Debussy's Orchestral Collaborations, 1911-13.

1: Le martyre de Saint-Sbastien
Author(s): Robert Orledge
Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 115, No. 1582 (Dec., 1974), pp. 1030-1033+1035
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/960380
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1911-13
Debussy'sOrchestral
Collaborations,
1: Le martyrede Saint-Sebastien

RobertOrledge
The aim of these articles on Debussy's orchestral
collaborations withCaplet and Koechlin is to trace
the exact extent of Debussy's participationin the
orchestration.Apart fromthe unimaginativechorus
parts in the last act of Le martyre,there can be
no doubt that the music itselfwas composed solely
by Debussy, as was the whole of the ballet Khamma,
on whicfi a second article will follow shortly.
Documentaryevidence on the literary,externaland
productionaspects of thesecollaborationsis already
fairly complete1 and is only summarized briefly
here in the interestsof clarityand perspective.The
principalapproach is fromthe musical angle, which
has so farbeen treatedonly in passing.
Debussy met his most important collaborator,
Andre Caplet, throughG. Jean-Aubryin 1907, the
year that Caplet organized a concert of Debussy's
works in his native Le Havre. Debussy came to
have greatrespectforCaplet as composer,musician
and conductor,and also as a friend.He recognized
his talents immediately,and wrote to Jean-Aubry
in January1908 afterhearingtwo of Caplet's songs
forthe firsttime:2
This Caplet is an artist.He knows how to capture
a sonorous atmosphere, and with a pleasing
sensibility,a sense of proportion; something
rare that one cannot believe it in our
sufficiently
times of music which is either haphazard or
sealed like a cork!
Caplet's similarattractionto Poe, which led to the
Contefantastique(afterThe Mask of theRed Death)
for chromatic harp and string quartet in 1919,
probably served to strengthenthe tie between the
pair,Caplet beingthemorepracticaland industrious
though lacking Debussy's vision and consummate
taste. His performancesof Debussy's music did
much to consolidate the latter's international
reputation,and in his role as amanuensis Debussy
had occasion to call him 'le tombeau des fautes',
'I'ange des corrections'. Besides Saint-Sebastien,
Caplet completedthe orchestrationof Gigues(1912)
and La boite a joujoux (1919), orchestratedPagodes
and Children's Corner (1910), reorchestratedthe
earlysong Le jet d'eau (firstorchestratedby Debussy
in 1907), and arranged Iberia and La mer for two
and threepianos respectivelyand Gigues for piano
duet. He also prepared the vocal score for Le
martyrein 1911, and the four-movementconcert
suite based on Debussy's incidentalmusic in 1912.
It was the timeelementwhichcompelledDebussy
to call on Caplet's services over Le martyreearly
lOn Le martyre see G. Tosi, ed.: Claude Debussy et Gabriele
d'Annunzio: correspondance inedite (Paris, 1948) for a full
account of its genesis and fruition. Also E. Lockspeiser:
Debussy: his Life and Mind, ii (London, 1965), 157-67; L.
Vallas: Claude Debussy: his Life and Works (Paris, 1933,
Eng. trans M. and G. O'Brien, rev. 1973), 224-34; G. Cohen:
'Gabriele d'Annunzio et Le Martyre de Saint-Sebastien',
Mercure de France, xci/336 (1911), 688-709; ReM (1957),
special number on Le martyre.
2quoted in Claude Debussy: Lettres inedites a Andre Caplet
(1908-14) (Monaco, 1957), 23

in 1911. While the original appeal was for help

with'the materialaspects of his professionalwork',
the collaboration developed into somethingmore
important. Ida Rubinstein, in league with
d'Annunzio, had firstapproached Roger-Ducasse
in November 1910 as composer for Le martyre.
After he regretfullydeclined,3 d'Annunzio asked
Ida Rubinstein if he 'dared' approach Debussy.
She replied that he should do so personally,but as
a precautionalso securedan acceptance in principle
from Florent Schmitt. Debussy appears to have
accepted the commission some time around 7-9
December 1910 (the letter has not survived).
D'Annunzio congratulatedhim on his decision in a
telegram dated 10 December, and promptly
announced the factin the papers the followingday.
Letters to Emma Debussy from d'Annunzio and
the impresario Gabriel Astruc show that much
persuasion on her part proved necessary despite
the promise of a considerable (and much needed)
financialreward.
So far,Debussy had no knowledgeof the textof
Le martyre;Act 3 ('musically the most important')
arrivedfirst,on 9 January1911, followedby Act 1
on 13 February. The complete five-actpoem was
not finisheduntil2 March, just over two and a half
monthsbeforethe date fixedfor its premiereat the
Theatre du Chatelet (22 May). The score itself
seems to have been writtenin under threemonths,
possiblynearertwo. Debussy wrote to d'Annunzio
on 29 Januarythat it was 'not withouta certain
terrorthat I see the moment approaching when I
mustactuallywritesomething',4and on 14 February,
perhaps finallyprompted to face the task by the
arrival of another act the day before, wrote to
Caplet: 'I have verylittletime to writea great deal
of music-you know how much this pleases me!
So there is not a moment to lose in deciding'.5
This implies that Debussy was only just beginning
to writehis score, if in fact he had begun. In early
February he was also occupied with rehearsalsfor
a revival of Pelleas et Mdlisande which took place
on the 18th,and had spentmuchof Januaryfinishing
thesecond versionof Gigues.From a letterto Durand
it appears that the last pages of the score may have
been delivered in April, as he says: 'Here, if you
agree, is the last appeal of St Sebastian, and I
confessthat I am not displeased withit'. The strain
of forcedproductionwas evident,as he added: 'As
I have told you several times already, I am at the
end of my tether'.6 St Sebastian's last appeal,
however,comes in Act 4, so the music of Act 5 in
Paradise may well have taken Debussy into May
3see Tosi, op cit, 22; Roger-Ducasse's two lettersto d'Annunzio
are reproduced on p.114.
4Tosi; op cit., letter 16, 63-4; Debussy himself said the score
took him only 'two months' (Comoedia, 18 May 1911; see
below).
5quoted in Lockspeiser: op cit, 160
6Lockspeiser: op cit, 164n

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in Musiques
to tieup withVuillermoz's
information
thatDebussydid not appearin the
d'aujourd'hui7
dressrehearsal.
theatreuntilthedayofthefirst
ended
Debussy'sletterto Capleton 14 February
withthe words'nothingdefinite
forthe moment,
butI thinkthattherewillbe something
interesting
in thismatterforyou lateron', whichimpliesthat
in late
Capletwas drawnintotheprojectsometime
Februaryor earlyMarch1911.Few letterssurvive
concerning
Caplet's collaborationin Le martyre;
fromd'Annunzio
toDebussy,8
one,an undatedletter
suggeststhat he was not involveduntilthe last
monthof theproject.D'Annunzioimpliesthathe
has onlyjustmetCaplet,whonevertheless
'inspired
in me the warmestsympathy'.This gladdened
Debussy'infinitely',
thoughhe added thathe was
'a littlelike a conductorwho feareda strike!'9
Very few dated lettersexist whichreferto the
in any detail,and the
compositionof Le martyre
almostcompletesilencein Marchbearswitnessto
Debussy's forcedlabour. We do know however
in concertsof his musicon 5,
thathe participated
25 and 29 March,whichmaketherapidproduction
ofthescoreseemevenmoreincredible.
NormallyDebussy liked to work on several
to each fromtime
projectssimultaneouly,
returning
to time.How rushedhe was withLe martyre
can
be seen froma comparisonwithKhamma,a 20minuteballetas opposed to five-actdrama with
in just overthreemonths
music.This was written
(late December1911 to earlyApril 1912). Jeux,
at greatspeedinjust over
written
and orchestrated
a month(August-September
1912), is much less
thanhalfthe lengthof the musicof Le martyre;
and Debussyalso orchestrated
a fairproportion
of
Le martyre
as we shallsee.
himself,
Various accountsexist of the compositionof
Le martyre.
In an interview10
just beforethe first
performance
Debussy claimedthat he 'wrotein
two monthsa score whichin the ordinaryway
the
would have takenme a year'. Inghelhrecht,
under Caplet in 1911, said that
chorusmaster
Debussy'composedday and night,shutup at his
home,sendingoffthe pages of the scoreone by
"I am labouringlike a pieceone to the printer.
he declared,"withnevera lookback" '. 11
worker",
This impliesthat Debussy was doing everything
himself,and Emile Vuillermoz,
actingas general
givesa morelikelyversion:'The music
repetiteur,
arrivedat thetheatrepage by page,hastilycopied
inpencil!Debussyremained
andcorrected
invisible,
and revising
thiswork
shutup in hishouse,writing
up to thelastminute'.12
Nevertheless,
Debussy's lettersto d'Annunzio
show how muchhe was inspiredby the project,
and Durandreadily
especiallyin theearlystages,13
thiswhenhe said:
supported
Debussywas captivatedby thesubjectof SaintSebastien ...

he wrote this marvellousscore in a

8Tosi: op cit, letter 24, p.72; Tosi suggests April/May 1911 for
7(Paris, 1923), 179
this, but April would seem more likely.
9Tosi: op cit, letter 25, p.73; again undated
lOwith Rene Bizet, Comoedia (18 May 1911)
"quoted Lockspeiser: op cit, 164n
I2op cit, 176
13see Tosi: op cit, letters 16 and 18, pp.63-6

stateofexultation.
The mystical
subjectappealed
to his innermost
aesthetic.In addition,he had
hisownideas,whichhe expoundedto me,on the
PassionmimedbySaintSebastian;ideasstamped
witha profound
originality.14
*

In his excellent
sectionon Le martyre,
Lockspeiser
ratherdauntingly
it 'unlikely
considers
thatwe shall
ever be certainof the extentof Caplet's particibutsincehe collected
pationin Saint-Sebastien',15
hismaterialthethreeincomplete
scores(twoin the
Paris Opera Library,one in the possessionof the
publisherDurand whichLockspeiserdid not see)
have been amalgamatedto producea complete
autographscore.16As he pointsout,thelettersto
17 unCaplet in the SheridanRussell collection
containno relevantinformation
on the
fortunately
and all we have on themusicalside
collaboration,
are thetwotantalizing
in the
fragments
reproduced
same volumewithan extractfromthe autograph
score.18The Opera librarycatalogueattemptsan
are by
analysisof whichpartsof theirmanuscript
Caplet and whichby Debussy,but the librarians
remainunawarethatthescorehas beenreassembled
sinceLockspeiserconsultedit, and thatthe autographsof Act 1, Act 3 nos. 1 and 6, and Act 5 are
nowpresent.
As to theauthorship
of therest,their
conclusions
are as follows:
Act2: Prelude8: ff.19byCaplet,exceptf.1.'Tres
modere'addedbyDebussy.
instru[no.2]:7 ff.By Debussyexceptmarginal
mentalindications
and f.1 titles.
no.3: 10pp.By Caplet;'voxcoelestis'partin a
thirdhand.
Act3: no.2 [lp.]. By Debussy.
no.3: ff.4-6.By Caplet,exceptf.4.
no.4: 15ff.By Caplet,no vocalparts.
no.5: ff.16-19.
By Caplet,no vocalparts.
no.7: 6pp. By Debussy, except words and
instrumental
indications.
marginal
Act4: Prelude.6ff.By Caplet.
no.2: 4pp. By Debussyexceptmovement
title
and marginal
instrumental
indications.
no.3: 16pp. By Caplet,exceptp.1 'modere',
p.3 'poco a poco cresc'(byDebussy).'Comme
une plainte'perhapsby Debussy.
Thus of the threealmostcompletecentralacts
it wouldappearthatthebulkwas orchestrated
by
Caplet, with Debussy orchestrating
only Act 2
no.2,Act 3 nos.2and 7, and Act4 no.2,as wellas
and otherindications
addinga fewtempomarkings
whenhe cameto approveCaplet'sfinished
article.
WhetherCaplet had any part in the 'harmonizationofcertainpassagesclearly
fixedin[Debussy's]
mind' but only 'noted briefly',as Vuillermoz
at thetimeofthe1957ParisOperarevival,
suggested
cannotbe ascertainedfromthe autographscore,
but it is reasonableto assumethatthesectionsin
Debussy's hand were completelycomposedand
orchestrated
wouldnothave
byhim,as he certainly
hadthetimetorecopyworkalreadydonebyCaplet.
Thereare no signsin the autographscoreof the
for operaticperformance
revisionof Le martyre
14Quelques souvenirs d'un editeur de musique, 2nd ser. (Paris,
1925), 21-2
15op cit, 164
160pera Res. 2004
17op cit (note 2)
S8between pp.56 and 57
19All folios have blank versos.

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Start marked'pour le 3 Mai', probablyby

whichDebussyplannedin 1914.
Caplet.In no.3, bars 1-5 of the 'vox coelestis'
between
The problemlies in thegreatsimilarity
partare byCaplet,therest(from'II esttoutclair
of Debussyand Caplet,and here
the handwriting
surmesgenoux'to theend)are in blackinkin a
whenhe saysthat
theclue is givenby Lockspeiser
thirdhand,possiblythatof Mlle F6art,whosang
thethirdscorein the possessionof Durand is 'in
or thatof Inghelbrecht
thepartat thepremiere,
Debussy's hand'.20 The assumptionthat this
Partsofno.3(especially
or Vuillermoz.
p.2) show
in theOperacatalogue
contained
themusicmissing
thatCapletwas rushedfortime,althoughonly
a
detailed
to
be
and
1
and
themarginalinstrumental
listssuffer.
5) proved
correct,
(Acts
in the now complete ACT 3: nos.1-5,by Caplet [OS 99-132]; in no.3
studyof the handwriting
scoreshowedthatmostof Act 1 and thewholeof
(p.5,bars4-5) Debussyalteredthetextofthebass
froma literalrepeatof
partfor'Les Citharedes'
Act 5 wereorchestrated
by Debussy.Caplet took
the previousphrase'Seigneurde Delos et de
over(in pencil)forthelast 11 pagesof Act 1, and
Smirthe'
to themorepoetic'Beau roi chevelude
most of Acts 2-4, withonly a few
orchestrated
lumiere'.The originalversionwas reverted
to in
minorcorrectionsby Debussy. There was also
OS 106bars1-2,althoughDebussy'samendment
handsin thescore,
evidenceofat leastthreefurther
was noterasedfromtheautograph
score.
mostlyin thevocalparts,butalso in thescoringof
evidenceof Caplet'sbeingpressedfor
Further
Act3no.7andAct4 no.2.Thesesceneswereapparenttimeoccursin no.4,whichhas no vocalpartsand
has identicalorchestral
ly theworkof thesamethirdpersonand are far
passagesrepeatedwith
A and B. Debussyused this
the abbreviations
untidierthanthe restof the score,makingthem
devicein the openingsectionof Khamma.No.5
to be copiesofworkalreadycompleted
by
unlikely
also lacksthe'voxsola' partfoundin theprinted
Debussyor Caplet. The writingmay possiblybe
score.
thatof Debussyor Caplet in extremehaste,but
no.6: 6pp.,byCapletand Debussy[OS 133-40].
as themarginal
instrument
lists
thisis also unlikely
Most of the musicis by Caplet,but theinstruuse uncharacteristic
abbreviations,the musical
mentallistson pp.1-2weredrawnup byDebussy
and
is
the
evidence
different,
writing substantially
withthe usual blankstaveat the bottom.The
in thescoreis onlymomentary, string
of hasteelsewhere
tremolando
to the
partsand thecorrections
neverinvolving
a completemovement.
harpglissandos(pp.2-3) are almostcertainly
by
Debussy,as are the vocal partsfrom'Du noir
studywas aided by a prior
My handwriting
Hades, oiusontles ames' (p.4, fig.3)onwards.
of Debussy'sautographscores,particuknowledge
no.7: 6pp., mostlyin a thirdhand,thoughsome
larlythe Durand scoreof Khamma(pp.1-10). In
ofthemusicandthetempoindications
couldbe by
general,Caplet's writingis slightlylarger and
Caplet [OS 143-8]. The score is verysketchy,
neaterthanDebussy's,showingcloserattention
to
written
witha muchblackerpencil;theorchestral
minutedetail,especiallyin the repetition
of key
abbreviations,
Alti,vcelli etc, wereneverused
and clefs.Caplet also tendedto space
signatures
by Debussyor Caplet.Thereare also no abbrematerial.
viationsforrepeatedorchestral
his instruments
to coverthe entirepage, whereas
ACT 4: no.1: Prelude,
Debussylikedto leaveblankspacesat thetop and
6ff.,byCaplet[OS 149-55].
no.2: 4pp., in thesamehandas Act 3 no.7,with
bottomof his, withoutany betweenthe instrusome alterationsby Debussy,e.g. stringsand
mentalgroups,whichhe meticulously
bracketed
horn partson p.4 and the stagedirectionson
ina specialway.Thefollowing
showssome
together
p.1 [OS 156-60].
of the most fundamental
differences
betweenthe
no.3: 16pp., by Caplet [OS 161-75].The vocal
twocomposers'
abbreviations:
styleofinstrumental
hand
partsin blackinkarein a thincopper-plate
different
fromthatusedin Act 3 no.7 and Act4
Debussy:C Ang; Hb; Cl; VO; VC.
no.2,or in thevocal partsof Act 2 no.3 bar 6f.
Caplet:C.a; Htb; Clar; V [violin];velles.
Thus at leastfivepeoplewereemployedin the
This studyenabledme to completeand correct
ofthe'autograph'
score.As thevocal
preparation
theOperacatalogueas follows:
partsof Act 2 no.3 were begunby Caplet,it
ACT 1: Preludeand duet(Les Jumeaux)
8ff.in black
would appear that the orchestralscore was
thevocal
ink,byDebussy[OS 1-18],21including
written
firstwitha blankspaceleftforthevocal
partsand thelateradditionsof thesecondvocal
and notviceversa.Referpartsto be completed,
parton f.7.SomeadditionsbyCapletincludethe
ence is made on Act 4 no.3 p.1 to the copyist
titleand 'Un peu anim6qu'au debut
movement
M. Colombin;thenumbers'8.7.4.4.4.'probably
(f.3),'poco rit/atempo'(f.4bars1-2).
referto stringparts. Again Debussy added
no.2: 5ff.in blackink,by Debussy[OS 19-26].
a fewminorcorrections
and tempoindications.
no.3: 21ff., numbered21-4222 [OS 27-63]:
ACT 5: Completescoreby Debussy,exceptforthe
ff.
21-31 in blackinkby Debussyplusa few
(a)
'Chorus Martyrum'parts in black ink (no.2)
additionsby Caplet; (b) ff.32-42 in pencilby
whichseemto be in thesamehandas thevocal
bar
and
six
at
to
Caplet23[double
change
sharps
partsof Act 2 no.3. In thiscase alone,thevocal
thewords:LE SAINT 'Jedansesurl'ardeurdeslys',
partsappear to have been preparedfirst,with
OS 47 bar 4]; some additionsby Debussy,e.g.
[OS 176-202].
spaceleftfortheorchestration
'ChorusSeraphicus'
thewords
(f.35) andprobably
Besidesaddingsometempoindications
and stage
of thispartup to theend of Act 1.
directionsto the sectionsorchestrated
by Caplet
ACT 2: nos.1-3,by Caplet[OS 64-98]; someaddiin Acts 1 to 4, Debussyalso made a fewchanges
tionsby Debussy,e.g. 'Tres modere'(no.1,f.3).
intheorchestration.
he obviously
As withKhamma,
in detailbut
theworkof his collaborator
surveyed
20op cit, 163n
in theend changedverylittle,and thenmostlyin
21OS numbers are from the Durand printed orchestral score
(1911), 202pp.
the interestsof orchestralclarityand contrast.
22Originally ff.13-34, indicating that an eight-page cut may
Towardsthe end of Act 1 no.3 Debussycut two
have been made by Debussy.
barsfromCaplet'squietsustainedchordon trum23The rest of the score is in pencil unless otherwise indicated.
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pets and firstand second trombones(f.40 bars

4-6; OS 60 bars 2-4). He broughtthemin again
and tubaand
withtheentryof thethirdtrombone
a newrisingthematic
entryon thethreeharps.This
doubledon the violins,
harp entrywas originally
butDebussysavedtheirentryuntilthenextdouble
bar(f.41bar1; OS 61 bar1) givinga further
change
of texture
afterthenowmorerapidbrassand harp
climax.
In Act 2 no.2 (f.2 bar 4f; OS 76 bar If) Caplet
originallyhad sustainedstringparts and semiquaver arpeggio figurationon the two flutes.
theserolesputting
thefluteparts
Debussyreversed
on thefirst
violins(divisia 6), and doubledtheviola
tenorparton englishhornin theprocess;thisgave
the music a more sonoroussheen at the words
'moname,sousle cielclement'.
In theAct4 Prelude
(p.4 bar 3f; OS 153 bar 3f) Debussyrearranged
Caplet's scoringfor dividedtremolandostrings
(viola, cello, bass) to eliminatethe violas and so
producea darkersound.Caplet'sdoublingof the
on piccolosat thispointwas
firstviolinharmonics
notalteredbyDebussy,butwasnevertheless
omitted
fromtheprinted
score;itseemsthatDebussymade
further
revisionsto Caplet'sworknot includedin
theautograph
manuscript.
The twosketchesin theSheridanRussellcollecofa sketchforthevocalscoreof
tionconsistfirstly
Le martyre
a passage
prepared
byCaplet,24
probably
on whichDebussywas askedforadvice.Debussy's
versionof the fourbars was signedand underwrittenin Latin 'Hoc varietur'('this may be
changed'). It is hardlylikelythat Caplet was
toalterthispassage
requesting
Debussy'spermission
as so muchwas leftto his discretion
wherethe
of arrangements
was concerned.Also
preparation
thepassagein questionremainedalmostunaltered
in theprinted
vocal score(end of Act 2 no.3,p.45
bar 12 to p.46 bar 2), and Capletsimply'changed'
Debussy'sreductionfromthreeto two stavesand
madeit morepianistic
in theprocess.

The second,moreimportant
sketchconsistsof
theonlypreserved
written
fromDebussy
suggestion
on the orchestration
of Le martyre,
whichmay,
as Lockspeiserproposes, be an 'improvement
Debussy wished to make, possiblyaftera rehearsal'.25It concernsthe harpand cymbalparts
at theimportant
changeover
pointbetweentheAct
4 Preludeand Act4 no.2 (OS 155-6)and thenine
bars.It is in facta listoffoursuggestions
preceding
to be incorporatedinto the final version.This
suggeststhatDebussymayhave workedby post,
inadditiontomakinghisownautograph
corrections
to Caplet's score.The firstand fourthdirections
referto thepointninebars beforetheend of the
Prelude(threebarsbeforefig.3,OS 154).The first:
'Les sons d'echo plus marqu6dans [les]dernieres
mesures'resulted
in Capletadding'un peu marque'
to thesecondof hisfirsthornechoes,althoughthe
fourthdirection:'Harpes 8ves-3 mesuresavant
[fig.]3', seems to have been ignored.Perhaps
Debussyrevokedhis decisionto add the second
andeventhefirst
harpin octavesto doublethefirst,
harpis leftwithsinglelow notesin thefinalscore
at thispoint.
The second and thirddirectionsfor harp and
cymbalconcerntheend of thePrelude,whichwas
followedby a pause and thenAct 4 no.2. Ex.la
showstheoriginalorchestration
by Caplet,giving
only the relevantparts.The harp was originally
doubledin thetwofinalbars,and thefinalchord
came on the second beat of the bar. First this
chordwas changedto a singleharp(byDebussy?),
thenintheprinted
version(ex.lb) thewholepassage
was put on firstharp only.As faras thecymbal
theautograph
scoreis lessclear;
partis concerned,
it appears originallyto have stoppedtwo bars
beforetheendofthePrelude,withthetrillmarking
extendedto its finalminimin anotherhand (perhaps Debussy's).Debussy'slettershows that he
stillintendedthe finalnote to be a minimonly,
althoughin ex.1b fromthe printedscore it was

24Durand (1911), 104 pp.

25op cit, 163

Ex. 1 a

b Durand printed score, p. ISS last 3 bars

Opera Res. 2004 Act 4 Prelude, p.6 bar 3f.

a2

Hp.

Hp. IP 9

Cymbal

Cymb.

IPP]
/

o
pp

(Str.ppp,muted)

(Str.ppp,muted)
vc.

Vc.

4-9 ^M

CB 3-

--

^(7 .^T

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convertedinto a semibreve.The mark in ex.la

above the finalnote may mean that a separate
at some stage,
cymbalstrokewas contemplated
waswritten.
perhapsbeforetheletter
Capletretained
the semibrevewhen he preparedthe 'Fragments
fromLe martyre
for concertpersymphoniques'
thedoublebass tremolandos
formance,26
extending
the harp part in the final
and further
modifying
bar of thePreludeto lead continuously
intoAct 4
no.2. He also markedthecymbalpartin thisbar
modification
'baguette'.Ex.la also showsa further
definitely
byDebussy(includedin squarebrackets),
who extendedthe lower cello tremolandoby a
miniminthepenultimate
further
barofthePrelude.
was ignoredin theprinted
Thismodification
score.
Thereare otherinstancesof Debussy'sautograph
corrections
beingignored,forexamplein the bar
beforefig.5in Act 4 no.3, whereDebussyclearly
indicatedthatthe oboes and bassoonswereto be
loweredby an octave. They surviveat Caplet's
score(OS 167).
originalhighpitchin theprinted
*

It was rumoured
afterthepremiere
of Le martyre
that the finalchorus in Paradise (Act 5 no.2),
generally
judgedtheweakestbybothaudienceand
critics,was notbyDebussy.A dispatchfromParis
to theItalianjournal//tirsosuggested
thatit was
composedby 'one of his mostfaithful
disciples',27
that is, Caplet. Certainlyits staid homophonic
textureis at odds withtheflexiblechoralstyleof
the remainder
of Le martyre,
and is less inspired
thanDebussy'sonlylaterchoralpieces,the Trois
chansonsde Charles d'Orleans (1908). It is also less

imaginativethan the florid'Anima Sebastiani'

sectionsin
part whichseparatesthe ecclesiastical
theearlypartofthescene(OS 184f).All theinterest
in the finalact lies in the superblydetailedand
subtleorchestral
partwhichis whollyby Debussy,
and it is difficult
to believethatthewholescenewas
and orchestrated
not written
by the same person
whenconfronted
withthesubtlechangefromA flat
an incomplete
7thchordon B to C
majorthrough
sharpminor(OS 195).It is reallyonlytheopening
a cappellachoralsectionofno.2 inA flatwhichcan
be in doubt(OS 180-84).The orchestra
entersas
the 'Chorus Angelorum'reach a held chord of
D flat(6 bars afterfig.4,OS 184),thetwo harps
creepingin witha magicaldominantseventh(Cb),
soon to be joined by highmuteddividedstrings
and fluttering
woodwindpreparing
theentryof the
'Anima Sebastiani','Je viens, je monte'. The
remainingchorus sections,especiallythe final
Alleluias(OS 201-2),are relatively
but
pedestrian,
aftertheorchestra
entersthisaspectseemsfarless
obvious.
Justas d'Annunziohad foundtheParadisescene
so Debussy's
'a problem'
as earlyas February
1911,28
worriesinvolvedthis
mostclearlyexpressed
written
act. He complainedto thetheatredirector
Gabriel
the
Astruc,probablyearlyin May afterattending
first
dressrehearsal,
ofthebad coordination
between
fromAct 4
the actionand themusic,particularly
on stage
no.3 to theend. Too littlewas happening
26Durand (1912), pp.68-9
274 June 1911; quoted in Lockspeiser: op cit, 164
28Tosi: op cit, letter 19bis, p.69 (to Astruc), 14 Feb 1911

duringthiscrucialsection,and whatdid happen

(Sebastian's funeralprocession),happened too
thecortegeshouldbeginlater,
quickly.He thought
and afterpausingat the momentwhenthe light
burstforth(OS 179), should continueinto the
chorusin Act 5 no.2 (for which
unaccompanied
therewere no stage directions).29
Part of this
wordedletter,whicheven suggests'supstrongly
theParadisesection'altogether,
and compressing
plains of the poor lightingand the 'impolite'
actors' entriesduring the orchestralpreludes,
suggeststhattheproblemsinvolvedin thishurried
werepretty
basic.
production
thecontinuity
andsplendour
Probablyto improve
ofthepremiere,
orchestral
Capletmadesomefurther
additionsto thescoreof Saint-Sebastien
whichare
preservedin his printedconductingcopy in the
ParisOperaLibrary.30
As wellas doublingvarious
brasspartsneartheend of Act 1 (OS 61-3) and in
the fanfaresat the startof Act 3 (OS 99-103),
he also added a partforfullorganto doublethe
to thechorus
antiphonalanswersin the orchestra
partsin Act 5 no.2 (OS 190f).This onlyenhances
theartificial
grandeurof thefinalpages,and is in
completecontrastto the subtleharmoniumpart
usedbyDebussyin thesamescene.The twoappear
side by side aroundfig.7(OS 191) and, whatever
the practicalreasons involved,the difference
in
musicaltastebetweenCaplet'shugeorganchords
and Debussy's quiet harmonium,playinghigh
ethereal2ndsin thewings,is markedindeed.
It is odd thatDebussyshouldhave orchestrated
thefinalact ofLe martyre
himself
whenhe was so
detailed
pressedfor time.Perhapshis beautifully
scoringwas an attemptto conceal a mundane
choralpartthathe had no timeto rethink.The
of thisrestrained
remainder
but inaccessible
score
in
betraysfewsignsof hasteor over-obviousness
its conception.Its veiledmysticism
and Parsifallike qualitieshave oftenbeen commentedon,31
and Debussyhimselfwas finallyconfident
about
hisending.He thought
he had created:
decorativemusic . . . the illustrationsin timbres

and rhythms
of a noble text,and when,in the
finalact,theSaintascendsto Paradise,I thinkI
realizedall thatI felt,experienced
in this conceptionof the Ascension.Have I succeeded?
Thatdoes notworrymeanymore.We no longer
possessthespiritoffaithofold.Thefaiththatmy
musicexpresses,
is it orthodoxor not? I ignore
this.It is minealone,minewhichsingsforthin
completeconfidence.32
29Bibliotheque Nationale, La Debussy (Cl) 54
30A742a, the 'modifications' Caplet intended to make are also
listed on the cover.
31Vuillermoz, op cit, 182

32Comoedia(18 May 1911)

A Rakhmaninov Museum was opened in September in Ivanocka,

near Tambov, central Russia; it is housed in a building on the
estate once owned by Rakhmaninov's parents-in-law, where
he wrote several of his major works.
A Richard Tauber Memorial Showcase has been placed in the
amphitheatre promenade at the Royal Opera House.
The two music examples in Neal Zaslaw's article 'The Enigma
of the Haute-Contre' (Nov MT, p.939) were transposed, after
the proof stage; our printers apologize to Mr Zaslaw and to
readers.

10J5

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