A few days before the declaration of war, at the end of July 1914, Debussy completed the Six Ancient Epigraphs for piano four hands.
The story of this work and the spirit that animates it are related to the conception of stage music for the songs of Bilitis that Debussy composed at the request of his friend Pierre Louÿs, author of the poems.
In a letter to Jacques Durand, dated July 11, 1914, to which he attaches a separate sheet containing the title of each epigraph, Debussy reveals that these pieces were originally intended for the orchestra.
But the disease, which taints him more and more at this time, forces him to give up the orchestra.
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