Debussy Épigraphes Antiques

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The Six épigraphes antiques began life as incidental music for a single performance of Debussy's friend Pierre Louÿs' Chansons de Bilitis. This collection of prose poems was billed as a translation of recently discovered poems by Sappho. Note, this was not the well known 3 songs, but a recitation accompanied by 2 flutes, 2 harps and celesta, and living tableaux. God I would love to have been there. The score was unpublished, and rather than lose good material, in 1914 Debussy set about half of it for piano 4 hands. There is a very fine recording on the Candide label.

1. Pour invoquer Pan, dieu du vent d'été (for summoning Pan, god of the summer wind);
2. Pour un tombeau sans nom (for a tomb without a name); 2:18
3. Pour que la nuit soit propice (I hope I get lucky tonight); 5:18
4. Pour la danseuse aux crotales (for the dancing girl with cymbals); 7:34
5. Pour l'Égyptienne (for that Egyptian girl...); 9:59
6. Pour remercier la pluie du matin (thankful for the morning rain) 12:52

Note the rich harmony at the 3:25 mark; I count 8 tones, G D A C Eb Gb Ab F!

The Pierre Louÿs book is well worth checking out; here is the first stanza from "La Danseuse aux Crotales":

Tu arraches à tes mains légères tes crotales retentissants. Myrrhinidion ma chérie, et à peine nue hors de la robe, tu étires tes membres nerveux. Que tu es jolie, les bras en l'air, les reins arqués et les seins rouges!

Created, edited and mastered in Digital Performer (MOTU), Ivory sound banks (Synthogy).

One of the wonderful things about piano 4 hands is the cunning way the composer arranges matters such that the 2 players have to reach over, under and around each other. M Claude de France was such a clever one! OK, so I did it virtually, not so much sensual fun...

I get a lot of negative comments on my translation of #3. "For that the night is propitious" is too hoity-toity for me, sorry; and besides which what does that mean?