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. Though Debussy’s vocal music often is resigned to live in the shadows of his magnificent piano and orchestral works, his songs are no less stunning and original.
Stéphane Mallarmé poem Apparition was the basis of Claude Debussy’s 1884 setting. Debussy’s music, however, was left unpublished and did not appear in print until 1926. Beginning in E major with brilliant figurations in the high register of the piano, Debussy effectively captures the ethereal setting of Mallarmé’s text. Throughout the song, the listener follows with great awareness the passions of the poem’s narrator as he recollects the “sacred day” of his and his beloved’s first kiss and her appearance before him in the cobblestone streets. The piano accompaniment is active, painting an intricate picture in tones of Mallarmé’s scene. At the conclusion of the opening E major section (though by then that key had long been abandoned), a new section juxtaposing compound and duple rhythms emerges in G-flat major. Despite this initial intricacy, the music of this section begins to slow as it approaches what might be termed the central episode. Shifting to C major, the voice adopts a much more lyrical tune and the piano provides a steady and quiet accompaniment of reiterated chords. A reprise of the G-flat major section closes out the song, which concludes with soft chords, over resonant open fifths, ascending into the high register of the piano.Joseph DuBose
Classical Music | Soprano
Claude Debussy
Apparition, from Quatre chansons de jeunesse Play
Recorded on 10/06/2010, uploaded on 02/28/2011
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. Though Debussy’s vocal music often is resigned to live in the shadows of his magnificent piano and orchestral works, his songs are no less stunning and original.
Stéphane Mallarmé poem Apparition was the basis of Claude Debussy’s 1884 setting. Debussy’s music, however, was left unpublished and did not appear in print until 1926. Beginning in E major with brilliant figurations in the high register of the piano, Debussy effectively captures the ethereal setting of Mallarmé’s text. Throughout the song, the listener follows with great awareness the passions of the poem’s narrator as he recollects the “sacred day” of his and his beloved’s first kiss and her appearance before him in the cobblestone streets. The piano accompaniment is active, painting an intricate picture in tones of Mallarmé’s scene. At the conclusion of the opening E major section (though by then that key had long been abandoned), a new section juxtaposing compound and duple rhythms emerges in G-flat major. Despite this initial intricacy, the music of this section begins to slow as it approaches what might be termed the central episode. Shifting to C major, the voice adopts a much more lyrical tune and the piano provides a steady and quiet accompaniment of reiterated chords. A reprise of the G-flat major section closes out the song, which concludes with soft chords, over resonant open fifths, ascending into the high register of the piano. Joseph DuBose
More music by Claude Debussy
La Puerta del Vino, from Préludes Book II
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
General Lavine – eccentric, from Préludes Book II
Performances by same musician(s)
Heiss mich nicht reden no. 2, from Mignon Lieder, D. 877
Nature, the Gentlest Mother, from Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson
Heart, We Will Forget Him, from Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson
Going to Heaven!, from Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson
Why Do They Shut Me Out of Heaven? from Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson
Le colibri
Les papillons
Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, from Mignon Lieder, D. 877
So lasst mich scheinen, from Mignon Lieder, D. 877
Nuit d'étoiles
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