Notes for: July 31, 2018
Depressed by World War I and eager to contribute to the French war effort, Debussy turned to the only thing he had to offer: his music. "I want to work not so much for myself, but to give proof, however small it may be, that not even 30 million ‘boches’ can destroy French thought," he said. In the sonatas that turned out to be his last compositions, Debussy sought to capture what he saw as the spirit of French tradition. As he told Stravinsky, his intent was to return to “pure music.” He planned to write six sonatas for different combinations of instruments: cello and piano; flute, violin, and harp; violin and piano; oboe, horn, and harpsichord; clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, and piano; and as a grand finale, a sixth sonata that would be scored for all those instruments plus a double bass. As it turned out, he wrote only the first three before succumbing to colon cancer.
In the Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp, Debussy wraps an 18th century French sensibility – elegant and uncluttered – in 20th century tonality. Debussy described this Sonata as "in the ancient, flexible mold with none of the grandiloquence of modern sonatas." What is immediately striking is the way in which, from the ethereal opening measures, Debussy exploits the distinct and contrasting timbres of his unusual combination of instruments. Striking too is the unconventional structure. Beginning with the flute’s melancholy opening strain, the episodic Pastorale is made up of six brief motifs. After a lively middle section that is driven by dotted rhythms, these motifs recur without variation but in a different order. Throughout this sensuous movement and the two that follow, there are striking shifts in tempo and mood. And even with Debussy’s new aesthetic, there is a beguiling range of colors and textures that recall his earlier Impressionistic works, and suggestions of the Eastern influences so prominent in his compositions.
Debussy continues his homage to the past in the Interlude. Marked “Tempo de Minuetto,” the movement with its carefree melody captures the spirit of the graceful, sunny Baroque dance. Vigorous rhythms propel the energetic Finale, with the viola’s pizzicatos and the flute’s arpeggios among the movement’s driving forces. William Austin called the Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp “the last word in the vein of Prelude to the Afternoon of the Faun and Syrinx, with both the voluptuousness of the former and the austerity of the latter.” Debussy’s own assessment of the Sonata is intriguing. Looking back with seeming regret, he wrote to a friend that it was “the music of a Debussy whom I no longer know. It is frightfully melancholy and I don’t know whether one should laugh or cry – perhaps both?”