In the midst of searching for his own unique musical voice, Claude Debussy discovered the works of the Symbolist writers Maurice Maeterlinck, Stéphane Mallarmé, and Paul Verlaine, and thus found a reflection in words of all he sought in his own music. Maeterlinck provided him the means of escaping Wagner’s operatic influence and the libretto to his one and only complete opera Pelléas et Mélisande; Mallarmé offered the inspiration for his revolutionary orchestral tone poem Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune; Verlaine, the text for nearly one-third of Debussy’s total output of song.
The discovery of Verlaine’s poetry was particularly pivotal in the development of Debussy’s mature style. Both men were fond of nuance and sought the means, particularly through rhythm, to reinvent their respective art forms. Thus, it is no surprise that Verlaine came to have a greater influence over the composer than any of Debussy’s other artistic contemporaries. In 1903, Debussy composed his Ariettes oublieés, a song cycle based on Verlaine’s poetry. Numbering six songs in all, the cycle is a clear display of Debussy’s burgeoning mature style, as he fed off the inspiration he received from Verlaine and distanced himself from the early French masters he idolized.
In the opening song of the cycle, C’est l’extase langoureuse (“It is the languorous ecstasy”), Debussy’s music is magnificently reflective of Verlaine’s text. Like the feelings and sensations described in the poem, the melodies and harmonies of Debussy’s setting seem to float dreamily on, drifting in some frozen moment of time. Joseph DuBose
Classical Music | Mezzo-Soprano
Claude Debussy
C'est l'extase Play
Recorded on 02/15/2009, uploaded on 05/02/2010
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
In the midst of searching for his own unique musical voice, Claude Debussy discovered the works of the Symbolist writers Maurice Maeterlinck, Stéphane Mallarmé, and Paul Verlaine, and thus found a reflection in words of all he sought in his own music. Maeterlinck provided him the means of escaping Wagner’s operatic influence and the libretto to his one and only complete opera Pelléas et Mélisande; Mallarmé offered the inspiration for his revolutionary orchestral tone poem Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune; Verlaine, the text for nearly one-third of Debussy’s total output of song.
The discovery of Verlaine’s poetry was particularly pivotal in the development of Debussy’s mature style. Both men were fond of nuance and sought the means, particularly through rhythm, to reinvent their respective art forms. Thus, it is no surprise that Verlaine came to have a greater influence over the composer than any of Debussy’s other artistic contemporaries. In 1903, Debussy composed his Ariettes oublieés, a song cycle based on Verlaine’s poetry. Numbering six songs in all, the cycle is a clear display of Debussy’s burgeoning mature style, as he fed off the inspiration he received from Verlaine and distanced himself from the early French masters he idolized.
In the opening song of the cycle, C’est l’extase langoureuse (“It is the languorous ecstasy”), Debussy’s music is magnificently reflective of Verlaine’s text. Like the feelings and sensations described in the poem, the melodies and harmonies of Debussy’s setting seem to float dreamily on, drifting in some frozen moment of time. Joseph DuBose
More music by Claude Debussy
La Puerta del Vino, from Préludes Book II
Arabesque in C sharp major
Soiree dans Grenade, from Estampes
Rapsodie (arr. Rousseau)
Beau Soir
Ondine, from Préludes Book II
La Cathédrale engloutie, from Preludes, Books 1, No.10
Estampes
Apparition, from Quatre chansons de jeunesse
General Lavine – eccentric, from Préludes Book II
Performances by same musician(s)
Amor
Toothbrush Time
Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle?
Non so più cosa son, from The Marriage of Figaro
Anzoleta dopo la regata, from La regata veneziana
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