Claude Debussy's Mélodies by Théodore de Banville: Understanding Debussy's Musical Reflection

Abstract

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) was a prolific composer throughout his lifetime. His song output spans his entire compositional career and comprises over ninety songs from his first published song Nuit d’étoiles, composed in 1880 and published in 1882, to Noël des enfants qui n'ont plus de maison (1915). Among Debussy’s early period works, his most prominent contributions were mélodies with almost half of his ninety songs written in this period. Debussy was profoundly influenced by poetry, especially that of Théodore de Banville (1823-1891). Banville was an important figure in the Parnassian movement and also was a master of rhyme and a virtuoso of French verse. Debussy was influenced by Banville’s poetry and composed many songs on Banville's poems in his early period. This document highlights Debussy's life and his early poetic influences as well as provides an overview of Banville's life as a writer and his collections of verses pertaining to Debussy. The analyses of songs with Banville's text are the emphasis of this study and reveal how Debussy expertly matched music to the nuances of the texts. Such a study illuminates the interpretation and performance of these songs for singers and collaborative pianists.