When looking at the earlier styles explored in this class, it was easy to categorize composers by their era or period. Bach played during the Baroque; Mozart is clearly a Classical composer, etc. As we moved deeper and deeper into the class, and closer and closer to modern day, the categorization became increasingly difficult. This began with Beethoven, who did not fit quite into the Classical style, but was not a pure Romantic either. He was somewhere in-between. Debussy fills a similar space between periods. Though Debussy composed a great deal of program music, he also created pieces in the Impressionist style. With Debussy’s Pierrot, from his Quatre Chansons de Jeunesse (Four Songs of Youth), he creates a Lied that could be interpreted as either; an Impressionist piece or a piece of program music, meant to look at the meaning of the words and the music that accompanies them, as opposed to purely the sound itself.
Debussy’s Impressionist style shines through in Pierrot, one of the many Lieds written by the established composer. Debussy was famous for his interesting and new forms of tonality. Debussy was able to create a piece focused on sound and its emotional reaction with Pierrot. His use of unconventional scales creates a sound unique to Impressionism and Symbolism, the French literary contemporary to Impressionist music. The piece consists of four themes, and they are played and repeated in an interesting order that will be discussed later. The themes themselves are similar, but definitely distinct in their sound. There is a certain dissonance that resounds through all of them, but it does not have the effect of making the piece hard to follow. Dissonance can often have this effect, but the dissonance in this...
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... that directly discuss the both of them, respectively. Theme D brings together the fleeting nature of Pierrot’s love, as it moves from woman to woman, to the moon, shining white and bright at night, and gone by morning.
It is unclear whether Debussy’s Pierrot is program music or Impressionist, but maybe that is by intent. It makes plenty of sense that Debussy would allow the listener to decide what to see in the work. There are many layers to look at, whether it is the sounds themselves, the surface meaning of the poem, or the deeper connection that Debussy draws between specific lines in the poem. These are conscious choices that the listener is able to make while listening to the piece, and it comes from a level of depth and craftsmanship that should absolutely be applauded. Pierrot is a wonderful piece, an absolute pleasure, no matter what you hear in it.
From the concrete structure of the Baroque period to the free-form structure of the Modern period each composer brings forth a new understanding and value to their time period. Within these pieces that they creatively compose it brings new light and displays the culture of the time period. The composers each have story to tell and has each creatively constructed their own works within the diameters of their era.
Edgar Degas’ paintings on the bourgeois family life puts an emphasis on the “apartness and disjunction” of the family structure during 19th and 20th century.1 Interior with Two People represents Degas’ interest in the fragmentation and contradictions that riddle the common idea of the bourgeois family in the nineteenth century.2 The man and woman in Degas’ Interior with Two People seem to belong to the upper bourgeois class in French society as suggested by the clothing of the two. It could be speculated that Degas paints a husband and wife, yet unlike the love and intimacy commonly thought to be in a marriage, both individuals have their backs turned towards each other. In contrast to the warm colors Degas uses to paint the interior, the frigid and disjointed atmosphere of the painting symbolize the fragmentation of bourgeois family life. The woman expresses sorrow and the man, with his tense stance and fisted hand, expresses tenseness. Similar to Degas’ The Interior (also called The Rape, plate 2) or Sulking, the “yawning space between the gendered opponents and/or fragments or centrifugal composition constructs a disturbing sense of psychological distance or underlying hostility between the figures in question.”3,4,5
The “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and ‘”The Hand” by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette are similar in theme and setting. Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette and Kate Chopin create the theme of obligatory love and the unhappiness it entails. Both stories illustrate the concealed emotions many women feel in their marriage yet fail to express them. The two stories take place in a sacred room of the house and both transpire in a brief amount of time. The differences between the two stories are seen through the author’s choice of characters in each story. In “The story of an Hour” Kate Chopin involves other characters in Mrs. Mallard’s life, whereas, “The Hand” deals with marriage and togetherness and only involves the husband and wife. Symbolism is seen all throughout “The Hand” not so in ‘The Story of an Hour.” The similarities in “The Story of an Hour” and “The Hand” is portrayed in theme and setting. The differences are illustrated in the choice of characters involved in each story and the amount of symbolism depicted in the different stories.
Edgar Degas’ mind was unique and creative, producing some of the most famous works of the Impressionist period. Although his works were incredibly beautiful and had what could have been positive subject matter, his works often appear eerie and mysterious. This is due to Degas’ inner thoughts and feelings. Beginning with his mother’s death at age 13, Degas never became attached to a woman during his lifetime. This caused him to not only feel aggressive toward women, but also that he could look down upon them and his inferiors. Conflicting thoughts of aggression and admiration filled the mind of Degas, and is seen throughout his body of works. His work appears the way it does to the viewer due to Degas’ inner thoughts, which were not always positive. This allows his works to differ from other artists of the period.
(3) In the Romantic era the compositions were very expressive and inventive. The Romantic composers experimented with already existing forms, and dramatic expressiveness. This grew out of the improvement of instruments and the newly invented genres (Britannica). The limits in music composing were pushed with great contrast in the music. There were tempo changes in the music, difference in dynamics that ranged from pppp to ffff, either gradual or sudden, for a great emotional effect. Chromatic harmony was a popular, new way of making dissonance and unstable chords, prolonging the resolution of dissonance, using tones from the chromatic scale to create tension and unpredictability in the music (“OnMusic”). Other traits of the Romantic style of music were individualism and self-expression. Therefore it is possible to hear who the composer of the piece is (An Appreciation 257, 259). Compositions could be either absolute, which meant that the music was not based on a story or a text, or it could be program, which meant that the music was based on a story or a text. During the Romantic era, the composers mostly preferred program music. Nationalism and exoticism in the music was also common. The composers used dances and rhythms that were common...
Before Impressionism came to be a major movement (around 1870-1800s), Neoclassical and Romanticism were still making their impacts. Remembering last week’s lesson, we know that both those styles were different in the fact that one was based on emotion, while the other was practical and serious. However, one thing they both shared was the fact that the artists were trying to get a message across; mostly having to do with the effects of the French Revolution, and/or being ordered to do so. With Impressionism, there is a clear difference from its predecessors.
... as they present pure fantasy, and the lovers have one foot in each world; they experience desperation in the face of harsh realities, but meanwhile they learn and change as a result of their fantastical dreams. The allusions used in each world illustrate the differences between them and bring them together simultaneously. All of the myths and legends referenced have similar themes and origins, but each is interpreted differently by the speaker; the lovers speak of mythological figures much like themselves, the mechanicals attempt to do the same with little success, and the fairies reference gods and goddess who toy with the fates of mortal lovers. Such striking similarities echo the ever-present theme that in love, we are all the same. Whether we fancy a donkey, a meddling fairy, or a friendly Athenian, in love there is beauty, hilarity, and irrationality in excess.
During the nineteenth and the twenty centuries musicians adopted new rules. Some of the rules would be not to follow rules or some composers would follow the rule that required them to return to emotional restrains. Whether it was the Impressionistic composer Claude Debussy performing La Mer or the Neoclassical composer Igor Stravinsky performing The Rite of Spring, the composers of this time period certainly had noteworthy ideas.
He sent her countless letters and even went as far as to rent rooms near where she lived just to be close to her. Unfortunately, these acts of feverish affection went unrequited. However Hector Berlioz was not to be disheartened so easily and at the ripe old age of 27, he wrote what is now considered to be the most beautiful and poignant pieces of Romantic Classical to ever grace the ears of the post-Beethoven world. The symphony tells the story of a young musician, who lovelorn and heartbroken, tries to poison himself with the use of opium. However the drug only causes the young man to fall into a heavy sleep, haunted with terrifying visions. Each of the five movements details each of these horrid visions. The first movement, ‘Reveries’, explore feeling of love, tenderness and melancholy through slow moving passages and gentle string melodies. Movement two, ‘Un Bal’ is a vision of his love at an extravagant ball. In ‘Scene aux Champs’, the young man envisions he and his beloved living in tranquillity in the French countryside. However towards the end of this movement, thunderclouds approach from afar. In movement four, ‘March au Supplice’, our hero suffers a nightmare. He is being led to the scaffolds on account of murdering his dearly betrothed in a fit of rage. Fast jabbing melodies emphasise the dropping of the axe and we are given
As a French composer, Debussy declared that French music is always clear, elegant and simple. Not only that, Debussy’s works is always new and fresh, as he always wanted to try something different. Also with Mussorgsky’s encouragement to disobey the scholastic rules, and to be more daring in creating harmonies, he will often break the traditional rules and patterns, and try out some new elements.
A strong relationship between the music and the text can be seen throughout the melodic line, particularly in measures 22-23; 26; 32-33; and 36 as the soloist sings the word “ah!” This word is particularly emotive and in fact does not even act as a word, but rather something closer to a sigh. The music reflects this by placing multiple notes on one syllable, stretching it melismatically to mimic the drawn-out and lethargic nature of sighing. Additionally, each instance of “ah!” involves an arching line within the melody (this is particularly evident in measures 26 and 36), which further solidifies the resemblance to sighing (an act that involves a “swell” of breath). The idea of sighing occurs in many instances throughout this piece, even acting outside of the melodic line. The string accompaniment contains occasional slurs, and these slurs usually occur on a strong beat moving to a weak beat (e.g. see both violin parts in measure 9). This adds to the...
By analyzing the structure, the reader encounters the imagination and individuality prized by the Romantics. In addition, an examination of the literary devices presents the reader with the personal connection Romantic writers longed to have with nature. Lastly, the content of these pieces proved to be intertwined and demonstrated the desire to spread creativity and inspiration to others. As said by Michelle Williams “Everything’s connected, and everything has meaning if you look for it”
A group of poets known as, the Symbolists began poetry in which the words that were used were used purely for their sounds and not for their actual meaning. Symbolists tried to convey impression by suggestion instead of definition. Music compositions from the Impressionism period contained some of the same characteristics of impressionist paintings. Impressionist composers and its music at the time were breaking away from classical techniques. In the impressionism spectrum, Debussy is to impressionist music as Monet is to painting, meaning in that they are both the father figures of their medium in which they portray the impressionist style. Impressionist music was very much like the paintings; they stirred emotions to their audience. Claude Debussy was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music but he never ever considered himself an Impressionist instead he considered himself a “Realist” (Classical 1). Debussy’s style and works are closely similar to those of the impressionists. For instance, in order to achieve an effect that was comparable to that painted by the visual artists, Debussy emphasized those musical elements that could be immediately grasped and understood the instant they were heard, namely timbre and harmonic color. Claude
“Edgar Degas seems never to have reconciled himself to the label of “Impressionist,” preferring to call himself a “Realist” or “Independent”” (Schenkel 2000). The Interior is from realism period because of it 's style and accuracy of objects
...s and syncopation. Though a passepied is traditionally written in triple meter, Debussy employs an interesting choice of meter throughout his piece that deviates from the norm of such a form. Modal chords give it a rather moto perpetuo feel, meaning a fast tempo and a steady, continuous stream of notes. Present in almost every measure is a crisp staccato accompaniment under which the melody provides us with two themes: the acicular introductory theme and the more graceful second theme. Throughout the course of this final piece, the second theme is heavily varied, oscillating between duple and triple meter and containing multiple inversions. The piece ends beautifully with a cascade of eighth notes as Debussy plays with the modal conflict of F-sharp and B. We also encounter a flurry of pianississimo chords which finally end with an array of sporadic staccato chords.