In March 1915, the war hit him personally: Lieutenant Jacques Charlot was killed in action. Debussy later dedicated the second movement of En blanc et noir to the memory of the young composer. Debussy’s mother died a few weeks later: “My poor mother is dead. Her passing, though long, was apparently without suffering. who can be sure what happens to us in the final moments?ĭebussy found some peace in the summer during his stay at the seaside town of Pourville. In just three months, from July to October, he completed some of his most poignant music: En blanc et noir for two pianos, twelve Études for piano, a sonata for cello and piano, and a sonata for flute, viola, and harp.ĭebussy’s life took another downturn at year’s end. In December he underwent further cancer surgery. The operation failed and he was left in constant pain. While convalescing, Debussy wrote two more pieces: a Christmas carol Noël des enfants and Élégie for Pages inédites sur la femme et la guerre. The war had a chilling effect on Claude Debussy. Born in 1862, Debussy was France’s pre-eminent composer. But he had suffered from cancer since 1909. He also had childhood memories of the Siege of Paris (1870). And he had concerns about friends and family who served. “My life is one of intensity and disquiet. I’m nothing more than a wretched atom hurled around by this terrible cataclysm, and what I’m doing seems to me so miserably petty!” Debussy worked for aid agency for musicians and wrote Page d’album for the relief organization “Le Vêtement du Bless.” He also composed Berceuse héroïque to honor Belgium’s King Albert and his country’s sacrifices. The two sides hunkered down in trenches from the North Sea to Switzerland. Frontal assaults were inevitable but futile. Conditions went from bad to worse … outbreaks of trench foot, infestations of rats, and the use of poison gas, flame-throwers, machine guns, tanks, and other weapons of terror.
When Germany declared war in August, its goal was to sweep through Belgium and northern France. But Belgium offered stiffer resistance than expected. Many historic buildings were destroyed. Stories of alleged German atrocity flooded Allied press. The German advance was finally halted at the Marne. This famous battle occurred a century ago in the poppy fields of Northern France. It was intended to break the gridlock of the first years of WWI. But the battle turned into a bloodbath. Claude Debussy responded by writing some of his most poignant music. Pairing this music with relevant images and texts, allows us to see how people and landscapes were scarred at the Somme and how those scars continue to disfigure us today. The whole history of the world cannot contain a more gruesome word.”
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