Claude DEBUSSY and his music for the Ballets Russes.

Claude Debussy (1862.1918)

Autographed letter signed to Louis Barthou.

One page in quarto on blue paper bearing his monogram. November 20, 1913.

"You will find three melodies along with this letter..."

Debussy is preparing for his trip to Saint Petersburg, Russia, to promote Jeux , the Russian ballet choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky, for which he composed the music.

"My dear Monsieur Barthou, I stopped by your house this morning, hoping to thank you myself for the kind letter you obtained from Monsieur S. Pichon. This letter will be of invaluable support to me with our agents in Russia, but it seems that it will have no effect on the Russian officials. I am therefore going to obtain a regular passport through the usual channels… for said passport to become 'taboo' it would need to bear a special stamp, which only Monsieur Iswolsky [Alexandre Iswolsky, Russian diplomat in Paris] possesses (sic) !!! As I do not wish to trouble you any longer with my trip, I will pass. Enclosed with this letter you will find three melodies that I have taken the liberty of sending to Madame Louis Barthou. I hope she will receive them favorably. Always believe, my dear Monsieur Barthou, in my affectionate devotion."

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

It was during a lunch with Diaghilev and Nijinsky in June 1912 that the director of the Ballets Russes commissioned Claude Debussy to write a new ballet for the 1913 season. Debussy accepted this proposal and composed the music for the ballet during the summer of that same year, 1912.

Jeux was created by the Ballets Russes, on May 15, 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, under the direction of Pierre Monteux.

Debussy toured Russia, visiting Saint Petersburg at the end of November 1913. Despite the successes and tributes he received, the trip was an ordeal for the composer, who was suffering from cancer diagnosed in 1910.