ID 1349743
Lot 34 | Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Estimate value
£ 1 500 – 2 000
Autograph manuscript 'Devoir', contrapuntal exercises, [c.1880]
In black ink, approximately 84 exercises in four staves, 12 pages, 270 x 352mm, with emendations and one or two annotations in pencil, perhaps by Debussy's composition teacher Ernest Guiraud, in a single gathering (a few leaves loose).
Student exercises in counterpoint by the young composer. Debussy joined the composition class of Ernest Guiraud (1837-1892) at the Paris Conservatoire in 1880, and under his guidance was to win the second Prix de Rome in 1883 and the first prize in 1884. Guiraud was a composer of operas, perhaps best known now for the recitatives he added to Bizet's Carmen. He was respected as a teacher and 'liked Debussy, but was barely able to grasp his brilliant pupil's new ideas of harmony and colour' (New Grove).
| Artist: | Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) |
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| Place of origin: | Western Europe, France, Europe |
| Auction house category: | Letters, documents and manuscripts, Books and manuscripts |
| Artist: | Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) |
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| Place of origin: | Western Europe, France, Europe |
| Auction house category: | Letters, documents and manuscripts, Books and manuscripts |
| Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London United Kingdom | |
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| Phone | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |
| Buyer Premium | see on Website | |
| Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase |











