As can be expected, the war took its toll on Schmitt’s spirits.On October 31 [1914], Schmitt admitted to his colleague Jean Marnold of the Mercure de France, “I feel my patience exhausted.”34 Written on a map dated January 12 [1915], Schmitt related that things were “going as well as possible,” but that he was “stuck in the quagmire of neurasthenia.”35 Understandably, when a French Major named Lambert requested a new composition from Schmitt, the composer enthusiastically agreed.The result was the Chant de guerre, Op.63 (1914) for tenor solo, male chorus, and orchestra (or piano).This small cantata is based on patriotic verses of Léon Tonnelier, a local poet, and was performed for convalescing soldiers several times between January and April 1915 at the Théâtre de Toul.Although demoralized, Schmitt made it through the war physically unscathed.36
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