Claude Debussy (Cimetière de Passy) - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

[FR] Achille-Claude Debussy naît dans la maison familiale de Saint-Germain-en-Laye le 22 août 1862. Ses parents, Manuel-Achille, un ancien militaire, et Victorine (née Manoury) sont vendeurs de céramiques et de poteries ( « marchands faïenciers »).

Plus encore que les romantiques, Debussy marque une rupture avec la forme classique, bien que la perfection formelle et le sens de l'unité qui structurent ses compositions en fassent, d'une certaine manière, un "classique". Sa musique se distingue en effet par une architecture secrète mais souveraine: inspirée parfois des musiques orientales, elle anticipe tantôt le jazz, tantôt la musique contemporaine, mais n'exprime souvent que son propre mystère. Les thèmes sont épars, disséminés, les recherches harmoniques audacieuses, les nuances infinies et les rythmes complexes. Ses œuvres sont de prime abord sensorielles, elles visent à éveiller chez l'auditeur des sensations particulières en traduisant en musique des images et des impressions précises. Les titres évocateurs de ses pièces illustrent d'ailleurs assez bien cette ambition, même s'ils ne sont qu'indicatifs et ne constituent pas de « programme » : Des pas sur la neige, La Fille aux cheveux de lin, Ce qu'a vu le vent d'Ouest, La Cathédrale engloutie, etc. (Préludes). Il substitue de cette manière les couleurs aux notes (et préfigure ainsi ce kaléidoscope de timbres que la Seconde Ecole de Vienne appellera klangfarbenmelodie): il n'est qu'à écouter Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, sans doute le meilleur interprète de son œuvre pianistique, pour accéder à cette synesthésie. Ainsi, même s'il est difficile de le rattacher à un courant artistique, on le qualifie généralement d'« impressionniste », étiquette qu'il n'a lui-même jamais revendiquée et plutôt abandonnée aujourd'hui.

D'abord inhumé au cimetière du Père-Lachaise, sans discours et sous les tirs d'obus des Pariser Kanonen, Claude Debussy repose désormais au cimetière de Passy dans le XVIe arrondissement. À ses côtés reposent sa fille, décédée en 1919, et sa femme, Emma, morte en 1934.

[EN] Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions. Debussy is not only among the most important of all French composers but also a central figure in European music at the turn of the twentieth century. He was made Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 1903.

His music is noted for its sensory component and how it is not often formed around one key or pitch. Often Debussy's work reflected the activities or turbulence in his own life. His music virtually defines the transition from late-Romantic music to twentieth century modernist music. In French literary circles, the style of this period was known as symbolism, a movement that directly inspired Debussy both as a composer and as an active cultural participant.

Claude Debussy died of rectal cancer in Paris on March 25, 1918, in the midst of the aerial and artillery bombardment of the city during the Spring Offensive of World War I. The funeral procession made its way through deserted streets to Père Lachaise cemetery as shells from the German guns ripped into his beloved city. At this time, the military situation in France was desperate, and circumstances did not permit his being paid the honour of a public funeral or ceremonious graveside orations. It was just eight months before France would celebrate victory. Debussy's body was reinterred shortly afterwards in the small Cimetière de Passy sequestered behind the Trocadéro; his wife and daughter are buried with him. French culture has ever since celebrated Debussy as one of its most distinguished representatives.

Description: See Detailed Description Date of birth: 08/22/1862 Date of death: 03/25/1918 Area of notoriety: Art Marker Type: Monument Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Monday-Friday: 8:00-5:30 p.m.;Saturday: 8:30-5:30;Sunday and holidays: 9:00-5:30 p.m Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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