![]() ![]() The "fireworks" indicated in the title probably refer to Bastille Day, and the allusion to the French national anthem, "La Marseillaise," cleverly camouflaged in the last bars, alerts us to Debussy's fervent allegiance to his native land. This last of the Preludes seems to presage Debussy's nationalism which grew more and more intense in his last years as enmity with Germany became a pressing reality. (Note: this and other links to the Preludes require a free Spotify account) The piece was written during World War 1, when Debussy's world was shattered both by his own fatal illness and by the tragic war surrounding him his response was both despair and a fervent patriotism. Each movement of the piece is preceded by a quotation related to the war effort, and the second movement is dedicated to a friend who'd been killed in action.įeux d'artifice, Prelude no. This is one of Debussy's great masterpieces, one of only two works for two pianos outside of orchestral transcriptions, and by far the most monumental. Its title "In Black and White" captures not only the contrast between the black and white keys of the piano, but can also be taken as a reference to the stark atrocities of war and possibly even to the good and bad sides engaged in battle. To children ardent for some desperate glory,Įn blanc et noir, 1915 (Robert and Gaby Casadesus) My friend, you would not tell with such high zest ![]() Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,. If you could hear, at every jolt, the bloodĬome gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin If in some smothering dreams, you too could paceĪnd watch the white eyes writhing in his face, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. In all my dreams before my helpless sight, Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!-An ecstasy of fumblingīut someone still was yelling out and stumblingĪnd flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.-ĭim through the misty panes and thick green light,Īs under a green sea, I saw him drowning. All went lame all blind ĭrunk with fatigue deaf even to the hoots Many had lost their boots,īut limped on, blood-shod. Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,Īnd towards our distant rest began to trudge. Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Dulce et Decorum Estīent double, like old beggars under sacks, Debussy, unlike Owen, never saw battle, and as an ardent Frenchman and anti-German, he retained more illusions as to the purpose of the war than Owen he was far from oblivious, however, to its horrors, and his late letters speak of a deep-seated despair. His poem, “Dulce et Decorum Est” captures the futility of a war whose cataclysmic effect on Europe defined Debussy’s last years. Wilfred Owen was a young English poet who died fighting in WW1. ![]()
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