Claude Debussy
From Philosopedia.org
Debussy, Claude (22 August 1862 - 25 March 1918)
Debussy, an eminent French composer, a giant among musicians, was the son of a shopkeeper and a seamstress. He became an exponent of musical impressionism by using a whole-tone scale, unusual relationships of harmony, dissonance, and other non-traditional musical ideas. His tone poem, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (1894), was inspired by a Mallarmé poem.
His orchestral works include Nocturne (1899) and La Mer (1905). His best-known piano work is Clair de lune; Estampes (1903).
At the age of 11, he became a student at the Paris Conservatoire. Debussy went on to win the 1884 Prix de Rome. From 1887 on, he spent his life writing musical compositions, rarely performing. His works included orchestral suites, preludes, a ballet, and even an opera.
According to Corliss Lamont, Debussy rejected the supernaturalist creeds and insisted upon a purely secular funeral. Joseph McCabe in his dictionary wrote of Debussy, "His themes - so frequently taken from Mallarme, Verlaine, Baudelaire, etc., - sufficiently indicated his entire rejection of creeds, and he had a secular funeral."
Cancer-ridden, he died during the bombardment of Paris by Germany. A funeral procession made its way through deserted streets as shells from German guns ripped into the city. At the end of the war and in a non-religious ceremony, Debussy was interred in the Cimetière de Passy.
