Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface to the Translation and Revised Edition
- Introduction
- 1 An Unsettled Childhood: 1862–72
- 2 Failure of a Pianist: 1872–79
- 3 Birth of a Composer: 1880–82
- 4 The Path to the Prix de Rome: 1882–84
- 5 The Villa Medici: 1885–87
- 6 Beginning of the Bohemian Period: 1887–89
- 7 From Baudelaire to Mallarmé: 1890–91
- 8 Esotericism and Symbolism: 1892
- 9 The Chausson Year: 1893
- 10 A “Fairy Tale” Gone Awry: 1894
- 11 Pierre Louÿs; The Lean Years: 1895–96
- 12 Pelléas —The Long Wait: 1895–98
- 13 From Bachelorhood to Marriage: 1897–99
- 14 Nocturnes: 1900–1901
- 15 The Composer as Critic: 1901–3
- 16 Pelléas et Mélisande: 1902
- 17 From the Fêtes galantes to La mer: 1903
- 18 Debussyism; A New Life: 1904
- 19 La mer: 1905
- 20 Projects and Skirmishes: 1906–7
- 21 Orchestra Conductor: 1908
- 22 “The Procrastination Syndrome”: 1909
- 23 Orchestral Images and Piano Préludes: 1910
- 24 Le martyre de saint Sébastien: 1911
- 25 The Year of the Ballets: 1912
- 26 Jeux; Travel to Russia: 1913
- 27 The Final Trips: 1914
- 28 The War; Pourville: 1914–15
- 29 “The Factories of Nothingness”: 1916–18
- Notes
- Index of Works
- Subject Index
- Eastman Studies in Music
22 - “The Procrastination Syndrome”: 1909
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2019
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface to the Translation and Revised Edition
- Introduction
- 1 An Unsettled Childhood: 1862–72
- 2 Failure of a Pianist: 1872–79
- 3 Birth of a Composer: 1880–82
- 4 The Path to the Prix de Rome: 1882–84
- 5 The Villa Medici: 1885–87
- 6 Beginning of the Bohemian Period: 1887–89
- 7 From Baudelaire to Mallarmé: 1890–91
- 8 Esotericism and Symbolism: 1892
- 9 The Chausson Year: 1893
- 10 A “Fairy Tale” Gone Awry: 1894
- 11 Pierre Louÿs; The Lean Years: 1895–96
- 12 Pelléas —The Long Wait: 1895–98
- 13 From Bachelorhood to Marriage: 1897–99
- 14 Nocturnes: 1900–1901
- 15 The Composer as Critic: 1901–3
- 16 Pelléas et Mélisande: 1902
- 17 From the Fêtes galantes to La mer: 1903
- 18 Debussyism; A New Life: 1904
- 19 La mer: 1905
- 20 Projects and Skirmishes: 1906–7
- 21 Orchestra Conductor: 1908
- 22 “The Procrastination Syndrome”: 1909
- 23 Orchestral Images and Piano Préludes: 1910
- 24 Le martyre de saint Sébastien: 1911
- 25 The Year of the Ballets: 1912
- 26 Jeux; Travel to Russia: 1913
- 27 The Final Trips: 1914
- 28 The War; Pourville: 1914–15
- 29 “The Factories of Nothingness”: 1916–18
- Notes
- Index of Works
- Subject Index
- Eastman Studies in Music
Summary
“Nothing very special has marked the beginning of 1909 for me,” Debussy wrote to Gabriel Mourey on 6 January, “apart from a more pronounced case of procrastination… and this strange need to never finish, which does not jibe with the opposing need of my publisher.” For several years, Debussy had been working on the composition of the Images for orchestra (no longer for two pianos, as he had originally projected in 1903), and at the beginning of 1909, a certain urgency can be detected in his production: the manuscript of “Ibéria” that was to be sent to the engraver is dated Christmas Day 1908, the short score of “Rondes de printemps” bears the date of 30 December 1908, and that of “Gigues” is dated 4 January 1909. While immersed in this work, Debussy gave a veritable course in orchestration to Segalen in their interview on 17 December 1908:
“Composers no longer know how to deconstruct sound, how to keep it pure. In Pelléas, the sixth violin part is as necessary as the first. I strive to use each timbre in its pure state, like Mozart, for example. […] We've learned too much about mixing colors, about having them emerge from the shadows or the masses. […] Wagner went very far in this direction. For example, he arranges most of his instruments in groups of two or three. The height of this approach is found in Strauss, who messes everything up. […] On the contrary, I strive to preserve the purity of each timbre, to put it in its true place. […]”
Debussy's concern: not enough percussion. […]
On the layout of the orchestra: “The strings should not be a barrier, but a circle, around the other instruments. Break up the woodwinds. Mix the bassoons with the violoncelli, and the clarinets and oboes with the violins, so they won't enter with a thud.
At the beginning of February 1909, when Gabriel Fauré invited Debussy to become a member of the Conservatoire's Conseil supérieur (replacing Ernest Reyer!), he accepted. And this appointment was announced in the press as “a major artistic event.
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- Claude DebussyA Critical Biography, pp. 250 - 259Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2019