LDV84

18 DEBUSSY_12 ÉTUDES • LE MARTYRE DE SAINT SÉBASTIEN Can one speak of a paring-down of Debussy’s ‘sensualism’ in the Études , gradually slipping towards a form of abstraction? The Études clearly show a paring-down of ‘sensualism’ and ‘Impressionism’ (a term that Debussy, in fact, vehemently rejected). In this connection, it seems to me that it’s interesting to reflect on the question of titles. Up to and including Pour le piano (with the exception of the celebrated Clair de lune ), Debussy’s piano works bear traditional titles drawn from classical forms, often names of dances, or else inspired by Chopin. From the Estampes onwards, we enter the period of evocative and poetic titles that free Debussy from all constraints and allow him to engender a wholly new musical universe, in which the primacy of sound over the note, the spatialisation of timbres and a new conception of musical time all appear astonishingly modern. This is a period characterised by an extraordinary sumptuousness and sensuality of sound. In the Préludes , Debussy chose to place the titles at the end of each piece, in brackets and preceded by an ellipsis, as if their purpose was more allusive than descriptive, as if he already wished to take a step back from the literary pretext. And it’s also in the Préludes that Debussy introduces a dose of humour and acid irony, conducive to rhythmic innovations and ruptures that will find their fullest expression in the Études .