PREFACE

The standard repertoire of the concert saxophone is an eclectic collection of works by composers who are generally not considered to be household classical staples. Supplementing these esoteric titles are a small amount of works written by better known composers, among most famous of which being Claude Debussy and his Rapsodie pour Orchestre et Saxophone (1903). Despite the significance of a composer like Debussy writing for the saxophone and his relative fame in comparison to other composers in of concert saxophone’s standard repertoire, Rapsodie remains largely unrecognized by musicologists in the context of Debussy’s compositional output and musical development. In fact, this work does not even merit any entry or footnote in the Grove Dictionary of Music! Greater understating of this phenomenon can be garnered through investigation of the work’s genesis and development, musical analysis of compositional distinctions and outside influences, and investigation of entrenched historical fallacies. This investigation will elucidate the misconceptions that surround the work and conclude on how the work was originally intended to be approached in performance situations.

ORIGINS & DEVELOPMENT

Despite its French name, the Rapsodie’s origins lie in the United States, starting with a commission by a Boston native named Elise Hall. Mrs. Hall was a woman of high social standing, married to Dr. Richard Hall, a physician famous for his feat of conducting the first successful appendectomy.[1] Mrs. Hall contracted a case of typhoid fever between 1894 and 1896, resulting in significant loss of hearing. In order to prevent further degradation, Dr. Hall suggested that Elise begin learning a wind instrument. She chose the saxophone and, after learning of a townsperson who played the instrument, proceeded to study privately with him.[2]

After her husband’s ironic death from appendicitis 1897, Mrs. Hall was left with a large sum of money and a growing passion for the saxophone and orchestral music. Using her newly acquired wealth, Mrs. Hall relocated from Santa Barbara back to Boston and, in 1899, fostered the formation of an amateur ensemble called the Boston Orchestral Club.[3] This ensemble was founded with the chief purpose of providing an orchestral experience for amateurs; it would later evolve into a platform from which Elise Hall would promote and perform new repertoire for the concert saxophone, both as an ensemble member and as a soloist. Through this club and the guidance of her friend and new saxophone teacher, French oboist Georges Longy, Mrs. Hall first approached Claude Debussy in 1901 concerning the commission of a single-movement “fantasie” for saxophone and orchestra.[4] The composer promptly accepted payment in advance for the composition in order to pay off legal debts incurred by a previous publisher. Unfortunately for Elise Hall, work would not commence on the new composition for another two years.

Debussy delayed starting the composition for several reasons, the most important of which was that he was incredibly focused on the rehearsal and subsequent premiere of his opera, Pelléas et Mélisande.[5] Nearing the completion of the first set of performances in June 1902, Debussy wrote to Robert Godet:

To tell you the truth, I’m suffering fatigue to the point of neurasthenia, a de luxe illness I never believed in ’til now. […] I really can’t wait for the Pelléas performances to finish! It’s time they did, I may say: it’s beginning to sound like a repertory opera![6]

In fact, for the next several months, Debussy wrote write no music at all and only produced a few articles of musical criticism. Debussy went go as far as to write to his friend and colleague, conductor and composer André Messager to complain about “his poor brain” being “like a squeezed lemon.”[7] This break was interrupted, however, by an unexpected visit from Mrs. Hall and Longy, who arrived in Paris unannounced in May of 1903 in order to ascertain the status of their forsaken commission. Debussy wrote of his annoyance with both the unexpected visitor and compositional writer’s block to his wife, Lilly:

It appears that Longy and the saxophone lady are in Paris!—Longy came to see me and although he was cordial I sensed that one must not keep them waiting too much longer; I am thus trying to finish this goddamn piece as quickly as possible. Naturally, the musical ideas take particular care to flee from me, like wry butterflies, and I spend hours of indescribable irritation. The fact that I would like to achieve something very good, in order to reward these people for their patience, only makes matters worse.[8]

In June, Debussy and Lily vacationed in Bichain in order to ease his exhaustion and lack of compositional drive. Despite his initial hesitance and the delay in starting the work, Debussy eventually found new footing and a renewed vigor to create original sounds. In fact, the composer wrote in various letters that he wished to “go off in a completely new direction” and admitted,

“I had forgotten its [the saxophone] special sonority to the degree I forgot ‘this commission’ at the same time.”[9]

The piece was initially titled “Rapsodie Arabe” and originally intended to portray the moorish rhythms and soundscapes found in cities such as Biskra in northern Algeria (as Debussy described in a letter to Pierre Louÿs).[10] Other rejected potential titles included “Rapsodie Orientale" and “Rapsodie Mauresque pour Orchestre et Saxophone Obligé.”[11] These early exotic aspirations, unfortunately, were not majorly realized in the final product; Debussy instead chose to go in yet another “new direction” and draw from a different inspiration. Despite this, there are some remaining timbral qualities in the finished work that hint at its exotic-minded origins. Certain orchestration choices sound “maursque,” such as when Debussy has small groups of woodwinds and tambourine play in jaunty dancing rhythms that allude to moorish dances played by indigenous traditional instruments (see example 1).

**Example 1.** Small groups of wind and percussion instruments playing dance-like figures

Almost all dancing motives are initially stated by woodwinds rather than strings, a deliberate choice that highlights the desired exotic tone quality. These particular moments allude to the timbres of the indigenous instruments used in moorish and Algerian secular music such as wooden flutes, the zurna (an Algerian double reed instrument akin to the oboe), and the adufe (a moorish percussion instrument akin to the tambourine).

NEW DIRECTIONS

Rather than relying on purely exotic inspirations, Debussy would accomplish his new direction by means of utilizing a totally new source for motivic material. The first motive in the saxophone part in measure 14, (see example 2) bears a strong resemblance to the call of le cordonnier (see example 3), which translates to “the cobbler.”

**Example 2.** The saxophone’s initial motive

**Example 3.** The call of *le cordonnier*

Many calls of this nature were captured and notated in Les Voix de Paris, an anthology of French merchant calls collected by Georges Kastner, a contemporary of Debussy’s. This is not an isolated incident, as over 27 instances of calls are quoted from a variety of merchants, handymen, coachmen, and river-men throughout the piece.[12] Even if Debussy was not actively aware of and referencing findings in Kastner’s collection, he certainly would have heard these calls outside of his window every day. The streets of Paris were still alive with domestic and foreign merchant melodies at the time, all of which provided a soundtrack from which Debussy could draw motives for the Rapsodie. The sheer amount of quotes and their prominence in the motivic material is evidence that Debussy was actively drawing from the calls of these merchants, regardless if he actually referenced Kastner’s collection or not.

In addition to the motivic material used, the way in which the saxophone part was written helps to provide the singing vocal quality that Debussy wished to emulate. The Rapsodie consists of strongly contrasting lyrical and dancing sections and, to the chagrin of some concert saxophonists, is simply not a particularly technically demanding work for the soloist. The soloist is almost exclusively featured in lyrical sections of the piece (see example 4), “murmuring melancholy phrases,” as Debussy wrote.[13]

**Example 4.** A slower section of the piece, the saxophone “murmuring” lyrical phrases

These lyrical sections, which comprise of simpler and more lyrical merchant calls, are written in a medium register of the saxophone in order to emulate the sound of a woman’s voice. The range of the solo part only extends from G♭3 to F♭5; the latter pitch only occurs once as the last note of the piece for the soloist. Meanwhile, the range of a female alto voice is commonly referred to as ranging from G3 to F5. This strong correlation of range is indicative that Debussy may have consciously avoided use of the highest or lowest registers of the saxophone in order to closely mimic an alto singer’s vocal range. The orchestral responses sharply contrast with the saxophone’s lyrical quality, lightly dancing and drawing their motivic material from the more technically challenging merchant calls (see example 1). These dances feature a lilting duple feel in the 6/8 sections, contrasting with the more lyrical 2/4 sections.

The most rhythmically demanding material for the soloist appears in the 2/4 sections while the orchestra provides supporting texture. These rhythmic solo lines are not dancing in quality, however, and serve more as elaborate grace-note or decorative figures upon an implied simple melody (see example 5).

**Example 5.** Elaborated melodic rhythms in the saxophone part

In the 6/8 sections, the saxophone primarily plays simple lyrical lines with supportive orchestral accompaniment. Whenever the 6/8 sections become more dance-like or increase in tempo, the saxophone does not join the dance. Instead, the saxophone provides moments of punctuation or accompagnato support to the woodwinds (see example 6).

**Example 6.** Saxophone and brass supporting the melody in the high woodwinds

As a whole, the saxophone part is much more lyrical in nature, only playing technically when it does not sacrifice the ability for the audience to clearly hear the unique timbre of the instrument; there are no moments when both the saxophone and orchestra are featured in unison or playing tutti in an virtuosic manner. Whenever the saxophone plays in dancing sections, it is more supportive in nature and indicative of how the instrument may have been used if it were considered a “traditional” orchestral woodwind. The nature of the dialogue between the orchestra’s moments and the saxophone’s moments, combined with a solo part that is not virtuosic in nature, results in a work that is not like a typical concerto. Instead, the piece more akin to a musical tableaux that draws from merchant calls and moorish soundscapes and that also happens to prominently feature the saxophone as a decoration to the ensemble.[14]

By August of the same year, Debussy had completed a short-score version of his Rapsodie; however, he did not contact Elise Hall to inform her of the composition’s near-completion or provide proof of any work. Additionally, he neglected to continue preparing the orchestral score and parts. Instead, the composer returned to Paris to meet with Jacques Durand in order to sign a contract for the exclusive publication of his Rapsodie for 100 francs; despite having never properly filled the original commission or provided any score, Debussy managed to be paid twice for the same work![15] Shortly after this development, he promptly began to compose his famous La Mer, which decidedly distracted from the business of completing the finishing touches and orchestral score of the Rapsodie. As a result in 1905, two years into his publication agreement, neither Durand nor Ms. Hall had received any kind of complete score. Debussy, who appeared to harbor feelings of guilt for twice selling an incomplete piece, wrote to Durand asking to kindly renege on the agreement:

Madame E. Hall, the “saxophone-lady,” is politely asking me for her fantasy; I’d like to oblige her, because she’s been as patient as a Red Indian [sic] and deserves some reward.[16]

Unsurprisingly, Durand declined this proposal, so the composer hastily obtained a hologram-copy of a handwritten sketch manuscript for the work, entitled Esquisse d’une‘Rhapsodie Mauresque’ pour Orchestre et Saxophone Principal, to be sent to Mrs. Hall later. The manuscript did not make it to her, nor would any complete orchestration of the work to Durand before the Debussy’s death in 1918, due to him being distracted with his next big project, La Mer (1903-1905).

ALL FOR A TYPO

Following Debussy’s death, Jean Roger-Ducasse was given all of the composer’s remaining works by his second wife, Emma, in order to see to their completion and publication. Roger-Ducasse fully realized the orchestration marks seen on Hall’s copy of the short-score (see example 7).

**Example 7.** Debussy’s orchestration markings in the Hall manuscript

James R. Noyes, a scholar on the subject, summarizes:

Roger-Ducasse’s orchestral manuscript [MS 1001] incorporates sixty-two of Debussy’s original sixty-five indications, a retention rate of more than 95 percent. Thus, Debussy’s faithful friend remained true to his colleague’s intentions […] To “fill out” the orchestration, Roger-Ducasse created parts for five additional instruments (piccolo, tuba, timpani, triangle, and suspended cymbal) and doubled many of the original lines, scoring woodwinds with the high strings, bassoons and timpani to reinforce the bass, and horns to fill in the middle register, all of which are implied by the Hall manuscript.[17]

In addition to completing the orchestration, Roger-Ducasse also saw to arranging a piano reduction of the work; this is his biggest contribution, more derivative than any of the orchestration found in the full version. Finally, for reasons unknown, the title was simplified to, Rapsodie pour Orchestre et Saxophone (L. 98).

Roger-Ducasse’s involvement with the score preparation and publication of the Rapsodie, unfortunately, has served a platform for musicologists to assume that the work was flippantly composed and never truly finished. This trend was started by Léon Vallas, the first musicologist to write about this work in his book, Claude Debussy et son temps(1932). Vallas wrote that the composition was a “disagreeable task,” “ridiculous,” and “nothing more than a rough draft.”[18] These statements were clearly written in error and do not take into account the actual events that took place throughout the piece’s genesis, development, and prolonged completion. This is made especially evident when one considers the fact that Debussy himself enthusiastically wrote of the saxophone’s “special sonority.” Another blatant error attributed to Vallas’ slanted view is seen when he wrote:

In 1911, [Debussy] again set to work on the instrumentation [of Rapsodie]. But he wrote nothing more than a rough draft on three or four staves, and in this form the work was delivered to Mrs. Hall. [19]

This statement is in error, especially when considering that there is no proof or evidence that Debussy touched the composition after 1903. Instead, Vallas was erroneously referring to the Première Rhapsodie (L. 116) for clarinet and orchestra, confusing the two similarly-titled works. This is evidenced by Debussy’s own writing to Durand in two separate occasions, where the composer misspelled the title of his clarinet Rhapsodie as “Rapsodie,” omitting an “h”. Analyzing the content of the letters finds that he clearly was referring to this clarinet work, especially in a letter from December of 1911, where Debussy specifically discussed the reception of a Russian performance of his recently-orchestrated clarinet “Rapsodie” (misspelled with no “h”).[20] Debussy’s misspellings, combined with Vellas’ misinterpretation of his findings, resulted in a subsequent snowballing of misinformation among musicologists. Noyes succinctly concludes:

Vallas’s “disagreeable task,” became Thompson’s “abandoning the task in despair,” which in turn became “he just could not force himself to the task” according to Seroff.[21]

While Vallas cannot be totally condemned for the publication of his innocent misunderstanding (which may have happened to also verify his personal opinions), it is truly unfortunate that subsequent musicologists chose to base their scholarly writing concerning this piece on the flawed work of another musicologist, rather than approach the work with a fresh perspective via the use of primary documents.

CONCLUSION

At first glance, Claude Debussy’s Rapsodie is beleaguered by several factors, such as the lack of technical virtuosity demanded from the soloist, the complicated series of events resulting in the piece’s development, and the accumulation of negative associations of uninspired compositional flippancy and insignificance at the hands of mistaken musicologists. However, fresh analysis of this work in a modern context, starting with an investigation of primary documents, reveals a new level of understanding as to why the piece continues to be wrongly thought-of and also provides many answers to fill the gaps in knowledge presented by prior scholars. Additionally, it reveals a wealth of new information regarding the development of the piece; including but not limited to the composer’s references to moorish timbres, his integration of French merchant calls, and the nature and extent of the orchestration completed by Debussy and Roger-Ducasse. These aspects of the piece’s development are unique to this composition within the context of Debussy’s canon of works. They also tell a more comprehensive narrative in regards to how the work came to be in its present state. Finally, it reveals perhaps the most important point: this work has too often been portrayed as a flawed concerto, which is further evidenced by a wealth of new editions that transplant orchestral material into the soloist’s part.[22] Alternatively, this piece instead should be approached as an orchestral tableaux that happens to feature the saxophone, serving as a piece to welcome its new timbre to the orchestral winds.

Jean-Marie Londeix, a world-renowned French concert saxophonist and a preeminent scholar on the concert saxophone repertoire, stated that while it is disappointing that Debussy never wrote saxophonists a virtuosic showcase, it does not take away from the beauty of the work; he admits he was mistaken to classify and approach the piece as something it was not.[23] Based on the information accumulated, Debussy likely intended this work to be a nationalistic celebration, representing the voices of his beloved Paris through their inclusion as motivic inspiration, complete with a slightly “mauresque” twist evident in the timbres of his orchestration choices. No other work in Debussy’s cannon can attribute its motives to such sources, making the Rapsodie quite unique in this regard and a one-of-a-kind piece of music. Ultimately, this piece represents a new direction that regrettably did not see more development due to the composer’s untimely death and preoccupation with other aesthetic developments. With these revelations in mind, it is only a matter of time until future scholars must recognize Claude Debussy’s Rapsodie pour Orchestre et Saxophone for the “new direction” that it represents.

FOOTNOTES

[1] William H. Street, “Elise Boyer Hall, America’s First Female Concert Saxophonist: Her Life as Performing artist, Pioneer of Concert Repertory for Saxophone and Patroness of the Arts” (DMA diss., Northwestern University, 1983), 16-17.

[2] William H. Street, “Elise Boyer Hall, America’s First Female Concert Saxophonist: Her Life as Performing artist, Pioneer of Concert Repertory for Saxophone and Patroness of the Arts” (DMA diss., Northwestern University, 1983), 21.

[3] William H. Street, “Elise Boyer Hall, America’s First Female Concert Saxophonist: Her Life as Performing artist, Pioneer of Concert Repertory for Saxophone and Patroness of the Arts” (DMA diss., Northwestern University, 1983), 28.

[4] Robert J. Seligson, “The ‘Rapsodie for Orchestra and Saxophone’ by Claude Debussy: A Comparison of Two Performance Editions” (DMA diss., University of North Texas, 1988), 6.

[5] Smith, Richard Langham, "Pelléas et Mélisande." The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed September 15, 2016, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/O002420.

[6] Franc Lesure and Roger Nichols, Debussy Letters (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1987), 127-28.

[7]  James R. Noyes, "Debussy's Rapsodie Pour Orchestre Et Saxophone Revisited” The Musical Quarterly 90/1 (2008), 420.

[8] François Lesure, Denis Herlin, and Georges Liébert, eds. Claude Debussy Correspondance (1872–1918) (Paris: Gallimard, 2005), 736.

[9] François Lesure, Denis Herlin, and Georges Liébert, eds. Claude Debussy Correspondance (1872–1918) (Paris: Gallimard, 2005), 742.

[10] Franc Lesure and Roger Nichols, Debussy Letters (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1987), 136.

[11] James R. Noyes, "Debussy's Rapsodie Pour Orchestre Et Saxophone Revisited” The Musical Quarterly 90/1 (2008), 422, 432.

[12] Jean-Marie Londeix and William H. Street, "Debussy and the Rhapsody for                               Saxophone” (video lecture, World Saxophone Congress XVI, Buchanan Theater, St. Andrews, Scotland, July 13, 2012).

[13] Franc Lesure and Roger Nichols, Debussy Letters (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1987), 136.

[14] Jean-Marie Londeix and William H. Street, "Debussy and the Rhapsody for                               Saxophone” (video lecture, World Saxophone Congress XVI, Buchanan Theater, St. Andrews, Scotland, July 13, 2012).

[15] James R. Noyes, "Debussy's Rapsodie Pour Orchestre Et Saxophone Revisited” The Musical Quarterly 90/1 (2008), 423.

[16] Franc Lesure and Roger Nichols, Debussy Letters (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1987), 158.

[17] James R. Noyes, "Debussy's Rapsodie Pour Orchestre Et Saxophone Revisited” The Musical Quarterly 90/1 (2008), 429.

[18] Léon Vallas, Mare O’Brien, and Grace O’Brien, Claude Debussy: His Life and Works (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1933), 161-62.

[19] Léon Vallas, Mare O’Brien, and Grace O’Brien, Claude Debussy: His Life and Works (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1933), 162.

[20] Franc Lesure and Roger Nichols, Debussy Letters (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1987), 248.

[21] James R. Noyes, "Debussy's Rapsodie Pour Orchestre Et Saxophone Revisited” The Musical Quarterly 90/1 (2008), 417, 418.

[22] Robert J. Seligson, “The ‘Rapsodie for Orchestra and Saxophone’ by Claude Debussy: A Comparison of Two Performance Editions” (DMA diss., University of North Texas, 1988),  9-35.

[23] Jean-Marie Londeix and William H. Street, "Debussy and the Rhapsody for                  Saxophone” (video lecture, World Saxophone Congress XVI, Buchanan Theater, St. Andrews, Scotland, July 13, 2012).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cottrell, Stephen. The Saxophone, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012.

Debussy, Claude. Esquisse d'une Rhapsodie Mauresque. Paris: Durand & Fils, 1908. Manuscript.

Debussy, Claude. Rapsodie pour Orchestre et Saxophone. Paris: Durand & Cie, 1919. Orchestral score and Parts.

Debussy, Claude. Rapsodie pour Orchestre et Saxophone. Arranged by Jean Roger-Ducasse. Paris: Durand & Cie, 1919. Piano Reduction.

Liley, Thomas, and Stephen Trier. “The Repertoire Heritage.” In The Cambridge Companion to the Saxophone. Edited by Richard Ingham. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Lesure, François, Denis Herlin, and Georges Liébert, eds. Claude Debussy Correspondance (1872–1918). Paris: Gallimard, 2005.

Londeix, Jean-Marie, and William H. Street. "Debussy and the Rhapsody for Saxophone." Lecture video, World Saxophone Congress XVI, Buchanan Theater, St. Andrews, Scotland, July 13, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hie1vGOl1do (Accessed October 23, 2015)

Miele, Peter. A Comparative Analysis of Three Works for Saxophone and Orchestra. MM thesis, Duquesne University, 1989.

Nichols, Roger. Debussy Letters. Edited by François Lesure. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1987.

Noyes, James R. "Debussy's Rapsodie Pour Orchestre Et Saxophone Revisited." The Musical Quarterly 2007, 90/1 (2008): 416-45.

Seligson, Robert Jan. 1988. The “Rapsodie for Orchestra and Saxophone” by Claude Debussy: A Comparison of Two Performance Editions. DMA dissertation, University of North Texas. Ann Arbor: ProQuest/UMI.

Smith, Richard Langham. "Pelléas et Mélisande." The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/O002420. (Accessed September 30, 2015)

Street, William. Elise Boyer Hall, America’s First Female Concert Saxophonist: Her Life as Performing artist, Pioneer of Concert Repertory for Saxophone and Patroness of the Arts. DMA dissertation, Northwestern University, 1983.

Trezise, Simon, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Debussy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Trier, Stephen. “The Saxophone in the Orchestra.” In The Cambridge Companion to the Saxophone. Edited by Richard Ingham. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Vallas, Léon. Claude Debussy: His Life and Works. Translated by Mare O’Brien and Grace O’Brien. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1933.

ABSTRACT

YEAR AND DEGREE

COMMITTEE

PAGES

CITATIONS

PREFACE

ORIGINS & DEVELOPMENT

NEW DIRECTIONS

ALL FOR A TYPO

CONCLUSION

FOOTNOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

HeaneyMusings

ABSTRACT

YEAR AND DEGREE

COMMITTEE

PAGES

CITATIONS

PREFACE

ORIGINS & DEVELOPMENT

NEW DIRECTIONS

ALL FOR A TYPO

CONCLUSION

FOOTNOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY