- 55
Debussy, Claude
Estimate
1,500 - 2,000 GBP
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Description
- Debussy, Claude
- Autograph letter signed (“Claude Debussy”), to the conductor and composer André Caplet, about Edgar Allan Poe and the unfinished opera "Le diable dans le beffroi"
- paper
confessing that his preoccupation with Poe amounts to an almost painful obsession, causing him to forgo social intercourse, thanking Caplet for his corrections, his piano arrangements of his music, teasing him about his devotion to La Mer ("...Madame la Mer et de ses filles, Mesdemoiselles les Vagues…"), which keeps him from Parisian Society and asking if he would not prefer to arrange Images ("... A ce propos je ne puis vous cacher que je me suis laissé aller à ne plus de tout m’occuper des "Images", au profit du Monsieur E.A.Poë...cet homme, quoique posthume, exerce sur moi un tyrannie presque angoissante. J’en oublie des affections essentielles, et m’enferme comme une brute dans la Maison Usher, a moins que je me tienne compagnie au diable dans la Beffroi…")
2 pages, 12mo (c.15.5 x 11cm), written in dark blue ink, on two leaves, versos blank, Debussy’s printed blue stationery ("Extra superfine" by De La Rue & Co.), including autograph envelope, 80 Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, Paris, 21 September 1909
2 pages, 12mo (c.15.5 x 11cm), written in dark blue ink, on two leaves, versos blank, Debussy’s printed blue stationery ("Extra superfine" by De La Rue & Co.), including autograph envelope, 80 Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, Paris, 21 September 1909
Literature
Correspondance, 1872-1918, edited by D. Herlin (2005), p. 1214.
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."
"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
Debussy worked on two major operatic projects based on Poe: Le diable dans le beffroi from 1902 to 1912, and La chute de la maison Usher from 1908 to 1917. André Caplet (1878-1925) made the published piano reductions of Debussy’s La Mer (1905-1909), Images (c.1910), and Le martyre de Saint Sébastien (1911). This letter was first published by Edward Lockspeiser in Lettres inédites à André Caplet, 1908-1914 (1957). Sotheby's is grateful to Denis Herlin for his assistance with cataloguing this letter.