Lot 7
  • 7

Debussy, Claude

Estimate
2,000 - 3,000 GBP
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Description

  • Debussy, Claude
  • Autograph manuscript of exercises in counterpoint
  • paper
comprising studies in species counterpoint, over 70 exercises in all, written in brown ink and pencil on up to ten staves per page, with pencil annotation ("Devoirs, harmonie & contrepoint") in an unidentified hand in the right-hand margin of the first page, with some corrections in pencil and ink

21 pages, plus 3 blanks, folio (c.35.5 x 27cm), 12-stave Lard-Esnault paper, no place or date [Paris, c.1876-1880]

Condition

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

These exercises date from Debussy's student days at the Paris Conservatoire, and contain studies in two and three parts, as well as less complicated studies in four parts. It is instructive to observe here the future composer of the piano piece 'Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum', from the Children's Corner suite (published in 1908), working his way through the type of counterpoint exercises well-known to every harmony student from the time of Fux's treatise Gradus ad Parnassum, 1725, onwards.