Week 8 - Modernist Revolutions: Debussy, "Living Exhibits," Photography and Rejecting the Tonal Past Flashcards
What is modernism
Artists at the turn of the 20th century who were anti-traditionalists and into experimentation
New tech: phone, planes, lightbulb, cars
What were new ideas that came forth in modernism
Darwin - theory of evolution
- Scared millions of people due to going against religion
Freud - Unconscious
- Anxiety
Who is Claude Debussy
French composer, 1862-1918
What were three influences on Debussy
- End of the “common practice” - There was a common theory that music revolved around tonality.
- The Japanese Gamelan
- Impressionist painters
What is tonality
Tonality is the key for which a piece is written
There is a home chord in tonality
Cosonance and dissonance leads to tonalty
What are the 2 western systems of tonality
Major and Minor
What are chords
3 or more notes heard at the same time
What is a consonant interval
Interval is the distance between two notes
Dissonant must resolve
Melodic Linearity
If these are anchors, get rid of them
When did Debussy hear the Japanese Gamelan
1889 Paris world fair
What is a Gamelan
A percussion orchestra of 25 people that uses metal and wooden instruments
What is colotomic rhythm
Cycles and rhythms that go all over the song that determines beginning and end
Use a roughly pentatonic scale called the slendro
No linear melody
What are Pagodes
Floating, no clear melody, no dissonance
What are elements of the painting of the Monet Rouen cathedral
Colours are ambiguous not clearly defined
Lined are not defined
Hazy
Short brush strokes
What are elements of Debussy’s “Afternoon of a Fawn” (1894)
Glissando, no pulse, “dreamlike”, glissando in the harp, quiet, musical “flecks”, no clear rhythm or pulse
