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.
Second in the cycle is Il pleure dans mon cœur (“There is weeping in my heart”), a song strikingly different from the ethereal bliss of C’est l’extase. The narrator here suffers from some unknown grief, remarking that the rain falling about him mirrors the dreariness of his own heart. He is unable to ascertain its cause, and seems to instinctively know that there is no reason for his grief. Yet, for this reason, his pain is all the more heightened—a pain mixed with the fear of not knowing. Verlaine’s text is treated to a long arching melodic line in Debussy’s setting. Beneath the vocal melody is Debussy’s well-known “raindrop” music. This accompaniment is abruptly broken when the narrator suddenly realizes “there has been no treason,” a passage made even more poignant by a slower tempo and recitative-like manner. However, this revelation does nothing to lift the poet’s heart, and the raindrops continue to fall within and without. Joseph DuBose
Classical Music | Soprano
Claude Debussy
Il pleure dans mon cœur, from Ariettes oubliées Play
Recorded on 07/31/2013, uploaded on 03/12/2014
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.
Second in the cycle is Il pleure dans mon cœur (“There is weeping in my heart”), a song strikingly different from the ethereal bliss of C’est l’extase. The narrator here suffers from some unknown grief, remarking that the rain falling about him mirrors the dreariness of his own heart. He is unable to ascertain its cause, and seems to instinctively know that there is no reason for his grief. Yet, for this reason, his pain is all the more heightened—a pain mixed with the fear of not knowing. Verlaine’s text is treated to a long arching melodic line in Debussy’s setting. Beneath the vocal melody is Debussy’s well-known “raindrop” music. This accompaniment is abruptly broken when the narrator suddenly realizes “there has been no treason,” a passage made even more poignant by a slower tempo and recitative-like manner. However, this revelation does nothing to lift the poet’s heart, and the raindrops continue to fall within and without. Joseph DuBose
More music by Claude Debussy
La Puerta del Vino, from Préludes Book II
Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir, from Préludes, Book I
Soiree dans Grenade, from Estampes
Rapsodie (arr. Rousseau)
Arabesque in C sharp major
Beau Soir
Ondine, from Préludes Book II
La Cathédrale engloutie, from Preludes, Books 1, No.10
Estampes
Apparition, from Quatre chansons de jeunesse
Performances by same musician(s)
Chevaux de bois, from Ariettes oubliées
Green, from Ariettes oubliées
Simple Gifts, from Old American Songs
Beautiful Dreamer
When I Have Sung My Songs
A Word on My Ear
Die Nacht, from Letzte Blätter
Zueignung, Op. 10, No. 1
Cäcilie, Op. 27, No. 2
C'est l'extase, from Ariettes oubliées
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