Claude Debussy meets Erik Satie 💫

 

𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐒𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐊 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐄 — 𝐀 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒 𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑, 𝐂. 𝟏𝟗𝟏𝟎

This remarkable photograph shows 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐲 (𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟐–𝟏𝟗𝟏𝟖) on the left and 𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐤 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞 (𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟔–𝟏𝟗𝟐𝟓) on the right, inside Debussy’s Paris home on the 𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐝𝐮 𝐁𝐨𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐞. Photographic catalogues usually date the image to around 𝟏𝟗𝟏𝟎, although some sources give 𝟏𝟗𝟏𝟏.

Its fascination lies partly in its informality. This is not a conventional studio portrait but an intimate glimpse of two composers surrounded by the furniture, books and artworks of Debussy’s home. Between them stands a conspicuous 𝐁𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐡𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞 in front of the large mirror, while the reflections multiply the figures and give the room an almost theatrical depth. The object is consistent with Debussy’s well-documented interest in Asian art and culture, although the photograph itself should not be taken as evidence of any particular religious practice.

𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞 had met around 𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟏 in the bohemian world of Montmartre, probably through the 𝐀𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐝𝐮 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐮 or the circles surrounding the 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐍𝐨𝐢𝐫. Their friendship, combining admiration, humour and occasional tension, continued for more than two decades.

One of the most important episodes in their relationship occurred in 𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟔, when 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐲 orchestrated two of Satie’s 𝐆𝐲𝐦𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐞́𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬, Nos. 𝟏 and 𝟑. The orchestration manuscript dates from February 𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟔, and the orchestral versions were publicly performed in Paris on 𝟐𝟎 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟕. Debussy’s intervention played an important role in bringing Satie’s music to wider attention.

By around 𝟏𝟗𝟏𝟎 the two men occupied very different positions in French musical life. Debussy was already internationally celebrated for works such as Pelléas et Mélisande and La mer, while Satie was beginning to be rediscovered by a younger generation that regarded his deceptively simple early music as remarkably prophetic.

There is also a delightful photographic connection. Another famous photograph, showing 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐲 with 𝐈𝐠𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐤𝐲 in Debussy’s home, was actually taken by 𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐤 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞. In that photograph one can also see evidence of Debussy’s fascination with Japanese art, including an image related to 𝐇𝐨𝐤𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐢’s Great Wave, famously associated with La mer.

The photograph therefore preserves far more than the meeting of two famous musicians. It offers a rare glimpse into the private world in which some of the most influential ideas of early twentieth-century European music were exchanged.

Thanks to Alex Rosas Navarro