In French culture, there has always been a close connection among all the arts. At the turn of the century a new style of painting developed, called impressionism. Impressionist artists focused on creating effects of light and color. French poets were experimenting at the same time with the rhythm and sound of words to suggest moods and emotions. These poets were known as the symbolists.
Impressionism in music came somewhat later and is best represented in the music of Claude Debussy. Debussy was born in a small town near Paris and trained at the Paris Conservatory. He won the Prix de Rome at age twenty-two.
Debussy rejected the Germanic tradition. He determined that the primary goal of music was to give pleasure. He felt that the heavy-handed Germanic style was overdone and inappropriate. Instead he developed a restrained style that was light, colorful, and expressive. The hallmark of impressionistic music is its subtlety.
Debussy was an accomplished pianist. His piano works are among the most significant of this era. By 1903 he had established himself with the publication of his Préludes and Images in two volumes each. He died in 1918, shortly before the end of World War I.
The other important composer linked with Debussy is Maurice Ravel. Ravel’s music, however, incorporated a classical orientation along with Debussy’s impressionism. Like Debussy, Ravel composed in a variety of genres including works for piano, vocal pieces, and symphonic music. His most famous composition is Boléro.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
1. The way a composer handles musical elements results in a personal style. In Debussy’s case, he almost single-handedly created musical impressionism. Rather than sticking with just the major and minor scales, he exploited the whole-tone, pentatonic, and modal scales, all of which gave his melodies a unique sound. He used instruments in unusual ways, too. The opening melody of the Prélude is placed in the lowest pitch range of the flute. This range is very difficult to produce at any dynamic level other than piano. Hence this gives an ethereal, impressionistic quality. “Am I dreaming or did this really happen?” He liked to use the harp in orchestral works, for its rippling effect ring of harmonies. His use of rhythm was very fluid, based to some extent on subtleties in the French language as revealed in poetry. This fluidity creates a sense that time is suspended. The music seems to float from measure to measure. You will have a hard time tapping your foot to Debussy.
2. Impressionism represents the beginning of a period of experimentation that led composers to develop new modes of expression. Rather than a single style predominating, a variety of schools developed, if not simultaneously, at least overlapping each other. Many composers adopted a particular approach, while being aware of the other schools of expression.
3. Although composers in the twentieth century began exploring new idioms, timbres, and forms, they still paid homage to earlier forms and genres. Both Debussy and Ravel contributed one string quartet each to that genre. They are both masterpieces that rank with the finest quartets.
FURTHER TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
1. What happens at the transitions in the Prélude?” How can you distinguish the B section from the A sections?
2. Compare Debussy’s orchestration with that of Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms.