Le Martyre de Saint Sebastian

Claude Debussy

Subtitle: Fanfares

General Info

Year: 1911
Duration: c. 2:00
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Durand
Cost: Score and Parts – Out of print

For availability information, see Discussion tab, above.

Instrumentation

Full Score
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-VI
Trombone I-II-III
Trombone III/Tuba
Timpani

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Le Martyre de saint Sébastien is a five-act musical mystery play on the subject of Saint Sebastian, with a text written in 1911 by the Italian author Gabriele D'Annunzio and incidental music by the French composer Claude Debussy (L.124).

Saint Sebastian ( c. AD 256 – 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill him. He was, according to tradition, rescued and healed by Saint Irene of Rome, which became a popular subject in 17th-century painting. In all versions of the story, shortly after his recovery he went to Diocletian to warn him about his sins, and as a result was clubbed to death. He is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.

The oldest record of the details of Sebastian's martyrdom is a sermon on Psalm 118 by 4th-century bishop Ambrose of Milan (Saint Ambrose). In his sermon, Ambrose stated that Sebastian came from Milan and that he was already venerated there at that time. Saint Sebastian is a popular male saint, especially today among athletes. In medieval times, he was regarded as a saint with a special ability to intercede to protect from plague, and devotion to him greatly increased when plague was active.

- Program Note from Wikipedia

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Orchestre de Paris (Daniel Barenboim, conductor)
Audio CD: Orchestre National de Lyon (Jun Märkl, conductor) - 2016

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.) (Symphonic Wind Ensemble (David Roush, conductor) - 12 November 2021

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Danse (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kurokawa)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kano) (1908)

All Wind Works

The Afternoon of a Faun (arr. Walters) (1894/1950/1999?)
The Afternoon of a Faun. See also: Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune
Beau Soir (arr. Warner) (1880/1971)
Children's Corner Suite (arr. Winterbottom) (1908)
Clair de Lune (orch. Blair) (1890/1905/2021)
Clair de Lune (arr. Hautvast) (1890/1905/2011)
Clair de lune (arr. De Meij) (1890/1905/2017)
Clair de Lune (arr. Wallace) (1890/1905/1995)
Danse (arr. Boyd) (1890/1983)
Danse (arr. Scheiwiller) (1890/2019)
Danse (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kurokawa)
Danses Sacrée et Profane (arr. Odom) (1904/2019)
Danses Sacrée et Profane (tr. J. Lloyd) (1904)
Debussy: Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Akey) (1910/1995)
The Engulfed Cathedral (tr. Longfield) (1910/1987)
The Engulfed Cathedral (arr. Miller) (1910/1986)
The Engulfed Cathedral (tr. Patterson) (1910/1993)
The Engulfed Cathedral. See also: La Cathédrale Engloutie
Fêtes from "Nocturnes" (arr. Patterson) (c. 1899/2007)
Fêtes from "Three Nocturnes" (arr. Schaefer) (c.1899/1959)
Fêtes from "Three Nocturnes" (tr. Tatebe) (c.1899/1999)
Four Debussy Songs (trans. Anderson) (2018)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Beyrent) (1910/2013)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Brand) (1910)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Bernotas) (1910)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Moss) (1910/2007)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Sparke) (1910/2007)
Golliwogg's Cakewalk (arr. Lewis) (1908/2004)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (arr. Curnow) (1908/1985)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kano) (1908)
Hommage à Rameau (arr. Hunsberger) (1905/2009)
La Cathédrale Engloutie (arr. Mortimer) (1910/2016)
La Cathédrale Engloutie. See also: The Engulfed Cathedral
La Mer (trans. Odom) (1905/)
Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien (1911)
L’isle joyeuse (arr. Mashima) (1904/2005)
L'isle joyeuse (arr. Volans) (1904/1995)
Marche Écossaise (tr. Onodera) (1891/1908/2015(?))
Marche Écossaise (tr. Onodera) (Octet) (1891/1908/2015(?))
Marche Écossaise (tr. Schaefer) (1891/1908/1964)
Marche Écossaise (tr. Scatterday) (1891/1908)
'Menuet' from Suite Bergamasque (arr. Southard) (1890/2012)
Minstrels (tr. Scarbrough) (1910/2016)
Pagodes from "Estampes" (arr. Grainger) (1996)
Petite Suite (arr. Brakkee) (1889/1999?)
Petite Suite (tr. Winterbottom) (1889/1927)
Petite Suite (arr. Kimura) (1889/1998)
Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune (tr. Sousa) (1894)
Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune. See also: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and The Afternoon of a Faun
Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune (arr. Stalmeieir) (1894/1992)
Prelude from "Suite Bergamasque" (arr. St. Louis)
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (tr. Hindsley) (1894/1973)
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. See also: Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune
Premiere Arabesque (1891)
Première Rhapsodie (arr. Yodo)
Première Rhapsody (tr. Baars) (1910/12016)
Première Rhapsody (arr. Walker; ed. Pappas) (1910/1963/2004)
Reverie (arr. Boo) (1890/)
Rêverie (tr. Thompson) (1890/2011)
Sarabande (tr. Bennefield) (1894/1901/2020)
Sarabande (tr. Erickson) (1894/1967)
Sarabande (arr. Howland; ed. Gregory) (1894/2018)
Suite Bergamasque Mvt 2 Menuet (arr. Thompson)
Three Debussy Pieces (arr. Singletary)
Three Pieces from "Children's Corner" (orch. Sheen) (1908/1988)

Resources

Debussy, C. (1911). Fanfares from Le Martyre de St. Sébastien [score]. Durand: Paris, France.
Le Martyre de saint Sébastien. Wikipedia Accessed 12 November 2021
Saint Sébastien. Wikipedia. Accessed 12 November 2021