Divine Arabesque

The Influence of Poe, Wagner, and Baudelaire on Debussy's Modernist Aesthetics

By: Matthew Brown

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Paperback | 31 March 2026

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648 Pages

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27.9 x 21.6 x 2.82

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The arabesque, a crucial component of nineteenth-century aesthetics characterized by recurring patterns of interlocking geometric and floral ornamentation, was found in a wide range of forms of artistic expression and played a pivotal role in the music of Claude Debussy. Divine Arabesque explores the arabesque in Debussy's music and reveals its profound influence on his musical repertoire and on the works of other Symbolist artists and writers.

Taking as his starting point a discussion of the short manifesto Debussy published in "La Revue blanche" in 1901, author Matthew Brown embarks on a thorough and comprehensive analysis of Debussy's works across all phases of his career and genres-from his early songs and piano pieces to mature orchestral compositions and late works. Along the way, Brown unveils the intertextual connections between Debussy's compositions and the works of such Symbolist artists as Edgar Allan Poe, Richard Wagner, Charles Baudelaire, St©phane Mellarm©, Vaslav Nijinsky, and others.

Featuring a rich collection of music examples and illustrations, Divine Arabesque sheds new light on the full range of Debussy's musical output and establishes his critical role in ushering in the age of Modernism.

Industry Reviews

"Matthew Brown is as well qualified as any Debussy scholar practising today to write a full monograph on the tantalising subject of Debussy and his use of the arabesque. . . . Brown is an excellent writer and even when he makes use of music theory, his goals are clearly communicated. This makes this volume of potential value to a readership beyond the relatively narrow confines of musical academia. Indeed, his vast knowledge and reference to other arts and society at large, which has distinguished his other studies of Debussy, must make Divine Arabesque attractive in multi-disciplinary studies."-Simon Trezise, editor of The Cambridge Companion to Debussy

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