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CLAUDE DEBUSSY

Debussy, (Achille) Claude (1862-1918), French composer, whose harmonic innovations helped pave the way for the musical upheavals of the 20th century. Debussy was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye and studied at the Paris Conservatoire, which he entered at the age of 10. In 1879, as private musician to Nadezhda von Meck, the patron of Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Debussy traveled to Florence, Italy; Venice, Italy; Vienna, Austria; and Moscow. While in Russia Debussy became acquainted with the works of such Russian composers as Tchaikovsky, Aleksandr Borodin, Mily Balakirev, and Modest Mussorgsky and with Russian folk and Romani (Gypsy) music. He studied in Rome for two years, as required by the terms of the award, submitting new compositions regularly but unsuccessfully to the Grand Prix committee.

He used whole-tone scales, which are constructed by notes a whole step apart rather than the usual patterns of whole steps and half steps used in traditional major or minor scales. In this excerpt from the first movement, the whole-tone scales create a floating effect, which contrasts clearly with his return to traditional harmonies at the end of the example.

During the 1890s Debussy's works were performed with increasing frequency, and despite their controversial nature, he began to gain some recognition as a composer. Outstanding pieces from this period are the String Quartet in G Minor (1893) and the Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, 1894), his first mature orchestral work, derived from a poem by French symbolist Stephane Mallarme.

From 1902 to 1910 Debussy wrote chiefly for the piano, rejecting the traditional percussive approach to the instrument and emphasizing instead its capabilities for delicate expressiveness. His most important works of this period include Estampes (Engravings, 1903), L'ile joyeuse (The Isle of Joy, 1904), Images (two series, 1905 and 1907), and several preludes.

In 1909 Debussy learned that he was afflicted with cancer. Most of his late works are chamber music, including three extraordinary sonatas, for cello; for violin; and for flute, viola, and harp. Among Debussy's numerous other important works are the ballet score Jeux (Games, 1912), the orchestral poem La mer (The Sea, 1905), and the songs in Cinq poemes de Baudelaire (Five Poems of Baudelaire, 1889;).

The innovations of French composer Claude Debussy make him among the greatest and most important composers of the 20th century. His compositional style has often been associated with the French impressionist painters who flourished at the end of the 19th century. His compositions were different from most romantic era program music in that the point was not merely to express an idea or tell a story, but rather to create an “atmosphere” through sound sketches and rich, though seemingly subdued instrumentation.

The music of Debussy's mature style was the forerunner of much modern music and made him one of the most important composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His innovations were chiefly harmonic. Although he did not devise the whole-tone scale, he was the first composer to exploit it successfully. His treatment of chords was radical for its time: Taking advantage of their individual colors and effects, he arranged them so as to weaken, rather than support, the illusion of any specified key. The lack of fixed tonality in Debussy's music gives it a dreamy quality that some critics of his time referred to as musical impressionism, after the resemblance they saw to the pictorial effect achieved by artists of the impressionist school. The term impressionism is still used to describe Debussy's work. Debussy himself did not create a school of composition, but he liberated music from the limitations of traditional harmony. Moreover, the high quality of his output proved to later composers the validity of experimenting with new ideas and techniques.

1. Answer the following questions:

1. What is Debussy’s nationality?

2. Where was he born?

3. Which works of Russian composers did he become acquainted with?

4. Which new elements did he use in his works?

5. When did he compose his first mature orchestral work?

6. What kind of music did he write from 1902?

7. Why was Debussy the greatest and most important composer of the 20^th century?

8. Is the term impressionism used to describe Debussy’s work?

9. Have you ever listened to the works by Debussy?

Date: 2016-03-03; view: 723