Debussy: Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien - Symphonic Fragments

I just listened for the very first time to the symphonic fragments of Debussy's Martyre de Saint Sébastien (in the version by the Los Angeles PO led by Salonen). Didn't know the work at all! What a daringly sophisticated piece of music this is! The haunting orchestration and the amazingly exotic harmonic language capture the atmosphere of a mystery play to perfection. The spectre of Parsifal is everywhere (sometimes very emphatically so) but Debussy goed beyond it, mapping out what seems to me to be virgin territory. Despite the extravagance of the setting and Debussy's musical language there is a spareness and stillness at the heart of this music which is spellbinding. I am at this very moment following up with a more complete selection of both orchestral and sung fragments recorded by the London SO conducted by Tilson-Thomas. And this is even more astonishing. What a freakishly beautiful score ... It's giving me goosepimples all over. It reminds me of the most audacious experiments of Scriabin or the otherworldly soundscapes of Messiaen, a few decades hence. What an amazing discovery ...