a comparative analysis of louis durey and francis poulenc's settings ...

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b. Louis Durey (1888-1979)
Louis Durey was born in Paris on May 27, 1888. He was the oldest of three
brothers and was not musically inclined as a child. He decided against piano lessons,
claiming that it was an activity suited for girls, and worked instead in his father’s printing
business. However, as Durey grew up, he began to attend many operas. His decision to
become a composer was greatly influenced by hearing a performance of Claude
Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande in 1907. Debussy’s opera had such an influence on
Durey that he did not miss a single performance of the work during its Paris revival for
the next seven years! 24 Durey was no longer satisfied with merely enjoying music—he
wished to study and write it. He began studying music at the Schola Cantorum, a private
music school in Paris, and started to compose on his own, his earliest known piece dating
1914.
The onset of World War I changed Durey’s plans drastically. He reluctantly
served in the army for sixteen months—military life and the horror of war appalled
him. 25 During the next couple of years, Durey set several poems to music and began
composing more often. In 1917, Erik Satie, whom Durey had met at the Schola
Cantorum, became interested in Durey’s compositions and invited him to perform his
piano duet, Carillons, in a collaborative concert presented by Satie’s friends, then called
Les Nouveaux Jeunes. 26 The group, including Durey, began meeting at Darius Milhaud’s
apartment and were eventually dubbed “Les Six.” Although Durey felt close friendship
with the other five composers, he differed from them in that he was greatly influenced by
24 Marc Wood, “Homme de tête,” 42.
25 James Harding, The Ox on the Roof, 55.
26 Marc Wood, “Homme de tête,” 43.