Chapter 63
Paris in the Belle Époque:
Debussy, Fauré, and Lili Boulanger
Lecture Overview
• Paris at the turn of the 20th century
• Impressionism and symbolism in French painting and
literature
• Claude Debussy
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life and music
“En sourdine”
“Reflets dans l’eau”
“Nuages”
• Gabriel Fauré
– life and music
– “Dans la forêt de septembre”
• Lili Boulanger
– life and music
– “Elle est gravement gaie”
• Review
The Life of Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
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1862
1872
1885
1887
1902
1918
born near Paris
enters the Paris Conservatory
wins the Prix de Rome
returns to Paris
premiere of opera Pelléas et Mélisande
dies in Paris
Principal Compositions by Claude Debussy
• Piano: character pieces including Preludes and Etudes
• Songs: some 60
• Chamber music: including
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String Quartet
Sonata for cello and piano
Sonata for flute, viola, and harp
Sonata for violin and piano
• Orchestra: tone poems and character pieces including
– Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun
– Nuages
– The Sea (La mer)
• Opera and ballet:
– Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)
– Jeux (ballet)
Impressionism in Painting and Music
When we compare a painting
such as Claude Monet’s Wild
Poppies (above, 1873) to a
work by Claude Debussy such
as Reflets dans l’eau, we find
the similarities that have led
audiences from Debussy’s
time to our own to refer to
both as “Impressionists.”
Both favored subjects drawn
from nature at its most
beautiful, and both use pure
colors to bring their scenery
alive. A strictness of
organization beneath the
surfaces of these works
supports an apparent
freedom above. Most of all,
both painter and musician
are refined, subtle, and
supremely evocative.
Claude Debussy, “En sourdine,” 1891, from
Fêtes galantes I
Through-composed or free ternary form
Claude Debussy, “Reflets dans l’eau” from
Images I for piano, 1905
Free form (with elements of sonata form)
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Claude Debussy, “Nuages,” from Three
Nocturnes for orchestra, 1900
Ternary form
The Life of Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924)
• 1845 born in a village in south-central France
• 1854 studies church music in Paris
• 1866 begins the career of church organist and choir
director
• 1874 appointed choirmaster at Church of the
Madeleine in Paris (later becomes its organist)
• 1905 appointed professor at the Paris
Conservatory, later its Director
• 1924 dies in Paris
Principal Compositions of Gabriel Fauré
• Songs: over 100
• Dramatic music: operas and incidental music to
plays (including Maeterlinck’s Pelléas et Mélisande)
• Chorus: motets and a Requiem (1877, later
revised)
• Chamber music: sonatas for violin and for cello,
music with piano
• Piano: nocturnes, impromptus, barcarolles; Dolly
for piano four hands
Gabriel Fauré, “Dans la forêt de
septembre,” 1902 Rondo form
The Life of Lili Boulanger (1893–1918)
• 1893 born in Paris to family of leading musicians
• 1898 enrolls at the Paris Conservatory, studies with
Gabriel Fauré
• 1913 wins the Prix de Rome, the first female
composer to be so honored
• 1918 dies in Paris of Crohn’s disease, age of 24
Principal Compositions by Lili Boulanger
• Chorus: several pieces for the church; cantata
Faust et Helène
• Piano: preludes, variations, character pieces
• Songs: include the cycle Clairières dans le ciel
Lili Boulanger, “Elle est gravement gaie”
Clairières dans le ciel, 1914
Ternary form
from
Review Key Terms
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Belle époque
Paul Verlaine
fête galante
impressionism
Claude Monet
whole-tone scale
octatonic scale
pentatonic scale