Fashioning Modernism: Rimbaud meets Verlaine meets Debussy

The encounter between the adolescent Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) and the already celebrated poet Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) was like a spark that ignited an explosion leading to the birth of modern poetry. In a span of only four years, from when he was 17 years old until he abandoned poetry at age 21, Rimbaud changed forever the nature of poetry. His love affair with Verlaine, a tragic and self-destructive relationship on both sides, will be examined in the context of poetic, literary, and musical developments in France in the late 19th century, particularly the culture of decadence and aestheticism. Debussy’s music, which by the composer’s own assessment was profoundly indebted to the aesthetics of Verlaine’s exceptionally musical poetry, will be discussed in relation to its own groundbreaking characteristics and its contribution to musical modernism. 

This Seminar Features:

Prof. Evelyne Ender, Professor of French and Comparative Literature at Hunter College and at the Graduate Center, CUNY 
James Melo, ERC’s musicologist and Senior Editor at RILM

Tuesday, January 24
5:30-7:30 CUNY Graduate Center
365 Fifth Ave., Skylight Room, 9th floor
FREE ADMISSION

For more information:
jmelo@gc.cuny.edu; 212-817-8606

Presented by the Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation, CUNY, and the Ensemble for the Romantic Century in connection with ERC’s series of theatrical concerts Portraits.