Clair de Lune - PowerPoint Presentation

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.Slide7
Slide8

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 0:00-1:02Slide15
Slide16
Slide17

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 itselfSlide18
Slide19

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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