La Chanson de l'Hypertrophique (muziek van Jules Laforgue en Alphons Diepenbrock) Possibly 1895 - 1898

This is a piece of sheet music, for Jules Laforgue’s ‘La Chanson de l'Hypertrophique’, with music by Alphons Diepenbrock, printed in the Netherlands in 1896. It provides us with an insight into the world of art and music in the late 19th century. The song itself, ‘The Song of the Hypertrophic’, is ripe with fin-de-siecle pessimism, reflecting a time when artists and intellectuals were grappling with anxieties about modernity and the loss of traditional values. Laforgue was a symbolist poet whose verse was often melancholic. Diepenbrock was a composer who sought to integrate music with literature and philosophy. He was particularly invested in reconciling Catholic spirituality with modern art. Looking at the cultural context, we can see how the work sits within a network of artistic and intellectual exchange. It also reminds us how art is tied to economic structures. Sheet music printing relied on developments in printing technology and the rise of a middle class with the money and education to consume it. The archives of publishers can often reveal hidden histories.