At the end of 1908, the French composer Claude Debussy fell seriously ill. It took doctors six years to diagnose colon cancer.

How then did medicine cope with such a serious disease? Diet, exercise, radiation therapy, and a series of painful procedures that drove the great musician to the brink of insanity. As he wrote in his letters, only morphine, cocaine and “many other such wonderful drugs” brought him relief – but at the cost of a temporary loss of clarity of consciousness. “I assure you,” he wrote to a friend, “that three injections of morphine a day turn you into a standing corpse and destroy your will” (borrowed valuable information from the excellent site of music lovers interlude.hk).

The lack of food, fuel, and rising prices due to the war made life very difficult for his family. “I,” he wrote, “are but a small lonely man, crushed by this terrible flood.”

Debussy entered the operating room in 1916 to undergo a particularly painful operation. And yet, as soon as he took over, he began to write again. “I made the decision to ignore my health and stop being a slave to this tyrannical disease. Let’s see. If I am destined to die soon, at least try to do your duty every day.

Only morphine, cocaine and “many other such wonderful drugs” made his life easier.

He then wrote Sonata No. 3 for Violin and Piano, which was premiered on May 5, 1917, when he himself played the piano (!). “This work was created not so much for me, but to offer at least a small, minimal proof that French thought will not be destroyed … I think of the youth of France being so senselessly killed … what I writing, is a secret initiation. to her.”

Debussy died on March 25, 1918. German artillery bombarded Paris. According to interlude.hk, due to the circumstances, he was buried modestly, almost secretly. The procession of only 20 people carefully made its way through the deserted streets of Paris.

Mr. Gray is holding a CD with two orchestral works by Debussy released last November. The famous “Sea” and Suite No. 1 for orchestra, a work lost for almost a century. It was discovered in 2013 and is performed here by the amazing Les Siecles under the strong direction of François-Javier Roth.

The evocative, sensitive Debussy, said to be the first ambient composer, finds here the perfect bridge through which his unrivaled musical atmosphere reaches us.