Debussy: A Painter in Sound
Stephen Walsh Faber & Faber ISBN 978-0-571-33016-4 358pp (hb) £20 rrp
Stephen Walsh’s meaty and readable account of Debussy’s life and work is timely indeed. Precociously gifted, ever rebellious, the French composer (1862-1918) honed his abilities in his own way, in his own time; even if he won the prestigious Prix de Rome he underwent its rigours with reluctance, finding more inspiration in an affair with the married Marie-blanche Vasnier. His personal life remained scandal-ridden, culminating in his elopement with Emma Bardac, but Walsh builds a persuasive case that some of this chaos was down to the composer putting his art first.
Debussy took a slow, perfectionist approach to his compositions and it is the consideration of these that form the finest parts of Walsh’s book, peppered with delightful, imaginative insights. Writing about the colouristic shifts in ‘Cloches à travers les feuilles’ from Images, Walsh suggests: ‘These changes are not unlike the changes of angle or focus with fixed cameras in a film about nocturnal animals. Debussy seems to be peering into the innards of his harmonies and sonorities, trying not to disturb them, then after a few minutes moving quietly on to the next.’
At times, his take can seem idiosyncratic: the early songs are accorded more pages than they arguably merit, but the remark that Clair de lune, changed the course of musical history remains unelaborated. Speculative remarks about what Debussy ‘probably’ felt are plentiful. Still, this is a valuable and enjoyable addition to Debussy literature. Jessica Duchen ★★★★