La damoiselle élue

Debussy’s La Damoiselle élue (The Blessed Damozel)—a cantata for soprano, mezzo-soprano, female and children’s choirs, and orchestra—was the third and last work he was required to compose as a winner in 1884 of the Prix de Rome. The prize of this prestigious competition was three years of study at Rome’s Villa Medici, with a substantial work to be produced each year. Debussy arrived at the Villa in 1885, hated the experience, and refused to return after 1887. But he had started La Damoiselle élue, based on a French translation of Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s mystical poem “The Blessed Damozel”, and completed his setting a year later. The solo soprano represents the Damozel, while the mezzo-soprano and the choirs describe her ascent to heaven with her earthly lover. First performed in 1893, the cantata showed the arrival of Debussy’s mature style, with its unique brand of poised sensuality and subtle orchestral colouring.