Chapter 27 Impressionism and Exoticism Modernism An AntiRomantic

Modernism: An Anti-Romantic Movement • Turning away from the predominantly idealistic, sentimental aesthetics of

Impressionism • Impressionism: late 19 th-century movement that sought to re-create the impression of

Impressionism in Music • Melody: Motives rather than long themes; use of wholetone, pentatonic,

Claude Debussy (1862 -1918) • Career spent in Paris • Studied piano, composition, and

Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun (1894) • Written to precede a stage

Préludes for Piano (1910, 1913) • Debussy’s last and most far-reaching attempt at evocative

Exoticism in Music • A fascination of the “other” – Classical composers imitated Turkish

The Exotic of Spain: Ravel’s Bolero (1928) • Maurice Ravel (1875 -1937): Bolero (1828)

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Chapter 27: Impressionism and Exoticism

Modernism: An Anti-Romantic Movement • Turning away from the predominantly idealistic, sentimental aesthetics of Romanticism – Partially due to the upheaval of the Franco-Prussian War and WWI • Developments in the arts mirrored the unsettled times • Move away from conventional musical expression

Impressionism • Impressionism: late 19 th-century movement that sought to re-create the impression of a single, fleeting moment; began in France and centered around Paris • Began in the visual artists: – Claude Monet (1840 -1926) – Edgar Degas (1834 -1917) – Auguste Renoir (1841 -1919) • Artistic style: – Against representational art – Importance of light – Spots of color create movement and fluidity

Impressionism in Music • Melody: Motives rather than long themes; use of wholetone, pentatonic, and chromatic scales to obscure tonic • Harmony: Static harmony instead of strong cadences; use of 7 th and 9 th chords; parallel motion • Rhythm: Free, flexible rhythms with irregular accents • Color: emphasis on woodwinds and brass; “new “colors” • Texture: Varies from thin and airy to heavy and dense; • Form: Adapted to the particular composition; avoidance of traditional forms

Claude Debussy (1862 -1918) • Career spent in Paris • Studied piano, composition, and music theory at the Paris Conservatory • Travelled to Italy, Russia, and Vienna thanks to his patron Nadezhda von Meck • Won the Prix de Rome in 1884

Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun (1894) • Written to precede a stage reading of the poem The Afternoon of a Faun by Stéphane Mallarmé – Symbolist poetry • Dream-like mood, vague and elusive • Use of distinctive orchestral colors, especially woodwinds • Tonal impressions swirl, dissolve, and form again • No repeating rhythms or clear-cut meters • Languid beauty

Préludes for Piano (1910, 1913) • Debussy’s last and most far-reaching attempt at evocative writing in music • Challenge to create musical impressions without the use of the colorful orchestra • Voiles (Sails) from the first book of Préludes (1910) – Depiction of the sea – Fluid descent in mostly parallel motion – Hazy, languid atmosphere – Use of the whole-tone scale and the pentatonic scale – Use of ostinato

Voiles

Exoticism in Music • A fascination of the “other” – Classical composers imitated Turkish bands – Spain: Bizet, Debussy, Ravel – African art may have influenced Cubism – The Far East was particularly intriguing • Any sounds drawn from non-Western music – Scales or harmony – Folk rhythm – Musical instruments – Foreign subject for a program

The Exotic of Spain: Ravel’s Bolero (1928) • Maurice Ravel (1875 -1937): Bolero (1828) – Bolero: A sultry Spanish dance in a slow tempo and triple meter – Repetitive, hypnotic music, moving inexorably towards a frenzied climax – A single melody – Instrumental color and gradual crescendo create a spellbinding atmosphere