Six Mélodies - Claude Debussy

Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Six songs arranged for flute and piano

Of the ninety-one melodies for voice and piano that Claude Debussy composed throughout his life, selecting pieces for the album Un flot antique de lumière (available from Klarthe – KLA107) proved to be a delicate task.
From Nuit d’étoiles , an early work composed as early as 1880, to the Romance (‘L’âme évaporée…’) dating from 1891, we present here a journey paying tribute to various poets (Bourget, de Banville, Verlaine). This collection notably highlights the masterpiece of melancholic landscape poetry that is Beau soir , whilst honouring the close bond between the musician
and his favourite poet, through three pieces from the eighteen melodies that plunge us into the heart of Paul Verlaine’s poetic world: Il pleure dans mon cœur, L’ombre des arbres and Green .
Adapted here for flute and piano, these six melodies trace a journey that allows us to hear Debussy’s voice in a new light: stripped of the sung text, the melodic line reveals the full subtlety of his composition, his artistry in breath control, colour and suggestion.

Chronology of the songs
1. Nuit d’étoiles (L. 4)
◦ Date of composition: 1880
◦ Poet: Théodore de Banville.
2. Beau soir (L. 6)
◦ Date of composition: 1880 (Sketched that same year, published in 1891).
◦ Poet: Paul Bourget.
3. It Weeps in My Heart (L. 63 / No. 2 of the Ariettes oubliées )
◦ Date of composition: January 1885 – March 1887
◦ Poet: Paul Verlaine.
4. The shade of the trees (L. 63 / No. 3 of the Ariettes oubliées )
◦ Date of composition: January 1885 – March 1887
◦ Poet: Paul Verlaine.
5. Green (L. 63 / No. 5 of Ariettes oubliées )
◦ Date of composition: January 1885 – March 1887
◦ Poet: Paul Verlaine.
6. Romance — ‘L’âme évaporée... ’ (L. 79 / No. 1 of the Deux Romances)
◦ Date of composition: 1891
◦ Poet: Paul Bourget.

Gionata Sgambaro

Duration: 15'