Colloque Debussy

CENTRE DE DOCUMENTATION CLAUDE DEBUSSY

2, rue Louvois 75002 Paris Tel-Fax : + 33 (0)1 42 96 35 50 [email protected] - www.debussy.fr

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Paris, Cité de la Musique, Musée d’Orsay, 2-4 February 2012

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Claude Debussy, the Centre de documentation Claude Debussy (President : Pierre Boulez) is organizing an international conference on 2, 3 and 4 February 2012 in memory of its founder, François Lesure, and in association with the Cité de la Musique, the Musée d’Orsay, the Institut de recherche sur le patrimoine musical en France (IRPMF-CNRS, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ministry of Culture), the Ecole des Hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS), the Société française de musicologie (SFM), the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris (CNSMDP), the Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester, USA), and the University of Sienna (Italy).

Debussy scholarship has evolved considerably over the last fifty years or so, primarily due to the determining influence of François Lesure, responsible not only for having created the Centre de documentation Claude Debussy and the Cahiers Debussy, but also for having initiated the critical edition of the complete works and the general correspondence of Claude Debussy, as well as authoring pioneering studies including a catalogue of the works and a critical biography of the composer, generally considered to be a precursor of the music of the 20th century.

CALL FOR PAPERS

While substantiating the current position of Debussy research, which has developed considerably in recent years, this multidisciplinary conference has as its objective to generate new studies and open new perspectives in diverse fields of research, concentrating on hitherto unpublished areas of investigation. It will be organised around three major axes.

1. Interpreting Debussy

The progress made through familiarity with the sources, in particular through the critical edition of the complete works and the publication of the general correspondence, opens the way to further detailed studies of the process of composition, the genesis of the works, their variants (Debussy constantly reworked his compositions), their analysis and their interpretation – bearing in mind that the term ‘interpret’ may be meant in a hermeneutic sense on the one hand, or as musical execution on the other.

How does one analyse Debussy’s music? Is the hermeneutic approach valid today? Can one speak of a turning point in the use of tonality? Are comparative studies pertinent? Does it make sense to speak of a generational musical language?

Is Debussy’s musical language influenced by the nature of the instruments he uses? What is the role of the first interpreters of his music?

Moreover, sound recording, which revolutionised not only the history of music but also the careers of musicians, constitutes a fundamental source which deserves to be examined. Still in its infancy during Debussy’s lifetime, it improved progressively between the wars, while a generation of interpreters who were contemporaries of the composer were pursuing their careers. How does one analyse these sources? What do they teach us about a tradition of interpretation? How does one determine the central role of the interpreter, a veritable liaison officer between the composer and his public? How best to define the function and gauge the responsibility of the interpreter? Can one, in the long term, analyse an evolution of interpretation?

Does this progress, whether through textual editions or sound recordings, stimulate new ideas? give rise to new problems? permit new areas of analysis?

2. Social, political and artistic context

Several angles of approach may be envisaged.

Can one situate this composer ideologically? Does he have connections with certain political circles? Is it possible to identify and analyse his standpoint and his conviction (regarding the Dreyfus Affair, the Great War, nationalism, anti-Semitism etc.)? Is it possible to define a Debussy “morality”? How is he perceived by the various political forces?

Can one establish a link between a cultural approach (through technical, economic, political, social environments etc.), an aesthetic approach and a musical analysis of the composer’s work? What are the connections between the cultural and the political ‘avant-garde’? How best can one weigh up Debussy’s integration into the social networks of his time? How does one analyse his links with backward-looking institutions (the Conservatoire, the Academy…).

This lends itself to two different approaches: endogenous or exogenous. Debussy is a particularly cultured musician, curious about other forms of artistic and literary expression. The line of approach in this instance would be to go deeper into already existing research on the links between Debussy’s works and extra- European music, literature, theatre, dance, and the plastic arts. Conversely, the reciprocal influences deserve attention. What can historians of art or literature bring to bear on the possible influence of Debussy’s music on the plastic arts or on literature?

3. Posterity

What is Debussy’s position in relation to modernity? How does one describe and analyse his influence, from the generation of Boulez, Barraqué or Boucourechliev who, having grown up with his music, pinpointed its fundamental role, to the young composers of the 21st century? What is Debussy’s legacy to posterity?

What was Debussy’s critical success? His copious bibliography would seem to merit critical study, especially in the light of the principal bibliographies (by Claude Abravanel, James Briscoe), as well as the regular updates published in the Cahiers Debussy. The biographies in particular, since the first publication in London in 1908, deserve special attention. How can we gauge the evolution of the critical reception both of the writings of and on Debussy? This topic could be linked to a study of the reception of Debussy’s music not only during his lifetime but also since his death.

How is the invention of “Debussysme” to be interpreted? Is it possible to follow its tracks (both as a badge of loyalty and as a critical label) in France and abroad? “Debussy c’est la France”: can the story of this phenomenon be told? Comparative studies of the critical success of other composers would be welcomed.

How does one analyse the use of Debussy’s music in contexts as diverse as popular music or film scores? Is it possible to conclude that these appropriations may contribute to ensuring another form of perpetuity for the composer?

PROPOSALS

Proposals for papers (either in French or in English) should not exceed 250 words and should be accompanied by the authors’ titles and qualifications, including a list of their recent publications. Proposals will be accepted until 30 November 2009 at the following e-mail address: [email protected].

The committee will make known its decision on the proposals before 31 January 2010.

COMMITTEE - Esteban Buch (CRAL-EHESS)

- Rémy Campos (CNSMDP)

- Myriam Chimènes (IRPMF-CNRS) - Denis Herlin (IRPMF-CNRS)

- Emmanuel Hondré (Cité de la musique)

- Alexandra Laederich (Centre de documentation Claude Debussy) - Catherine Massip (BnF et Société française de musicologie) - Pascal Ory (Université de Paris I)

- Talia Pecker-Berio (Université de Sienne) - Christophe Prochasson (CRH-EHESS)

- Marie Rolf (Eastman School of Music, Rochester University) - Manuela Schwartz (Hochshule Magdeburg/Stendal)

Coordination: Myriam Chimènes ([email protected]) and Alexandra Laederich ([email protected])