Ex. 14-9: Voici que le Printemps

An early Debussy song, composed in January 1884, when Debussy was 21. The poem is by Paul Bourget. He wrote it for Marie-Blanche Vasnier, a married soprano he loved when he was young. The song is part of a notebook of songs he made for her, the "Vasnier Songbook." His 1882 "Clair de lune," also in this app, comes from the same notebook. (Ex. 13-5: Clair de lune by Claude Debussy)

Debussy first called the song simply "Romance," with the subtitle "Music for a Fan." But he used the title "Romance" for several songs, so this one came to be known by its first line, "Voici que le printemps" (Now spring is here).

The poem imagines spring as a cheerful young boy dressed in green. He arrives with a nightingale on his left shoulder and a blackbird on his right.

The poem comes from Bourget's book Les Aveux (Confessions, 1882) — the same book that gave Debussy two other songs in this app. (Ex. 5-8: Romance by Claude Debussy) (Ex. 9-9: Beau Soir by Claude Debussy) Paul Bourget was a popular poet and novelist, and a friend of Debussy, who set several of his poems in these early years.

From the album Debussy: Early Songs by Gillian Keith and Simon Lepper (2003)
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