Despite Varèse's claims to being entirely independent-minded, an early mélodie not intended for publication, Un grand sommeil noir, shows distinct traces of being composed with forebears in mind. Fauré, Hahn, and Debussy all set texts by Paul Verlaine, and Dirk Foch, Raoul Laparra, and Gustave Sandrew set the text of Un grand sommeil noir, but it was Debussy's L'Ombre et arbres that Varèse used as a model for his setting. Both settings make use of the octatonic scale and of a matrix of a half step followed by a tritone, a pitch set that would also appear in Varèse's Arcana. The final measures of Varèse's mélodie are an exorcism of Debussy from his own style, accomplished by harking back to the end of Act IV of Pelléas et Mélisande.

Works: Varèse: Un grand sommeil noir (53-61), Arcana (56-57).

Sources: Debussy: Ariettes Oubliées (57), L'Ombre et arbres (57-59), Pelléas et Mélisande (61).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Marc Geelhoed