DEBUSSY'S TWO SETTINGS OF ‘CLAIR DE LUNE’

Abstract

Of the 56 published songs by Debussy no fewer than I8 are settings of poems by Paul Verlaine. Two of these poems, 'En Sourdine' and 'Clair de lune', Debussy set twice, and a comparison of the two settings of the latter poem throws some light on his development as a composer between the ages of 20 and 30. The first setting (I) is dated between I882-4, that is to say during Debussy's years at the Conservatoire, before his visit to Rome or his close acquaintance with the music of Wagner. It was published, with three other songs of the same period, as a supplement to the special issue of the Revue Musicale in May 1926. The second setting (II) was published as the third of the first set of 'Fetes galantes' in I892. This gap of some ten years is particularly interesting, as it covers the period from Debussy's departure for Rome in 1885 to his beginning work on 'L'Apres-midi' in 1892. This period is possibly the most fascinating of all in his life: while biographical details are sketchy, we can see from a study of the music that his technique was being transformed, with a speed unusual in any composer, from the derivative competence of 'L'Enfant prodigue' into the individual mastery of 'L'Apres-midi'. Like the same poet's 'Mandoline' and 'Pantomime', 'Clair de lune' conjures up a magical, moonlit world in which the figures of the commedia dell' arte prance about to no very clear purpose, but with a sharp eye for their decorative possibilities. It is the epitome of that dream world in which sense is abandoned before the senses. No loved one is addressed, no story told. At the same time, the