and accents, but it is much less consistent in rhythm. This combination of cadance and freedom intrigued him. Many elder French composers treated the texts as if they were old German texts, and therefore they have much more consistency in details. In contrast, Debussy and others wanted to translate the freedom of the French language into their music. This led to a completely different structure. Moreover, Debussy loved the parlando manner of singing, as if the lyrics were recited rather than sung. His songs taught him how to interpret freedom in musical form, which is something he would later use in his instrumental music.

1. Sept poèmes de Banville, Claude Debussy. Anne Marie Rodde (soprano) and Noël Lee (piano).
2. Deux arabesques, Claude Debussy. Rudolf Firkusny (piano).
3. String quartet, Claude Debussy. Orpheus String Quartet.
4. Trois chansons de Bilitis, Claude Debussy. Cathy Berberian (soprano) and Bruno Canino (piano).