Claude Debussy – Quote Investigator®

Heinrich Heine? Claude Debussy? Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky? Richard Wagner? Leonora Schmitz? Henry R. Cleveland? Jean Sibelius? John S. Dwight? Ludwig van Beethoven? Anton Rubinstein? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: The expressiveness of words is paltry in the domain of deeply felt emotions and sensations. Yet, music can resonate with these profound feelings. Here are two versions of this sentiment:

Music begins where language ends
Where all words end, music begins

Numerous famous people have been credited with this adage including Russian composer Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, French composer Claude Debussy, German composer Richard Wagner, and German poet Heinrich Heine. Would you please explore this topic?

Quote Investigator: This article is intended to provide an overview of this large and complex topic. Research is difficult because the phrasing of the adage is highly variable. In addition, the saying has appeared in multiple languages, e.g., English, German, French, and Russian. The native language of QI is English; therefore, this article is inevitably skewed toward English, but QI has attempted to locate instances in other languages.

Here is a set of dates and phrases summarizing the occurrences of this adage during a few early decades:

1835: Music begins where language ends
1841: Where the speech of man stops short there music’s reign begins (translation from French)
1845: (Music) begins where speech leaves off
1849: When words lose their power, it is then that the true office of music begins
1853: Music begins where words leave off
1855: Music begins where words cease
1857: The province of music begins where language fails
1865: Where the power of the words ceases, there that of the music begins
1866: Where all words end, music begins

Currently, the earliest match located by QI appeared in a July 1835 essay by Henry Russell Cleveland titled “The Origin and Progress of Music” in “The New-England Magazine”. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:^[1]1835 July, The New-England Magazine, Article: The Origin and Progress of Music: No. 1, Author not listed, (1844 book claims author is Henry Russell Cleveland), Start Page 58, Quote Page 59 and 60, … Continue reading

Music begins where language ends; it expresses thoughts and emotions, to which speech can give no utterance; it clothes words with a power which language cannot impart. Our favorite songs are set to music, because we are not satisfied with hearing them recited; we want to express more vividly the emotions which these words excite within us; and music alone will do it. Hence it is, that after hearing them sung, the words appear powerless if read in the common tone of voice.

This adage has remained popular during the ensuing 185 years, and the remainder of this article discusses several variants with citations.

If you are interested in a specific prominent individual who has employed this saying you may wish to veer off and consult one of QI’s specialized articles.

Composer Richard Wagner employed the saying in 1841, and an article focused on that ascription is here.

Composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky credited Heinrich Heine with the saying in 1878, and an article focused on that attribution is here.

Composer Claude Debussy received credit for the saying in 1889, and an article focused on that attribution is here.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading Music Begins Where Language Ends

References

References
↑1	1835 July, The New-England Magazine, Article: The Origin and Progress of Music: No. 1, Author not listed, (1844 book claims author is Henry Russell Cleveland), Start Page 58, Quote Page 59 and 60, Eastburn’s Press, Boston, Massachusetts. (Google Books Full View) link

Claude Debussy? Maurice Emmanuel? Léon Vallas? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: Language is inadequate for conveying some deep emotions while music can arouse sensations and passions that are beyond words. Here are two versions of this sentiment:

Music begins where words leave off
Where words cease, music begins

Many people have been credited with this adage including the famous French composer Claude Debussy. Would you please explore the linkage to Debussy?

Quote Investigator: This is a large topic, and this article will focus on Claude Debussy’s use of the expression. A separate article located here provides an overview. Note that Debussy did not coin this adage.

Music begins where language ends; it expresses thoughts and emotions, to which speech can give no utterance; it clothes words with a power which language cannot impart.

Early in his career Debussy was influenced by the works of German composer Richard Wagner. Twice he traveled to the Festival Theatre in Bayreuth which was specifically designed to host performances of Wagner’s operas. Yet, over time he became disenchanted. Debussy employed the adage under examination after returning from Bayreuth with a changed perspective according to the 1933 biography “Claude Debussy: His Life and Works” by Léon Vallas:^[2]1933, Claude Debussy: His Life and Works by Léon Vallas, Translated from the French by Maire and Grace O’Brien, Chapter 6: Before ‘Pelléas’: The ‘Quartet’ and the ‘Proses … Continue reading

In October 1889, when the last pilgrimage to Bayreuth had destroyed his faith in Wagner, Debussy made the following statement: ‘I do not feel tempted to imitate what I admire in Wagner. My conception of dramatic art is different. According to mine, music begins where speech fails. Music is intended to convey the inexpressible. I should like her to appear as if emerging from the shadowy regions to which she would from time to time retire. I would have her always discreet.’

The biography of Debussy by Vallas first appeared in French in 1926. The book included the original French version of Debussy’s remarks:^[3] 1926, Debussy (1862-1918) by Léon Vallas, Quote Page 68, Librairie Plon, Paris. (Google Books Snippet Match; quotation is visible in two snippets; this citation has not been verified with hardcopy)

« Je ne suis pas tenté d’imiter ce que j’admire dans Wagner. Je conçois une forme dramatique autre : la musique y commence là où la parole est impuissante à exprimer; la musique est faite pour l’inexprimable; je voudrais qu’elle eût l’air de sortir de l’ombre et que, par instants, elle y rentrât; que toujours elle fut discrète personne. »

Vallas stated that these remarks were reported by Maurice Emmanuel in his book ‘Pelléas’. The full title of this book according to WorldCat is “Pelléas et Mélisande de Claude Debussy: étude historique et crititque, analyse musicale”, and the publisher is Mellotteé of Paris. Catalogs list several different dates of publication: 1919, 1920, and 1925. The dates are enclosed in brackets indicating uncertainty. QI has not verified the existence of this quotation within Emmanuel’s book.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading Music Begins Where Speech Fails

References

References
↑1	1835 July, The New-England Magazine, Article: The Origin and Progress of Music: No. 1, Author not listed, (1844 book claims author is Henry Russell Cleveland), Start Page 58, Quote Page 59 and 60, Eastburn’s Press, Boston, Massachusetts. (Google Books Full View) link
↑2	1933, Claude Debussy: His Life and Works by Léon Vallas, Translated from the French by Maire and Grace O’Brien, Chapter 6: Before ‘Pelléas’: The ‘Quartet’ and the ‘Proses Lyriques’ (1892-9), Quote Page 84, Oxford University Press, London. (Verified with scans)
↑3	1926, Debussy (1862-1918) by Léon Vallas, Quote Page 68, Librairie Plon, Paris. (Google Books Snippet Match; quotation is visible in two snippets; this citation has not been verified with hardcopy)