pagodes Flashcards
(7 cards)
intro
Debussy was a late-Romantic composer associated with Impressionism, a movement ranging across many of the arts during his time which sought to evoke ideas or themes as opposed to delivering programmatic content as his predecessors, such as Hector Berlioz, had done. Though he himself maligned being labelled as an Impressionist, Debussy wanted to “break free” from the conventions, and to him, constraints, of 19th century music. This intention is clear in Pagodes, which shows Debussy’s experiments in fusing styles of music from other cultures, in this case, with Javanese gamelan music, which he first experienced at an exposition in Paris. This approach is reflected in his use and development of texture and melody in the piece, as well as the techniques required of the piano itself.
melody
- pagoda: sloping melody at beginning
- gong like open 5
- pentatonic scale e.g. Javanese Slendro
RAVEL JEUX D’EAU - pentatonic scales to ‘paint’ scenes of water, clouds, fog –> improvised quality
- by 1900, french composers –> hazy, ill defined ideas w/ no traditional sense of pulse –> water
- relied on timbres to convey mood —> trance like, resist stable shape
*
- whole tone elements in B section
PRELUDE LAPRES MIDI - chromatic melodies and tritones - no sense of key
- whole tone scales = out of body —> symbolism
*
- debussy was keen to move away from the traditional expectation to develop melodies through variation and contrast —> more free form
BEETHOVEN PATHETIQUE
- balanced, periodic phrasing
- develops and expands melodies in a set structure
- pagodes = less structured, based on eastern not western influences
—> dissociate from traditional western influence—> more authentic sound
importance = placed on painting a picture through harmonic and textural variety
— contrasts Romanticism vs Impressionism
Romanticism: break away from classical structure
Impressionism: influences across the globe- new sound worlds + sonorities
*
trills/ semiquavers at top of tessitura decorate core melody
DEBUSSY POISSONS DOR
- sets melody against shimmering, oscillating texture of glittering demisemiquavers- ocean waves
- in Pagodes, represents sulig and rebab
tonality
- tonal centre B + B pedals- open 5ths- avoid overstating traditional western tonality
DEBUSSY PRELUDE LAPRES MIDI DUN FAUN
- tonality = hazy concept - keys are undefined
- symbolism - lack of key symbolises lack of distinction between real world + daydream of faun
- in pagodes: tonal centres + pentatonic scales = symbolic of gamelan
—> using only piano to evoke scenes of eastern culture.
sonority
- instruments of gamelan; gongs, metallaphones, xylophone, drums
- 3 groups
- larger gongs punctuate important parts - play single notes
- metallaphones- core balungan
- smaller instruments - faster, decorative part - elaboration of gamelan
- almost full range used- symbolises vast range of gamelan
+ draws attention to contrasting textures
LA SOIREE DANS GRENADE
- both use pianos capabilities to mimick sounds of other instruments/ cultures
- pagodes: wide range (many parts) sustaining pedal (metallic resonance)
- la soiree: spread chords (guitar strum) sustaining pedal (resonant)
*
- opening = layered in mid range - as texture develops, melody = forced to move higher to accommodate inner layer
RAVEL BARQUE SUR LOCEAN
- B-A# @ extremes of range - attention to contrasting textures
- common for impressionist composers –> push instruments to limits
- beginning- constant arching LH demisemiquavers + RH quavers
- as piece develops, hands move further apart –> sim 4 8ves above below middle C
- range and semiquaver movement - undulations of ocean waves
*
b section- passage of melody in LH- upper parts - bell effects
—> possibly to replicate the high pitched bells and metalllaphones of gamelan - reinforced by gong like pedal notes- recurring feature
JUIN BARCAROLLE
- poem- summer walks and venetian gondolers
- gently rocking RH and rising LH motif
- flowing water + gentle sculling of oars
*
one of debussy’s intentions- piano has no hammers
- rather than specidic instructions - broad indication + early instructions
BERLIOZ
in 1844 wrote treatise of instrumentation: technical study of western instruments
- Pagodes = written in impressionism- ideas taken from other cultures
- departing from western tradition + dissociate - more authentic sound
*
attempting to replicate ringing effect of javenese instruments
- tended to ring long after they were struck- build up of overlapping tones = large part of textural substance
RAVEL LA VALLEE DES CLOCHES
- dense chords + constant sustaining pedal —> haunting ringing
- heavy bass 8ves traced over by treble passages
- blend melodies + harmonies together - rich sonority of La Savoyarde
final var- laissez vibrer- keep down so sound dies away naturally
harmony
non functional- added notes to avoid straightforward triads
- slow harmonic rhythm
- pedal points- open 5ths blur harmony
PRELUDE POUR LE PIANO
- modal + whole tone themes– experimentation with harmony in impressionism
PRELUDE LAPRES MIDI
- whole tones, tritones, chromaticism
—-> symbolism
RAVEL JEUX DEAU
- paint scenes of water, cloud, fog
- hazy/ ill defined, trance like, resist stable shape- improvised quality
texture
- complex, but all parts considered equal
- texture = busy, multi layered
–> structure to layering so instruments complement each other to decorate core balungan
CLOCHES A TRAVERS LES FEUILLES
- took ideas from gamelan but also bells in a french village
- debussy’s way of merging his fascinatinon w/ gamelan and desire to still remain ‘french’ at a time when german romanticism was becoming increasingly popular
cloches: distinctly layered, arching quavers, core balungan, gong like bass, complex gamelan texture
pagodes: quaver runs, triplets, gong pedal notes, cross rhythms, 3 part texture, captures gamelan w only piano
structure
loose ternary form
- keen to move away from traditional expectations to develop melodies through variation and contrast, to a more free form
- wanted to move through a structure of key points to build a harmonic and tonal plan
BEETHOVEN PATHETIQUE
- set structures in which melody = developed eg sonata
- idea of structure = abandoned
- importance = placed on painting a picture through harmonic and tonal variation
romanticism vs impressionism
