Marguerite Debrie
Marguerite Suzanne Debrie was born on 9 June 1879 in Paris (France). Her father, Gustave-Joseph Debrie, was a sculptor who also taught anatomy at the Ecole nationale des arts decoratifs in Paris. The children evidently received musical training from an early age. Her sister Henriette Debrie also pursued the piano professionally, and by 1912 both sisters were working as piano teachers in Paris.
Marguerite Debrie was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire on 24 November 1890. Her training there was more extensive than piano alone. She studied initially in the women's preparatory piano class of Mme Tarpet-Leclerc, receiving a second medal in 1894 and a first medal in 1896. In 1898 she was awarded a second prize in harmony. She subsequently studied piano with Raoul Pugno and in 1900 won a Premier Prix in piano. Biographical records also mention a second prize in piano accompaniment in 1902.
Following her studies, Marguerite Debrie worked as a pianist, composer and, above all, piano teacher. Her professional status is documented particularly clearly in a Paris directory of 1912, which lists her as a “composer of music and piano teacher”. Biographical sources also record that in 1911 Debrie was appointed an "Officier de l'Instruction publique", a distinction associated with the French educational system and later incorporated into the modern "Ordre des Palmes academiques".
Contemporary newspapers suggest that she performed in public only occasionally. Nevertheless, she was clearly a respected musician, regularly collaborating with distinguished artists over several decades. Among those she accompanied were the violinist Paulin Gaillard (first violinist of the Opera-Comique, in 1901), the violinist Lucien Capet (1903), the pianist Marthe Dron (1908), the violinist Yvonne Astruc and the soprano Speranza Calo-Seailles (1920), as well as the cellist Andre Bourdron (1931).
In addition to her pedagogical and collaborative work, Marguerite Debrie also composed her own music, focusing mainly on songs and piano works. A number of songs survive from the first decade of the century, among them "Tableau" (1901), to a poem by the painter Achille Cesbron; "Les grands soirs sont venus" (1904), to words by her friend and musical collaborator Lucien Capet; and "Soleil malade", to a poem by Rene Lenormand fils, which was published in "Le Monde musical" in 1905. Debrie evidently maintained contacts beyond purely musical circles: Cesbron also painted her portrait in 1901, while Soleil malade was dedicated to the Polish-French painter Eugene Zak.
Her music was also heard at the concerts of the newly founded "Societe musicale independante". At its second concert, held at the Salle Gaveau on 4 May 1910, the soprano Rose Feart gave the first performance of Debrie's "Trois Chansons de Maeterlinck", with the composer herself at the piano. The same programme included works by such composers as Manuel de Falla, and the participation placed Debrie within one of the most progressive musical organisations in Paris at the time.
In 1912, her "Douze petites pieces pour piano" – a collection of twelve pedagogically oriented piano miniatures – was published in Paris by Mathot. The surviving second book contains the pieces Valse, Mazurka, Feuille d'album, Promenade, Complainte and Pavane. Her interest in musical education is further demonstrated by the publication in 1917 of "Petits Cahiers d'exemples theoriques. 1er Cahier: Les figures de notes", issued in Paris by M. Senart.
In 1920, Moritz Moszkowski dedicated his "Esquisses techniques, Op. 97", to Marguerite Debrie and her sister Henriette. This collection of sixteen piano studies, each addressing a specific technical challenge, reflects Marguerite Debrie’s high standing as both a pianist and pedagogue in early 20th-century Paris.
There is no documented information about Marguerite Debrie’s activities during World War II. The precise date at which she left Paris and settled in Bourron-Marlotte has not yet been established. Local historical sources record, however, that she eventually occupied the house at 6 rue Delort that had previously been associated with the violinist Lucien Capet. In Bourron-Marlotte she continued to teach piano for many years and regularly made music with her friend, the violinist Marie-Ange Henry-Brouchot.
Marguerite Debrie died in 1968 in Bourron-Marlotte (France).
Marguerite Debrie Archive
In my possession are several autograph manuscripts of compositions by Marguerite Debrie. My archive contains the following works:
- Six pieces enfantines pour piano & Six pieces pour piano (1911-12)
later published under the title "Douze petites pieces" - Bercement, for piano (dedicated to Clemence Oberle, a pianist)
- song cycle (1903)
there are 3 manuscripts, all dated 1903 and numbered 5, 6 and 7 at the top corner. It is very likely that these belongs to a larger song cycle from that year. I have no information about the missing songs. My manuscripts are:
5) Eventail d'Automne, for voice and piano
poem by a Chinese poet "Ton-Ton", translated by Marcel Monier and dedicated to "Madame Lagarde"
6) Les grands soirs, for voice and piano
text by Lucien Capet, dedicated to "Marie Antoinette Forest de Lemps" (a pianist, student of Juliette Toutain)
7) Legende, for voice and piano
poem by Lucien Capet, originally titled "Le sol etait jonche de feuilles", dedicated to Madame Lucien Capet - Tableau, for voice and piano (1901, poem by Achille Cesbron)
- Soleil malade, for voice and piano (poem by Rene Lenormand fils, dedicated to Eugene Zak)
- La Chanson des Girouttes, for voice and piano (poem by Jerome Doucet)
- Les heures claires, for voice and piano (poem by Emile Verhaeren)
- song cycle (1930)
a set of 10 songs for voice and piano, all composed in 1930, numbered 1 to 10 on each song and without any information about the authors of the texts:
1) La fleur de pecher
2) L'orage favorable
3) Petite fete
4) Les trois princesses
5) La chanson du chagrin
6) Ki-Fong
7) Encore!
8) Voeu
9) Nous vieillirons ensemble
10) L'Adieu
1) Soleil malade
The song "Soleil malade" for voice and piano was composed ca. 1905. It sets a poem by Rene Lenormand fils to music and the work is dedicated to painter Eugene Zak. The work was published by "Le Monde Musical" in 1905. In addition to the autograph manuscript I also own a copy of the printed score.
2) Tableau
The song "Tableau" for voice and piano was composed in 1901. It sets a poem by French painter Achille Cesbron to music and it seems likely that the described roses were indeed a painting (=tableau) by him.
The connection to Achille Cesbron - who also painted a portrait of Marguerite Debrie - as well as the dedication to the painter Eugene Zak in the song "Soleil malade" mentioned above, suggests that Marguerite Debrie was part of the artistic circles of Paris at the fin de siecle.
3) Bercement
The work "Bercement" is a small piece for piano. I have no information when it was composed. But the work is dedicated to Clemence Oberle, a French pianist who was mainly active between 1900 and 1915. So the composition very likely dates from that time.
4) 3 songs
Part of the collection are also three manuscripts of songs, all on identical sheet music, all composed 1903 and numbered 5, 6 and 7 in the top corner of the first page. My explanation is that these songs belong to a larger cycle of which No. 1 to 4 (and possibly 8 and more) are missing. But that is only my interpretation and might be wrong. Nevertheless I have decided to put these three songs together in a publication.
