Symbolism as Compositional Agent in Act IV, Scene 4 of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande 1

Debussy’s intersection with the Symbolists, especially the literary writers associated with that movement at the end of the nineteenth century, was a subject dear to François Lesure’s heart. As a scholar, Lesure became increasingly aware of the significance of Symbolism in Debussy’s artistic growth; working with Guy Cogeval, he co-curated an exhibition on Debussy e il simbolismo in Rome in 1984, and eight years later he published Claude Debussy avant Pelléas, ou les années symbolistes. ² Many of the primary sources that he uncovered in Italy - documents from Debussy’s Prix de Rome years - informed the latter biographical study. Together with Stefan Jarocinski’s book, Debussy: Impressionism and Symbolism ³ in particular, Lesure’s work presents convincing evidence of Debussy’s immersion in Symbolism during the decade following 1885.