Jeremy dayoconnells recent book explores an intriguing phenomenon. For other musical compositions called nocturne, see nocturne. Pentatonicism from the eighteenth century to debussy on jstor. Jeremy dayoconnell, pentatonicism from the eighteenth century to debussy rochester. Debussy finished writing nocturnes on 15 december 1899. The rise and fall of portamento singing, music and letters, 87 2006, 52350. Pentatonicism from the eighteenth century to debussy by. Achilleclaude debussy born st germainenlaye, 22 august 1862. Nocturnes debussy simple english wikipedia, the free. Dec 08, 2014 i think debussy is a brilliant composer, and one of the best of the 20th century imo. He is usually described as a composer in the impressionist style, although he wasnt always happy for the term to be used for his works. From this point, debussys quality of education is unquestioned but the conservatoire environments strict methodology would spur his artistic growth while feeding debussys distain toward the conservative approach to harmony. Schuberts late music edited by lorraine byrne bodley.
Pentatonicism in nineteenthcentury music encompasses hundreds of instances, many of which predate by. Debussys fascination with the east, particularly japan and indonesia, seems to be of a different sort than the exoticized thrill that surrounded much of. Dayoconnell, jeremy, 1993, pentatonicism from the eighteenth century to debussy 2007. Music of the 20th century claude debussy composers. Choose from 336 different sets of debussy flashcards on quizlet.
Debussy, pentatonicism, and the tonal tradition jeremy dayo. Among the notable authors cited and discussed are muffat, telemann, c. Pentatonicism in nineteenth century music encompasses hundreds of instances, many of which predate by decades the more famous examples of debussy and. At the 1889 exposition, groups from around the world displayed the best of. In the style of claude debussy sheet music composed by 16th century english melody arranged for piano. This article is about the orchestral suite by claude debussy.
In a letter to henri gauthiervillars 10 october 1896 he observed. Debussy for free and with almost a years training, debussy gained acceptance into the paris conservatoire 31. A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave such as the major scale and minor scale pentatonic scales were developed independently by many ancient civilizations. Claude began piano lessons at the age of seven with an italian violinist named cerrito. The influence of art and literature on claude debussy 5. He wanted to create, he said later, music whose form was so free it would sound improvised. Pentatonicism in nineteenth century music encompasses hundreds of instances, many of which predate by. For other musical compositions called nocturne, see nocturne nocturnes is a piece of music for orchestra by the french composer claude debussy. Claude debussy 18621918 is the subject of this fairly brief, but very engaging and wellillustrated biography. A permanent national company was established at the imperial court in st.
Pentatonicism in nineteenthcentury music encompasses hundreds of instances, many of which predate by decades the more famous examples of debussy and. From this point, debussy s quality of education is unquestioned but the conservatoire environments strict methodology would spur his artistic growth while feeding debussy s distain toward the conservative approach to harmony. Tables and summaries to accompany claude debussy and the javanese gamelan pdf format debussys exposure to the gamelan the 1889 paris universal exposition was an eyeopening experience for claude debussy, a young composer just beginning to make himself known and get his first compositions published. He dared to be different and preferred to do things his own way. Certainly, his music marks a break from the nineteenthcentury romantic tradition. To sum him up as a inoffensive easylistening composer is, i think, an insult to his brilliance and how forward thinking his music is. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. Art and literature on claude debussys music 1 the influence of art and literature on claude debussys music claude debussy is considered one of the most influential musicians of his time, pioneering the transition between the romanticism and modernism era playing a role in developing the impressionist and symbolist styles, which have played a role in the development of music and art over. Sparse instrumentation adds to the relative dryness of the sonorities, and recalls the earlier eighteenth century galante style. Why does claude debussys music sound so distinct from. The selection of familiar and lessso works by turn of the 20thcentury french composers are played with subtlety and colour published. Some excellent studies of individual topoi have been produced by people not calling themselves semiologists. Debussy finished writing nocturnes on 15 december 1899 the music. Pentatonicism from the eighteenth century to debussy by jeremy dayoconnell.
Debussy even went as far as to include a part of this image on the cover of the 1st edition of the score below. Debussy, pentatonicism, and the tonal tradition jeremy day. Claude debussy pianointroduction rondo capricioso youtube. Aug 27, 2012 dayoconnell pentatonicism discusses the pentatonic scales history, with an analysis of pagodes that does not refer to gamelan.
Debussy may have first heard the instruments of the. Category walker you can also use our category walker to help you to browse or narrow down the list according to work types, instrumentation, featured instruments, languages, periods and composers. Although the piece begins with a flute solo, the flute being appropriate as the instrument associated with the faun a half human half goat woodland creature the piece in general conveys merely what. Dayoconnell pentatonicism discusses the pentatonic scales history, with an analysis of pagodes that does not refer to gamelan. The selection of familiar and lessso works by turn of the 20th century french composers are played with subtlety and colour published. Debussy may have first heard the instruments of the gamelan. He is often labelled impressionist a term derived from painting, in which outlines are.
His father, owned a china and crockery shop, and his mother, victorine manoury debussy, was a seamstress. This practice, while often radical, nevertheless also partakes of a tradition of nineteenth century pentatonicism that itself can be understood in relation to the larger context of tonal historya point well illustrated by a favored cadential device of debussy s, the plagal leadingtone. They are still used all over the world, for example traditional music, country music, blues and metal. A powerpoint presentation about 20th century artists.
This page lists scores printed from 1701 through 1800 for which the date is definitively known. Claude debussy simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Apr 23, 2008 claude debussy 18621918 is the subject of this fairly brief, but very engaging and wellillustrated biography. In another article debussy, pentatonicism he discusses tetrachordal sets within the pentatonic scale in the context of plagal cadence in various works including pagodes. University of rochester press, 2007 pentatonicism is hardly a new topic of. Whole piano, whole tone scale and pentatonic scale, aba form.
Review of oconnell pentatonicism from the eighteenth century to debussy. He was the rebel of the class, or so his peers thought he was when he was training. The art of musical phrasing in the eighteenth century gathers and discusses, for the first time, an extensive collection of quotations and musical illustrations relevant to phrase articulation and written and unwritten rests. Along with maurice ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures associated withimpressionist music, though he himself disliked the term when applied to his compositions. Review of oconnell pentatonicism from the eighteenth. Pentatonicism from the eighteenth century to debussy eastman. Even though their mediums were different, artists in the impressionist movement challenged the norms and chose to express themselves differently. Pentatonicism from the eighteenth century to debussy by jeremy dayoconnell pp. Next up on our musical trip back in time is claude debussy, a lateromantic french composer of the late 19th and early 20th century most associated with impressionism.
Scale networks and debussy dmitri tymoczko it is frequently observed that over the course of the nineteenth century the chromatic scale gradually supplanted the diatonic. He was one of the most important composers of the early 20th century. He favoured techniques that werent taught traditionally. He is often labelled impressionist a term derived from painting, in which outlines are blurred and delicate shades of colour are used. The influence of art and literature on claude debussys music 2 in his time, debussy interacted with artists that affected his aesthetic and style.
Claude debussy in 1908 claudeachille debussy 22 august 186225 march 1918 was a french composer. I think debussy is a brilliant composer, and one of the best of the 20th century imo. On the one hand, debussy specifically drew attention to the novel tonal and formal properties of the prelude. An exploration of late 19th and early 20th century impressionism focusing on two works of debussy. This project is going to focus on the development of impressionism and how it progressed. The remarkable etudes, composed in 1915, are a warning to pianists not to take up music professionally unless they have remarkable hands. Why does claude debussys music sound so distinct from that. Music of the 20th century free download as powerpoint presentation. The czar used opera as a tool of propaganda for his absolutist government.
Vial there are, of course, no commas, periods, or question marks in music of the baroque and classic eras. Oconnell, jeremy day, pentatonicism from the eighteenth century to debussy university of rochester press, 2007 potter, john, beggar at the door. University of rochester press 2007 the first comprehensive account of the increasing use of the pentatonic scale in 19thcentury western art music, including a catalogue of over 400 musical examples. Most of his compositions are for orchestra or for piano. Claude debussy background debussy 18621918 was in many ways a radical composer. Tonality and form in debussys prelude a lapresmidi dun. Cambridge university press 97805211458 debussy in proportion. In the eighteenth century, most of the operas were composed and performed by foreigners.
The music of debussy is given detailed, yet not too technical explanations. About composer claude debussy claude debussy was born in saintgermainenlaye, france, on august 22, 1862. In another article debussy, pentatonicism he discusses tetrachordal sets within the pentatonic scale in the context of. His mature compositions, distinctive and appealing, combined modernism and sensuality so successfully that their sheer beauty often obscures their technical innovation. Feb 01, 2008 books received books received 20080201 00. Debussy was influenced by artists from europe and asia, and he explored the interaction of light and. The art of musical phrasing in the eighteenth century. A musical analysis roy howat excerpt more information. Pentatonicism from the eighteenth century to debussy offers the first comprehensive account of a widely recognized aspect of music history.
During 18801891, claude debussy arranged many orchestral pieces for piano, with preference to camille saintsaens, tchaikovsky, shumann. Pentatonicism from the eighteenth century to debussy. Mar 18, 2009 5 compositions of claude debussy slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. He also wrote some songs, chamber music and one opera. Horizons grade 10 learners materials music and arts appreciation for young filipinos pp. He made his music very different from the romantic style that other composers were using at the time.
Pdf debussy, pentatonicism, and the tonal tradition. Debussy, pentatonicism, and the tonal tradition article pdf available in music theory spectrum 312. This practice, while often radical, nevertheless also partakes of a tradition of nineteenthcentury pentatonicism that itself can be understood in relation to the larger context of tonal historya point well illustrated by a favored cadential device of debussys, the plagal leadingtone. The 1889 paris universal exposition was an eyeopening experience for claude debussy, a young composer just beginning to make himself known and get his first compositions published. Petersburg in 1755, and it gave the first opera in russian. The work is an appropriate test case for several reasons. That, at least, is what debussy thought of his 12 extremely difficult piano masterpieces. Among the musical scores he brought was debussys rather grandly entitled first quartet, in g minor, op. Claude debussy 18621918 was the leading french composer of the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
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