Claude Debussy Debussy was a French composer He and Maurice Ravel were the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music Looking at these 3 impressionist paintings What are some of the characteristics of this period ID: 543533
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Slide1
Clair de Lune
Claude DebussySlide2
Debussy was a French composer. He and Maurice Ravel were the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music. Slide3
Looking at these 3 impressionist paintings
What are some of the characteristics of this period?Slide4
Not exact
Used many short brush strokes, applying paint thickly, to create the idea, or impression
of a subject rather than its detailsVague and hazy outlines
Emphasis on light and the changing qualities of it
Creates a mood a spiritSlide5
When listening to Debussy, it helps to keep Impressionist paintings in mind. Debussy’s style was in the same vein, only on piano instead of on a canvas. Slide6
He was opposed to the Romantic style of playing with
themes and chord patterns.Slide7Slide8
Suite
B
ergamasque is
one of the most famous piano suites by Claude Debussy. It was first composed by Debussy around 1890, at the age of 28.
(
Bergamasque
is a folk dance of the Bergamo region of northern Italy popular mainly in the sixteenth century)
.
Clair
de Lune is the third movement of the four-movement suite. The title is French for “Moonlight”, and is based
on a
poem by Paul Verlaine. A lot of composers took inspiration from poetry, and Debussy was no exception
Clair
de Lune, like an impressionist painting, is really all about capturing the essence of something – not so much the
details,
but the spirit.Slide9
What imagery and feelings does a moonlit night evoke in you?
Brainstorm
Clair de Lune
Claude Debussy
Clair de Lune
Claude DebussySlide10
Moonlight
Your
soul is a select landscapeWhere charming masqueraders and bergamaskers go
Playing the lute and dancing and almostSad beneath their fantastic disguises.All sing in a minor keyOf victorious love and the opportune life,They do not seem to believe in their happiness
And their song mingles with the moonlight,
With the still moonlight, sad and beautiful,
That sets the birds dreaming in the trees
And the fountains sobbing in ecstasy,
The tall slender fountains among marble statues.
Clair de Lune
Votre
âme
est
un
paysage choisi
Que vont charmant masques et bergamasquesJouant
du luth et dansant et quasiTristes sous leurs
déguisements fantasques.Tout en chantant
sur
le mode
mineur
L’amour
vainqueur
et la vie opportune,
Ils
n’ont
pas
l’air
de
croire
à
leur
bonheur
Et
leur
chanson se
mêle
au
clair
de
lune
,
Au
calme
clair
de
lune
triste
et beau,
Qui fait
rêver
les
oiseaux
dans
les
arbres
Et
sangloter
d’extase
les jets
d’eau
,
Les
grands
jets
d’eau
sveltes
parmi
les
marbres
.
Paul
Verlaine
(1844 – 1896
)Slide11
Moonlight
Your
soul is a select landscapeWhere charming masqueraders and bergamaskers go
Playing the lute and dancing and almostSad beneath their fantastic disguises.
All sing in a
minor key
Of victorious love and the opportune life,
They do not seem to believe in their happiness
And their song mingles with the
moonlight
,
With the still moonlight,
sad and beautiful,That sets the
birds dreaming in the trees
And the
fountains sobbing in ecstasy
,The tall slender fountains among
marble statues.Clair de Lune
Votre âme est un paysage
choisiQue vont charmant masques et
bergamasques
Jouant
du
luth
et
dansant
et quasi
Tristes
sous
leurs
déguisements
fantasques
.
Tout en
chantant
sur
le mode
mineur
L’amour
vainqueur
et la vie opportune,
Ils
n’ont
pas
l’air
de
croire
à
leur
bonheur
Et
leur
chanson se
mêle
au
clair
de
lune
,
Au
calme
clair
de
lune
triste
et beau,
Qui fait
rêver
les
oiseaux
dans
les
arbres
Et
sangloter
d’extase
les jets
d’eau
,
Les
grands
jets
d’eau
sveltes
parmi
les
marbres
.
Paul
Verlaine
(1844 – 1896
)Slide12
Different notes hiding in-between
Synchronicity between dynamics and rhythm/tempo
Harmonies create a gentle tone
Scales and patterns contributed to the dreamy sound
Legato, calm and slow tempo
Use of the pedal makes it more resonating
High notes highlight of the piece, low notes providing the dark surroundings, it is vague, but also plays a strong role
Lower notes are sad notes and trying to intrude on the beauty of the moonlight
Tranquil – decorative notes
Serene – Long sustained notes
Euphoric – High pitch notes coming in
Mysterious – choice of keySlide13
Clair de Lune
Claude DebussySlide14
What makes Clair
de
Lune interesting is
the way in which the piece builds from being dreamlike and almost formless to something a bit more solid and almost tangibleAlmost
as if we are about to take a walk in the
moonlight
We are finding our way, it feels uncomfortable at first
We are unsure of the landscape surrounding us
Gradually more movement and animation - things start to feel more comfortable we are becoming part of the landscape
Clair de Lune
Opening Section 0:00-1:02Slide15Slide16Slide17
Opening melody line – very simple and sparse
Curious notes and pauses, long held notes
Has several places where it is tied across the bar lines which gives the effect of blurring the
meter
of the
piece
2 notes in the space of 3 in bar 3, rest of the piece uses 3
In the first 8 bars the melody starts off the downbeats of each bar
This slow, syncopated rhythm in which the motif is played makes it difficult for the listener to grasp. It’s almost as if we hear a hint of a melody as opposed to the fully-formed melody itselfSlide18Slide19
Con
sordina
- With damper pedal
–
Pedalling
was very important in the playing of
Debussy although he almost never marked it in his score
When
a note is struck on the piano while the damper pedal is down, the vibrations from the strings of that note cause other strings to vibrate as well. These new vibrations are called sympathetic
vibrations
Since
the resonance of the entire instrument is called into play, the chief effect of the damper pedal is a change in the sound quality of the piano. Slide20
TONALITY
Db
major although it never feels that secure – tonal
ambiguity
Debussy
begins without the tonic
note
Also no
dominant
Ab
major
chord, which also would play a role in establishing the key
DissonanceSlide21
Unexpected points of curiosity Slide22
Magical
moment
Movement
increases in this sectionLover octave of the piano and then reaching upwards
Uses the bass line to increase the intensity of the music
Descending
phrases in the A section, and then r
eaching higher in the response
The
rhythmic ambiguity of the piece continues throughout the first fifteen measures, although the rhythm does get stronger here. As the rhythm becomes stronger and the phrases become clearer and easier to comprehend, we finally hear the strong yet hauntingly beautiful melody
1
:02Slide23
Harp like chords
1:40Slide24
1:49
Forward moving motion –
un
poco
mosso
Shorter note values
As if the moonlight is shining on the rippling waves with the RH melody peaking above
More relaxed
Use of whole tone scalesSlide25
Notes tumbling down like a waterfall – refer back to the poem!
2:28Slide26
Sense of anticipation in the left hand – something is going to happen
2:35Slide27
Part 3 sees a return to the opening theme, but it’s not an exact replica
An
interesting change from the beginning is that, though the beginning implied a
Db major chord, and a “happier” sound because of it, the third part, echoing the first part, takes it in a minor, “sadder” direction, implying an F minor harmony. It’s still peaceful like the beginning, but maybe a little more mysterious and melancholic.
Very soft – use of dynamics to portray peacefulness
Ascending figure in the bass line almost as if we are looking up to the moonlight
Arpeggio
fragments continue in the left hand, creating a fluid and changing harmony.
3:04Slide28
Return to waves which gradually fade out as chords are played in harp – like manner
A last a perfect cadence with resolution Db major
4:36Slide29
The whole-tone scale, true to its name, has no semitones, and if it started on C, the rest of the scale would follow as D-E-F#-G#-A# (or Bb)-C. It has no tonal center, so to speak, and so is often used in dream sequences in movies as well as underwater scenes.
Tonality –whole tone scalesSlide30
S
tructure
- long phrases
Pitch-
use of different
/unconventional harmonies i.e. whole tone scales and
dissonance
Rhythm
– how does the rhythm change and enhance the ‘feel’ of the piece and build the music to the
climax
Texture
- how do the 2 parts, right and left hand work together to create change throughout, are more ‘parts’
introduced?
Tone
colour
-
what
instrumental techniques are employed; expressive techniques- dynamics and
phrasing, use of pedal?Slide31
https
://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
I_49YGGZhkQhttp://www.pianotv.net/2016/05/analysis-of-clair-de-lune
/Janelle Monáe - Say You'll Go / Debussy - Clair de Lune
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n06NfuYi_w
from 3:30
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