UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
Date:______
I, ______, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in:
It is entitled:
This work and its defense approved by:
Chair: ______
Claude Debussy and equalizing balances: A different approach to analysis of Claude Debussy’s music with examples from Preludes, Books 1 and 2
DMA Document
by
Daniel Sachs
Advisor: Prof. Joel Hoffman
Daniel Sachs 9026 Rich Woods Court Loveland, OH 45140 Phone: 513-238-9519 E-mail: [email protected] Abstract
This dissertation provides a foundation for a different analytical approach to the music of Claude Debussy. As the musical description of a state of being gains the primary importance over dramatic development, a new structural and developmental coherence emerges in his style. It can be found in the relationship between simultaneously occurring layers of musical elements. These relationships are such that one element establishes a parameter such as harmony, rhythm, and meter, the other contradicts that parameter simultaneously. The two elements do not stand in a conflicting contradiction, but in a fine-tuned balance that defines the musical content of the piece. This approach to analysis of
Debussy’s music opens the door to understanding the undercurrent in his music and provides a framework, which unveils the particular in the context of the whole and vice versa. It connects all elements and gives insight into the relationship between the harmonic, the melodic and the formal structure. In that regard this approach can be considered an attempt to apply Schenkerian principles to Claude Debussy’s music. A wide variety of examples from the
Preludes and an in-depth analysis of Brouillards and Voiles are included.
Table of Contents
I. The Theory 1. The Question 2. Developing the Theory 3. Examples 4. Towards a Methodology 5. Defining Opposition and Contrast
II. In-depth Analyses 1. Brouillards 2. Voiles
Bibliography
Appendices A: Reductive Analysis: Voiles B: Marked score: Brouillards C: Marked score: Voiles
1 Chapter I
The Theory
1. The question
Two things initiated this work: first, the search for an answer to what really unifies
Claude Debussy’s compositional style. Many answers have been given in scholarly writing about what is typical of his music and which new elements he introduced: the whole tone scale, the octatonic, associative harmony, his melodic language, and so forth. Though true and essential, these theories often make isolated observations and do not give the deeper unifying aspects, the undercurrent thread that weaves his works together. I was looking for that which is always present in his music and distinguishes it from other composers.
Certainly there are many answers to this, but I believe that the following ideas and concepts are crucial in order to perform his music with a deeper understanding.
The answer to this question lies in the realm of aesthetics and perception as well as in the realm of theory and analysis. One must ask which aesthetic element is present at all times? Obviously, this question can and should be asked of any composer. Why does one immediately recognize Brahms as Brahms at all times? What makes a musical language typical, so that a particular element is recognizable almost at any given moment or within the smallest musical context? As a listener and a performer of Claude Debussy’s music, I perceive the most consistent characteristics to be a sense of weightlessness and the impression of a musical description of a state of being. Dramatic development is of
2 secondary importance if even that. Debussy’s opera Pelléas et Mélisande is a very good example: the purpose of the music is not to dramatically portray individuals, individual stories and developments of their circumstances, but rather to portray the overall outer atmosphere that is around the characters, for example the gloominess of the castle, the forest, and the sea.
If these are the overall dominating aesthetic characteristics, how are they achieved compositionally? How is a state of being created?
2. Developing the theory
The second inspiration that led to this work was an article by Roland Nadeau in the publication Cahiers Debussy 1. The article is about the first Prelude for piano in Book 2,
Brouillards. It is a response to another article, which claimed that this piece was atonal.
Nadeau argues that it is tonal. In reading this excellent and insightful article a question arose: how does this debate capture the essence of the piece? I wondered whether it was really relevant to determine whether the piece was tonal or atonal. It seemed obvious that there is a presence of C major or a C-centeredness, and it seemed equally obvious that there was something opposing that at the same time. That led to the idea that this reality could be expressed in terms of a relationship between the simultaneously occurring musical elements, the idea of a new type of polyphony. In the case of Brouillards it would
1 R. Nadeau, “Brouillards: A Tonal Music,” Cahiers Debussy, Nouvelle Série No 4-5 (1980-1981), 38.
3 be the relationship between the elements that define C as the central key area and those that contradict it. In further analysis this idea established itself to really work. The two elements stand in a relationship of artistic complexity. There is an extensive analysis of this piece in chapter II.
In researching the existing body of knowledge on Debussy’s music, in particular works that focus on polyphony, counterpoint, and harmony, I could not find any consideration of this idea of a continuous relationship between layers.
As I extended my analysis under this paradigm to other pieces, I found that
Debussy makes use of this all the time and with different musical elements besides tonality: for example rhythm and meter. The facts are always the same: There is a stabilizing element and a destabilizing element, an establishing element and a contradicting element, which occur simultaneously. The two elements stand in a relationship that I find best described as an equalizing balance. The elements are equal in weight though not equal in rank. There is a hierarchy among the elements. The way this works could be compared to an old-fashioned scale of weights where two weights balance each other out. In the course of a piece the balance is not always the same and does not always consist of the same elements, but the compositional development is the weighing of the different elements so that in the process of the entire piece the elements appear in a balance of equal weights. If we stay with this comparison for a moment, then during the course of a piece, it appears that the scale lowers on one side and then lowers on the other side, ultimately creating the overall impression of a perfect balance between the elements.
This approach to analysis of Debussy’s music opens the door to understanding the undercurrent in his music and provides a framework, which unveils the particular in the
4 context of the whole and vice versa. It connects all elements and gives insight into the relationship between the harmonic and the melodic and formal structure. In that regard this approach could be considered an attempt to apply Schenkerian principles to Debussy’s music.
3. Examples
If one played the first five notes of “Les Fées sont d’exquises danseuses” from the
Second Book of the Preludes very slowly, the listener would be likely to hear a resolution from an augmented triad to a major triad (see Example 1). This would be especially evident if one gave it some metric structure within those five notes, for example emphasizing the lower A-flat. But the real metric structure is that of a quintuplet.
Therefore there is no metric point of reference within the group, because the quintuplet is not evenly divisible. The effect is that one hears the following somewhat simultaneously: the augmented triad, the major triad, and the resolving effect. All three elements are present, but are destabilized in their clarity of successive appearance by rhythm.
Example 1. “Les Fées sont d’exquises danseuses”, m. 1
5 These quintuplets are organized as a successive progression in a 3/8 meter, the groups of quintuplets act as a chord progression.
In measures 6-8 the harmony suddenly becomes very stable (see Example 2).
An E-flat major chord appears with a sustaining trill. At the same time the length of the chord seems undetermined and becomes a destabilizing element. This is an example in which the balance shifts from one set of elements to another.
Example 2. “Les Fées sont d’exquises danseuses”, mm. 1-8
In the fifth Prelude of Book 2, “Bruyères”, I would like to look at two passages that show an interesting relationship between harmony and metric structure. Debussy uses more functional harmony in this piece than in any other of this collection. However, he
6 avoids and undermines a conventional-sounding appearance through subtle metric placements.
In the opening phrase, one could understand the hypermetric structure as 2 measures +1 measure +1 measure, each beginning with an upbeat (see Example 3).
Accompanied by the strong cadential tonal language, it sounds simple and clear. But this is not quite what Debussy wrote. The piece actually begins with a full measure, and therefore with the rests and not with the upbeat. If we now think of the music beginning on the first beat of the first measure, the hypermetric structure is completely shifted: it is 3 measures
+1 measure +1 measure. With that there is a new flow, a vagueness of flow that opposes the harmonic stability as the first note enters into the “sounding silence”. The metric position of measures 2 and 3 is shifted and therefore the distribution of weights is not as clear on either of those two measures. Obviously the listener will not know that the piece begins with rests, but this knowledge will certainly create a different atmosphere and expression in that which is heard.
Example 3. “Bruyères”, mm. 1-5
A similar effect is found in measures 16 and 17 (see Example 4). There we see a very conventional cadence in E-flat major. Intuitively I always wanted to put the metric weight on the resolution, the E-flat major chord, and begin the unaccompanied little phrase
7 separated from the previous statement. But again this is not what is written. The phrases overlap, which is not unusual in itself, but the metric weight is on the second beat of the tied-over E-flat major chord. If one allows the metric weight to be there, the flow of the musical energy automatically ties the phrases elegantly together. So with the “metric opposition” Debussy undermines the inherent metric force of the harmonic progression. In other words: that which wants to conclude is forced to flow. Again the balance of opposing forces creates such a typical “Debussy sound”.
Example 4. “Bruyères”, mm. 16-18
In the eleventh Prelude of Book 2, “Les tierces alternées”, which is rather an Etude in thirds, the balance also occurs on several levels. First of all the piece consists only of consecutive thirds, one third is played at a time. The third, as an interval by itself, is tonally ambiguous as it “longs” for the fifth on either end to bring tonal definition to it. In measure
11 one can see that Debussy implies seventh chords with the left hand, whereas the right hand plays a “passing” third. These seventh chords are placed in a traditional chord progression of A minor (vi—v—i) (see Example 5).
8 Example 5. “Les tierces alternées”, mm. 11-14
The balance lies in the tonal definition and lack thereof. The opening and the end of the piece suggest C major rather than A minor. The key is subtly implied by the progression of thirds in the opening and with the confirming repetition of C—E as the lowest interval. The rhythmic continuity of lightly detached sixteenth notes certainly helps the stabilizing side of the balance.
A frequent stabilizing element in Debussy is the pedal point. In fact he uses one or more pedal points in every piece of this collection with one or two exceptions (depending on the narrowness of the definition of a pedal point). Obviously, a pedal point will stabilize, as it is a harmonic point of reference that provides continuity to unstable vague musical elements. In the second Prelude of Book 2, “Feuilles mortes”, we find a good example of that. In measures 6 to 9 the pedal point on A takes on the function of mirroring tonally unstable parallel chords, bringing them into a relationship with itself. (See the parallel sixth chords with added seconds in measures 8 and 9 in Example 6).
9 Example 6. “Feuilles mortes”, mm. 6-9
The last example we will examine a bit more in depth: La Puerta del Vino from
Book 2 of the Preludes. Let us look at measures 5 and following (see Example 7).
Example 7. La Puerta del Vino, mm. 5-24
There are two simultaneous balances in this passage. Both are between the melody and the accompaniment. The first balance is between rhythmical elements. The accompaniment consists of an almost monotonously continuous Habanera rhythm. It is
10 strict and predictable. In contrast to that the melody is a rhythmically completely unpredictable. The long-stretched phrase consists of very long note values in the beginning and improvisatory ornaments around the main melodic notes. As a result, the character of the Habanera rhythm is redefined by the melody. It gains the quality passionnée douceur that Debussy indicates for the interpreter. Of course this works both ways: the rhythm of the Habanera also defines the character of the melody. It would be interesting to look at pieces by other composers who stylized dances. In fact, we might find that contradiction and redefining of expression between elements is a general principle of stylization (see for example Chopin’s Waltzes, Mazurkas and Polonaises)
The second balance is the tonal contradiction in measures 5 and following. The accompaniment consisting of the Habanera rhythm in the open fifth plus an added third in measure 6 provide a stable harmony: a D-flat major chord. B is added in measure 9 and becomes a permanent part of the harmony. The B can be understood in two different ways: either as part of the harmony, which sounds like a dominant seventh chord, yet functions as a tonic. Or one could think of it as an overlap of the two elements, where this note is really not part of the harmony, but can be understood as an added voice from the melodic material. Both views seem to make sense.
The melody contradicts the D-flat major chord harmonically. The main notes of the melody are B, C, D and E. This causes the melody to seem to belong to a different world, yet it interacts tenderly with the other. This balance is resolved in measure 17 and the melody becomes part of the D-flat major chord, and immediately a middle voice descends chromatically from the third to the root note D-flat. Here the non-diatonic material functions as chromaticism. These are passing tones that aim for the notes of the diatonic
11 chord. In measures 17 through 19 the non-diatonic notes are still more prominent than in measure 23, and so the opposing element gradually becomes weaker. Could one conclude then that maybe all of what was described as a balance earlier is in reality large- scale chromaticism after all, simply because we find a resolution into D-flat Major? Is it even a kind of extension of Wagnerianism? Does the newness of this chromaticism lie in its enormous stretch and persistence or in the fact that it does not seem to create an expectation of a resolution? These questions could change the view on the application of equalizing balances, and make a case for a more conventional analysis. But let us look at the greater context. Even though there is a resolution between the two elements, there is again an even larger contrast in measure 21 with a restatement of the violence of measures
1 through 4. This again results in a resolution to a pure D-flat major chord in measures 22 and 23, and in the following section we see again the contradiction of the two tonalities as well as the rhythmical contradiction. With the following 6 measures our original balance has regained its central position, and the resolution is still best seen as a shift in the balance, also because it does not become a point of conclusion. The Habanera rhythm keeps the piece in its continual pace and does not allow for a more complete sense of rest and arrival. It does not interrupt the balance. Instead we can call it a temporary shift or a temporary merging of the weights. In fact, one could say that in the big picture of the formal structure of the piece, the resolution to the D-flat major chord is more unstable than the rest. The so-called resolution appears in fact as an imbalance that needs to return to the previous balanced state. This is a completely reverse view, where now the balance of contradicting elements is the state of resolution and the traditional resolution is a state of conflict. In conclusion, I think that both realities are present: the sense of resolution with
12 the merging of the elements as well as the sense of stability in the balance. We will find a similar example of a temporary merging in Brouillards.
Looking at the introduction of the piece leading up to measure 5 (Example 8), one could argue that Debussy uses clearly dramatic development in the traditional sense after all. This is only true to some extent. One must see that there is also an equalizing balance, which makes this again merely a shift of balances rather than a dramatic development.
What is the balance in the introduction? Debussy creates another expressive extreme through the Habanera rhythm: he indicates that this passage is to be played with extreme violence. This now goes far beyond the strict proud dance (the opposite of the pianissimo starting in measure 5). At first Debussy is not even using the complete rhythm, but only bare rudiments. What appears to sound like a quarter note plus two eighth notes is in reality notated in two voices and therefore not just a simplified Habanera rhythm, but a dialogue between two “violent” voices. This is enforced by their tonal contradiction, which also serves to express violence. Then the music starts to calm down in measures 3 and 4.
The second voice disappears and the Habanera rhythm occurs fully and softly in the left hand. One balance of extremes has turned into another balance of extremes.
Example 8. La Puerta del Vino, mm. 1-4
13 Measures 31 and following introduce a new element (see Example 9). The note earlier consistently written as B is now notated as C-flat. The melodic voice is now more integrated into the harmony. Interestingly, the Habanera rhythm is notated on the middle staff. In the Wiener Urtext edition, this is also done in measures 22 to 24. It looks like the
Habanera rhythm is joining the melody. The F of the D-flat triad is now also part of the melody and interacts in a double function with the Habanera rhythm. In measure 33 the melodic part becomes more chordal by addition of again another voice. This time it is the ninth, so that we have now clearly a dominant seventh chord with an added ninth. In measure 35 the texture of the melodic voice is now entirely chordal as it moves in parallel motion of four-part triads.
Example 9. La Puerta del Vino, mm. 28-44
14
What does this mean in terms of our balance? Once more, Debussy plays with the balance rather than abandoning it. We could even say that the dramatic development is what occurs within the balance and that our analysis describes the progression of this balance. We see again a leaning of the balance towards tonal agreement: in measure 35 the right hand moves away from D-flat major, but then resolves itself in measures 39 to 41 by chromatic parallel descent down to the D-flat major chord as each measure marks one of these chords as a starting point.
This is quite drastically opposed in the following section. Debussy repeats the violent introductory idea of the piece. Two measures later, D-flat Major is abruptly abandoned and we move a third down to B-flat major (see Example 10). The Habanera rhythm is maintained in the left hand as in the D-flat major section. The right hand opposes the left hand much less now. In measures 44 to 46 the melody consists, with exception of the F-sharp which creates an augmented triad on B-flat, of diatonic material in B-flat
Major. The F-sharp “resolves” to the sixth of the B-flat major triad: G. Several notes on the beat are still tied over and still smooth out the Habanera rhythm. The same effect is created by the triplet that reaches melodically up to the C on the second note after being tied over the beat. So here we see a very subtle change since the passage that starts in measure 5: the rhythm keeps some of its metric vagueness, though intensified melodically by leaps and of course the fortissimo dynamic. Yet harmonically we see a greater unity between the two layers, because the desired expression passionnément is much better achieved by this unity of harmony and of a more complementary motion such as the mostly continuous motion in eighth notes.
15
Example 10. La Puerta del Vino, mm. 44-46
In conclusion we can say that the piece rests in the balance of the tonally and rhythmically opposing elements. This balance develops formally by transformation towards opposing extremes and the temporary merging of the contradicting elements.
4. Towards a Methodology
In the example of Brouillards we have only seen one phenomenon: a tonality is established and contradicted simultaneously. Bitonality does not explain this relationship, because it only acknowledges the presence of two different tonalities but does not specify how the relationship works out aesthetically. We discovered that equalizing balances are achieved with rhythm, meter, and several combinations. But we will also see that this not only occurs in the framework of small passages (micro level), but also has even formal implications.
In spite of the equalizing balances, which establish a sense of a state of being, music always progresses. It is developmental by definition. The analysis in detail clearly
16 demonstrates that these balances are not static, but in constant motion and development from note to note.
Therefore, since we are always speaking of simultaneous occurrences, we are in a sense speaking of a phenomenon of polyphony, even counterpoint. We analyze note against note, but then also sound (result of pedal accumulation) against sound and layer against layer. So, this investigation occurs on different levels. A methodology could look like this:
Step 1: The identification of the opposing elements:
Identification of the establishing element(s)
Identification of the opposing element(s)
Step 2: The description and analysis of these elements separately
Step 3: The detailed description and analysis of the relationship between the
elements.
This procedure is applied on several levels depending on the piece and the passage, which will make these analyses more elaborate and substantial:
The micro level: analysis within smallest time units down to note against note.
The middle ground level: developmental procedures caused by such balances
The macro level: formal implications that concern the whole piece.
It may not be possible or suitable to divide the analysis up into these three levels in every case, but it provides a framework of thoroughness for the analysis. The piece itself will have to determine the details of the format.
17
5. Defining opposition and contrast
When we speak of opposition, we mean something entirely different from the dramatic opposition we typically find in the music of Beethoven. The opposition in the music prior to Debussy functions mainly in terms of dramatic contrasts and is such that it demands a resolution. The contrasts are more sequential than simultaneous. This is for example the aesthetic background for the cadence in the most elementary sense and in the widest sense of form building during that time. Debussy produces an entirely new way of dealing with contrast in simultaneity, and he defines a new aesthetic in music. The elements redefine each other in their polyphonic relationship and form a complementary unit or oneness. The elements depend on each other in a beautiful way in order to receive their full musical meaning and their definition of expression.
18 Chapter II
In-depth analyses
1. Brouillards (for marked score see Appendix B)
Chromaticism or Bitonality
In the first chapter, the basic idea of the balance in this piece was already introduced: C major is established in the opening by the left hand using the diatonic material of C major, the right hand contradicts that with opposing tonal material.
Historically this is a new kind of chromaticism that deviates from the harmonic and progressional chromaticism, which found its climax of complexity in the music of Richard
Wagner. Bitonality also is usually not a term associated with Debussy. As we analyze the piece more closely we will see that there is a centrality of D-flat or C-sharp (we will examine the difference of this notation later) as well as C, therefore we could say that this piece is indeed bitonal. But the term itself does not explain the relationship between the two centers, the functionality of the two elements towards each other, and it does not identify their roles. We must also say that the two centers are not in a parallel existence as in examples of bitonality by Stravinsky or Milhaud. Here they stand in a complex relationship of equalizing balance.
19 The stabilizing element
How is C major established in the left hand? The chords are all triads in root position in the narrowest possible setting and move in parallel and stepwise motion. The chords gravitate around the C major chord, which falls on each first beat of measures 1-3 as well as on the second strongest, the third beat, of measures 1 and 2. It is interesting from a notational standpoint that even though the first three measures are written in the meter of
4/8, the actual notation of the eight notes is with beams grouping two eighth notes together, as if written in a 2/4 meter. This in itself is a contradiction, because with the intention of writing consistently with the meter Debussy would have had to stem each eighth note and even group the sixteenth notes in measure 2 differently. This contradiction is quite subtle but significant, because it indicates clearly that two things are to happen at the same time: the grouping in two, and the flow of the count to four. With that, an equalizing balance is created within one of the two elements on a micro level. The grouping in two is not a matter of phrasing, because the slur is over four eighth notes. This contradiction is therefore only expressed in the rhythmical notation. These elements clarify the complex and true flow of the music. The setting in two emphasizes the C chord centrality and introduces a melodic gesture coming off the C chord by going down to the diminished chord on B. Debussy rarely sets such a strong dissonance in parallel progressions, which makes this connection between C major and B diminished sound rather sharp. Yet exactly this is mellowed by the metric positioning and rhythmic grouping discussed above. The importance of this progression is underlined or even brought forth by its immediate repetition. Yet the two groups are notated under one slur.
20 Measure 2 expands the orbiting around the C major chord into the other direction.
Interesting is the relationship between measure one and measure two in that here also a perfect balance is achieved with moving further away from the center of the orbit, namely two steps up as opposed to one down in measure 1, but moving twice as fast. So, this is almost in a direct correlation with the balancing laws of gravity, where mass, distance and speed make the balance for a constellation to maintain the basic positions of the elements as in the macro-cosmos or the micro-cosmos in the universe.
In measure 3 we leave this particular system and move stepwise downwards in eighth notes to the G major chord, which is implemented by the change of meter to a 3/8 which takes us also out of the previous metric system, which was the balance between a
4/8 meter and the rhythmic notation in 2/4. With the 3/8 meter we arrive on the G major chord on the first beat of the next measure. Having arrived on the G major chord we are now in a 3/4 meter and the chord is repeated throughout the measure. Since we are speaking of a change of system, we should mention that also the motion of the surrounding element has changed, though this really refers to the analysis of the second element and will be discussed later.
In the terminology of tonality, one can say that C is established or prolonged in measures 1 and 2; in measure 3 there is transition or possibly modulation. In measure four we are on the dominant. It is important to express this in the terminology of tonality, even though it does not capture the ultimate essence of the music which is established in the balance, where tonality as we know it in earlier times becomes a secondary reality, but is nevertheless present and important. The next example of that follows right away in measure 5, where the dominant resolves back to the tonic and back to 4/8.
21 In measure 7 we find a classic aesthetic concept: once an idea is established strongly enough, one can deviate from it. And so the orbit expands and even completely leaves out the C chord at this point. The melodic gesture of the chord progression is not stepwise any more, but leads us to the upper dominant chord from our previous C major chord. The dominant chord is already reached in measure 7, but we stay on it starting in the second half of measure 8 to the first chord of measure 14. Then the progression moves back down in a similar way (not all stepwise) towards the C major chord. This process is interrupted in measure 18, but the C major chord is reached in measure 20. It appears as the recognizable returning motive of the opening, which leads to the recapitulation in measure 24.
This element, which establishes C major, will be later referred to as element 1.
The destabilizing element
We said earlier that there is also a centrality of D-flat or C-sharp. How is that established?
The frequent occurrence of the note D-flat is a factor: In the very first group of quintuplets Debussy marks an accent on the D-flat (Wiener Urtext edition only), but also in the second group where the last and lowest note is B-flat. In measure 2, the D-flat is the only note in the right hand. In measure 5 it occurs together with an A-flat as a perfect fifth.
In measure 11 the C-sharp becomes the bass note for two measures. In measures 16 and 17 the C-sharp is brought out and then dominates in measures 18 and following.
22 The D-flat center is otherwise not further established except that it frequently appears as the lowest note in its own texture and in the course of the piece it often is the lowest note of the entire texture. It also appears increasingly on strong beats, for the first time in measure 11 (as C-sharp) and as a melodic note of the overall texture.
In spite of its strong presence, the C-sharp centrality is clearly the secondary element in the piece. Debussy indicates in the beginning: la main gauche un peu en valeur sur la main droite. Also, the rhythmic gesture of quintuplets does not allow for further subdivision, therefore it is weak in emphasis.
The destabilizing element will be sometimes referred to as element 2.
The relationship
There is only little to be said about the destabilizing element by itself, because its very nature is to be in that interdependent intertwining relationship with the primary element and so we will now enter that discussion: The tonal contradiction in the opening of the piece is achieved by giving the diatonic chords upper or lower half step neighboring notes in a quintuplet, later it will be done in different ways as well. The first chord in the left hand C—E—G is accompanied by G-flat, E-flat and D-flat. In addition there is a B-flat and an overlap with the left hand: the G. With this overlap a very fine connecting bridge is built between the two elements. The secondary element grows out of the first. The accent on the D-flat indicates the importance of that note within the quintuplet, and makes it the most important note in connection to its counterpart C.
23 The melodic gesture of the quintuplet is an ascending minor third followed by a group of descending intervals that outline a type of a seventh chord. The first note of the quintuplet is identical with the top note of the triad in the left hand, which is always the fifth since the triads are in the densest possible root position. The second note results in a seventh chord in combination with the left hand. The third note lowers the fifth of the triad, the fourth lowers the third, and the fifth is a half step above the root: D-flat. Debussy asks to accent this last note of each group, which is the root contradiction in relation to the root of the chord. The B diminished chord is treated in a similar way.
In measure 2 the contradicting voice consists only of the D-flat against the now faster moving chords in the left hand. This is also a matter of balance. The increase of speed in the left hand is counterbalanced with a decrease of interaction between the chord and the counterpart. One can say that the overall weight on the balance remains the same, but the distribution of the weights has changed. It is important to recognize that the nature of the relationship has not changed. This is hardly a dramatic development, but subtle play with weights on a balance, of which we will see more as we continue to study the piece.
Measure 3 goes back to the previous distribution and in measure 4 the quintuplets change to sextuplets, making the texture just a little bit richer and thicker. On the second eighth note of each beat the sextuplet dives into the bass register and does not contradict the tonality of the chord. The two layers make a G major chord. In one sense we have a feeling that the counterpoint expands its territory and gently and temporarily leaves its role as an opposing element. In another sense the lower sextuplet can be seen as belonging to the establishing element. Both perspectives are audibly present.
24 As discussed earlier, a strong V—I progression in element 1 is leading into measure 5. The opposing element accompanies the open fifths C—G with the chromatic upper neighbors D-flat and A-flat. The same is repeated an octave higher. This is an interesting progression: I would like to call it a progressive balance, which is really similar to the one we found in comparing measures 1 and 2. The overall motion is balanced.
Because of the power of the falling fifth, which is a typical progression from tension to resolution, it is countered with this fast upward motion. It is caught and neutralized by placing also the upper C—G as a consequence of this so far unusual motion of a classical cadence. Before this cadence we found only stepwise motion in element 1. Then the counterpoint expanded to the register below element 1 in measure 4, which prepared the listener for the expansion of element 1 into that lower register joining element 2. This is caught by an extreme upward motion, a leap of an octave. This seems like a little “roller coaster” for the balance that was established and the return of the familiar after that brings us back to the state of being of the beginning.
Element 1 then leaps towards the upper dominant and stays on the G major chord beginning in the second half of measure 8. As there is now no more progression in this voice, an entirely new element of very long notes is introduced. The new element frames the continued texture of the preceding section. Tonally, the new element belongs to element 2. In its newness and exposure it draws attention as an entrance of a voice of melodic quality, yet again the inner contradiction is that there can not be found any melodic quality to the voices as the melodic motion is so minimal. One would expect a melodic dialogue between the upper and lower long note (one is reminded of the texture of the second to last variation of the Symphonic Etudes by Robert Schumann). But really
25 nothing happens. These notes are very static so that one’s interest is drawn to the tone colors that are caused by the relationship with the other two elements. I would like to use this example to address a question of polyphony. Ought this to be interpreted in terms of a melody-accompaniment relationship or is this rather polyphonic music? I believe it is important to acknowledge the weight of G major as the underlying harmony. The interpreter must differentiate very carefully as the two elements from the earlier part of the piece easily become an unidentifiable soup. One must clearly hear that element 1 stands on its own in establishing its own harmony, yet element 2 and the new element are harmonically opposing material. This passage should be played as polyphonically as possible.
In measure 14, element 1 regains weight as it again progresses with each eighth note, whereas the new element begins to fade. In measure 16, element 2 comes to a halt.
As element 1 continues its progression in eighth notes, it is joined by a C-sharp octave.
In measure 18 a new melodic, even thematic idea appears in the extreme outer part of the registers. The centrality of C-sharp seems to take over as the strongest metric places are given to the material that is contrary to C and in measure 20 the twice occurring C- sharp octaves make the impression of a confirmation of C-sharp as the central key. At the same time the material of this melody consists of a mixture of elements 1 and 2. Most of measure 1 consists of the notes D and G, and in measure 18, E appears. As the C-sharp gets a stronger presence in measure 20, elements 1 and 2 appear in between the texture of this new melody creating a similar situation as is in measures 10 and following. This leads subtly to the recapitulation in the middle of measure 24, which is very subtle as one’s
26 attention is still with the outer voices and as the recapitulation begins in the middle of a measure after one has just heard a strong downbeat on C-sharp.
In measure 29 the piece comes to a climax. The dynamic marking is forte for the first time. In the first part of the measure the first F-sharp major chord, which is material opposing C major, takes the lead, and the interspersed Gs take a secondary position. But right away on the actual climax on the last eighth note of the measure, C major sounds alone and outweighs the F-sharp Major chord. The balance is still maintained even though in this case in a successive way. The grace notes before the notes are equally distributed to both elements. Even within this measure the balance is subtly equalized and the weights neutralized. Measure 30 is a repeat of measure 29, this time though a D major chord replaces the previous C major chord. As the D major chord is in the first inversion one hears again F-sharp as a bass note. A and D as the additional chord notes make the contrast within the chord of the two elements. Is this far-fetched? Is this just a sequence? I believe that as much as this is a sequence indeed, in addition one will aurally take into account the context of the previously established tonal contrast of the two elements and therefore integrate the chord into that understanding. At the same time the chord receives its own contradicting accompaniment as in the relationship between elements 1 and 2 at the opening of the piece. In measures 33 and following the texture is split into three layers with a melodic motive in the middle. This motive consists again of material contrasting D major as well as from its contrasting element. In fact, the notes outline the second chord of the left hand in the opening: B—D—F (E-sharp), which even confirms the previous statement about the “mixed” quality of the D major chord itself in this context.
27 In measure 35 the chord shifts down to the first inversion of C major, the opposing element shifts accordingly, then the same happens as the primary chord shifts to G major, this time outlining again the motive heard earlier over the D major chord. These notes remind the listener of the very beginning when element 2 ascends by a minor third.
In measure 38, element 2 seems to take over again, the balance of the two elements is shifted again towards C-sharp as the motive of measure 18 and 19 is restated. The arpeggio in measure 40 is again balanced in terms of the material within itself. In measure
41, with element 2 in the right hand again, a diminished version of the motive from measure 18 reoccurs. Measures 43 to 46 neutralize the balance shifting towards C-sharp previously as there is the addition of the low C as a pedal point to the texture of the opening.
In conclusion we see that the entire piece is a play of balance between the C major realm and its counterpart C-sharp/D-flat. What is the C-sharp realm like tonally? Is it just the complementary material of the pentatonic scale of all the black keys? No, even as we saw in the beginning of the piece, the individual chords such as the B diminished chord receive chromatic neighbors as well, which creates an overlap with the material of C major
(EÆ F-flat). On the second beat of measure 7 we find the C, F and D on the second eighth note creating half and whole step neighbors to the chord of element 1.
One must add that none of the material of the secondary element is notated in any consistent way in terms of its own tonality. It seems that Debussy chose a notation that brings best readability, so that there is least confusion with the primary tonality. It makes
28 sense to write flats when they are upper neighbors as in the very beginning and sharps where there are lower neighbors to the material of C major (compare measures 1 and 10).
Interestingly, we may observe also that all twelve tones are present by the time the second sixteenth note of measure 2 has been played (in measure 1 only the A is missing).
But certainly the technique of composition is not serial or twelve tone.
29 2. Voiles (for marked score see Appendix C)
Analysis
The first elements we are observing in the opening of this piece are successive major thirds descending in whole steps. How are they tonally defining and how are they rhythmically and metrically placed? First we need to discuss the major third as a building block on its own. The major third, standing alone, has its own identity as a dyad. Most likely, the listener will hear a triadic harmony by implication when the third is isolated from any context. One tends to hear the lower note as the root note adding an imaginary fifth (unless the context suggests that the lower note be the third of a triad or even of a seventh chord, which is not the case here as the piece begins with a third). The listener will also attribute a melodic quality to the upper note, respectively the upper line in this case. A single third carries therefore a contradicting balance within itself, because it implies more than it is and yet it is not completely clear what it implies unless the context defines it.
Let us now look at the opening of the piece. The first two measures can be divided into two parts: a) and b) as shown in the example above. The upper line of a) descends from G-sharp to C. Metrically this is placed such that the C falls on the downbeat of measure 2. The C appears therefore as an arrival point. This is a descent from the fifth scale degree to the first scale degree. The upper line as a melody takes on the role of a melody. The piece begins in the middle of the first measure. The C is also emphasized as an arrival point by the rhythmic placement of the descent: After the long G-sharp the whole steps quickly descend to the C. The C is also the longest note so far. The G-sharp functions as a melodic dominant resolving to the melodic tonic.
30 Psychologically, I believe one is listening for a complete harmony on the first third
E—G# and will therefore hear mainly the E as it is the bass note. During the quick descent the interest shifts to the melodic line, which ends on C. If that is indeed what we hear, then we can reduce our experience as a melodic slide from E to C: a major third, which in itself could be understood as a partial C major chord. Debussy’s notation follows that idea. He avoids the appearance of an octave between the upper note of the first third (G-sharp) and the lower note of the last third (A-flat) in this descent. One might argue that he just simply wanted the thirds to be consistently notated, but in b) we see that he is not too concerned about that (see G-sharp/C and F-sharp/B-flat).
In b), the C is reiterated in the upper octave, but the crescendo, the rhythm (like a muted trumpet signal in the distance), and the length of the note emphasize now the B-flat.
C has been established, an opposing element is introduced: B-flat.
The division of these two measures into a) and b) is helpful, yet they are under one slur, which confirms that the opposing element is integrated with the stabilizing part and makes it appear somewhat mysterious. Metrically, there is a similar effect achieved as in
Bruyères with the opening being a rest.
After this opening statement the quarter rest reoccurs, the first part of the opening statement is repeated and then continues its descent at a slower pace down to C—E. The slower pace shifts the attention again towards the harmonic aspect, the lower voice, because the melodic rhythmic gesture is drawing less attention, which makes the two voices more equal. And as a result we arrive on C—E confirming the centrality of C, even some sort of C major, which is the key signature of the piece. The triad that we “desire” is
31 in this case the augmented triad. We hear it as a central harmony, because of the strong presence of G-sharp, respectively A-flat. There are by the way only two Preludes in which the key signature is not quite clearly confirmed by the actual key or ending key of the piece: Canope, and Feux d’artifice, both from Book 2.
In measure 5 the low B-flat enters as a permanent opposing element to C until measure 61, three measures before the end of the piece. This B-flat continuously pulls the
C tonality to B-flat. As it is in the bass it seems to act as a pedal point, but it does not take on that function because it does not prolong a harmony, but is in continual opposition to the centrality of C.
The upper voices in measures 7 and 8 counter that with the ascending line A-flat—
B-Flat—C pulling the upper line back up to C. This is repeated in measure 9 and in measure 10 we go very expressively beyond that up to the D. At that point it seems that the upper voice has established its C centrality and that it has the freedom to move however it wants. Even as we go down to the A-flat in measure 13 and stay there, we have no doubt that the A-flat has an upward pull to it towards the C. Starting with the D this voice now becomes the middle voice and the top brings back the first half of the opening phrase, the part that first established the C centrality. This is further developed with the reoccurrence of the motif from measure 7, this time as a parallel motion of augmented triads. In measures 18 through 21 the thirds keep moving themselves back up to the E—G-sharp, which has acted as a dominant from the beginning. On this long note the D returns as a high bell sound to end this section, but also to bridge and bring continuity as the D now appears in the middle voice where it will have a regularly reoccurring presence all the way to measure 41. With that the C receives an upper balance point against the B-flat. D and B-
32 flat equally pull on the centrality of C and quasi replace it at times. One could say C=D+B- flat. So, first in the piece we have C established and destabilized by B-flat, and then here we have D neutralizing B-flat, yet with twice the mass of C taking over even replacing C starting in measure 21. This complex and subtle power play keeps the listeners attention.
But we should look at that in detail starting in measure 21.
In measure 22 the D becomes the starting point of a middle voice line. This line is interesting in itself consisting of D, C and F-sharp outlining part of a D dominant 7th chord.
The use of these pitches is very refined: the D stands in the center always recurring on the first beat of the measure, the strongest metric position. The F-sharp is always on the second beat and with that taking the second position. The F-sharp will later take an interesting place in relation to C. We saw earlier that the G-sharp is a melodic dominant to the C, but here is a first exposition of the F sharp, which will take on the role of a harmonic dominant in measures 48 to the end. Back to the middle voice motive starting in measure 22: The C is connecting the D and the F-sharp in the middle, but has gone into the background, yet it is at the center of the three-layered texture and acting as a melodic axis in the middle voice. It is at the center of the center.
Starting in measure 29, the balance seems to become “unbalanced”. All melodic energy is pushing upwards and the establishing of the D element is in the upper voice starting in measure 32. All the attention is brought to the upper parts of the texture. In measures 31 and 32 the low B-flat is even missing. The tendency to establish states of being as opposed to dramatic development is still clearly dominating the piece. This passage though is certainly an example of the fact that this concept is not entirely
33 abandoned. In that context one should also mention the general acceleration in pace as the
32nd notes increase in this section leading up to measure 32.
In the upper layer in measures 22 through 32 is an expanded version of the motive of the melody in measures 9 and 10. In both cases we ultimately climb from the A flat to the D. So far the A-flat has always been an indicator that we will ascend to the C and even beyond to the D and that is what happens here. The arrival is the shift from the C level to the D level, whereas the middle layer takes on the C level. It is a voice exchange.
In measure 33 follows a resolution, the balance is restored. In this passage the D element is on the top, the B-flat in the bass and the expanded melodic line from the motive of measure 7 lies in the middle. This middle voice melody moves exactly two whole steps above and two whole steps below the C.
In measures 38 and following the D returns to the middle voice. The top voice reintroduces the F-sharp as it appears on every first beat of the following three measures.
The motive itself incorporates also all the other important notes that appeared so far. The lowest of the three voices of this top level outlines again A-flat—B-flat—C. In each measure the top voice climbs up to the D and is left there hanging. Only the third in the accelerated form which increases the motives lifting power leaves the line ultimately leaping over into the next measure, whereas the voice of the middle layer moves downwards to A-flat again.
This leads us into the six measure long pentatonic section. For the first time the tonal material is significantly altered from the whole tone scale. There is in fact a shift from the almost exclusive use of the whole tone scale to the almost exclusive use of the pentatonic scale. In this case the pentatonic scale has three notes in common with the
34 whole tone scale, half of the material of the whole tone scale remains. If we consider the perspective of the other side three out of five notes of the pentatonic overlap with the whole tone scale. The two new notes are E-flat and D-flat. The B-flat remains in the bass register. The melodic note A-flat appears on the metrically important points: the first beat of the first three measures and on the last eighth note of the first two measures of this section and also on the second eighth note of the third measure, which is the climax of the piece. The C is not played at all in this section and A-flat has become its own center.
Previously, A-flat functioned only as a melodic expansion that ascends to the C through B- flat. Here it descends to the E-flat every time even at the forte outbreak the resolution is ultimately down to E-flat, this time even into an E-flat minor chord. The melodic descent from the A flat is carefully prepared in the preceding measures. In measures 35 through 37 the middle layer that revolves around the C now descends to A-flat and ends there. On the top layer starting in measure 38 the A-flat is approached from below (F-sharp—B-flat—A- flat), but is still drawn up to the C and D towards the end of the measure as we saw earlier.
Harmonically, this section clearly leans towards E-flat minor. It is surprising how smooth the transition from the whole tone scale to the pentatonic section appears, considering the fact that the whole tone scale has been used so exclusively for such a long time in the piece.
The dynamics increase here from piano to mezzoforte in measure 42 to forte in measure 44. These three measures are the only ones where the dynamic level is higher than piano and pianissimo.
In measure 48 the tonal material changes back to the whole tone scale of the beginning and remains there all the way to the end. Again the transition is smooth. The
35 change occurs in the glissando in measure 48 and only after all the common notes are played, which is the same procedure as in the previous transition.
A new set of balances is presented here. The B-flat bass still continues. In the middle voice we find the F-sharp again, which had its first important role in measures 23 and following. It is the foundation of the upward glissando to D in measure 48.
Interestingly, this layer is notated in two voices: the glissando and the leap from the F- sharp to the D. From a point of view of listening psychology, one remembers and hears the
D as the upper neighbor of C and feels the pull back to C. In the next measure the glissando ascends up to E reminding the listener of the Major third C—E. These two glissandi alternate for a while and function in reality as a dominant, somewhat even in the sense of Schenker’s Ursatz, even though this is ultimately not part of the Ursatz of this piece. Whenever the glissando runs up to the E, A-flat is the starting point, which we associate with an ascending line to the C. The F-sharp being the tritone to the C also appears as a dominant. On the top layer we have the expanded motive from measure 7 revolving two steps up and two steps around the C.
In the end of the piece the texture thins out, leaving the listener with the major third
C—E at the very end. In measure 62 the low B-flat is finally taken out and what remains is the F-sharp with the glissando (now the end note D is not considered a voice connected to the F-sharp, but just the end of the glissando) and the major third. C—E appears four times, confirming its tonicality. Three times the major third C—E occurs together with the
F-sharp and the glissando and the last time alone. It is interesting to note how this is metrically set: the last third that confirms C as the tonal center appears on the weak beat.
36 This is yet another opposing balance taking out the weight of that confirmation. One feels somewhat left hanging in the air with this metric setting.
Reductive analysis
As the main equalizing balance we established C centrality as a stabilizing element,
B-flat and D as opposing elements and we described their relationship throughout the piece. Within that we found different means to establish the balance and different characteristics of the elements themselves and how they relate. In this piece one of the best ways to demonstrate these relationships is to provide a reductive analysis using
Schenkerian symbols and terms (see Appendix A).
The three levels of reduction have brought us to an Ursatz that shows us the deepest level of equalizing balance. I chose to use the symbol of the whole note for the stabilizing element and the quarter note symbol without stem for the destabilizing element to express the balance. The size of the notes was another means to express the distribution of weights in the balance. The C is given a larger symbol than the B-flat and the D. These principles and means were applied on all levels. The foreground level is a measure by measure analysis and maintains some of the motivic elements. The middle-ground graph still acknowledges the pentatonic section as a formal element. The Ursatz does not.
Technically, the pentatonic section can be seen as an exclusive prolongation of the B flat.
The disappearing of the element of C gives more weight to the B-flat, which makes it the dominant element. Therefore the B-flat is not only a destabilizing element any more, which
37 adds to the idea of a truly equalizing balance where one of the destabilizing factors overtakes the original stabilizing element, just as we saw in Brouillards. The balance is completed with the application in the overall form. This is how I justified then the elimination of the pentatonic in the Ursatz and the ultimate centrality of C. Is B-flat therefore more of a counterpart than D? The B-flat is ultimately the actual destabilizing element because it is much more pervasive than the D. And the D is really “siding” with the C, because it helps to neutralize the B-flat rather than opposing the C, even though it also has that attribute of opposing the C as it is prolonged as an upper neighbor. In conclusion we can say that the balance is not symmetrical, but much more refined in asymmetry, exactly as in a good painting, which leads us to make a case for the Ursatz really to be just B-flat against C.
38 Bibliography
Danckert, Werner. Claude Debussy. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter & Co., 1950.
Debussy, Claude. Monsieur Croche Antidilettante. Paris: Librairie Gallimard, 1921. Reprint. Paris Librairies Gallimard, 1926.
Don, Gary W. “Brillant Colors Provocatively Mixed: Overtone Structures in the Music of Debussy.” Music Theory Spectrum 23, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 61-73.
Durakoglu, Aysegul. “Contrapuntal lines and Rhythmic organization in selected Debussy piano etudes: a structural analysis with performance implications.” Ph.D. diss., New York University, 1997.
Flothuis, Marius. “Claude Debussys Neuerungen und ihre historischen Hintergründe.” Musiktheorie 9, no. 3 (1994): 221-25.
Forte, Allen. “Debussy and the Octatonic.” Music Analysis 10, no. 1-2 (1991): 125-69.
Freundlich, Irwin. “Random Thoughts on the Preludes of Claude Debussy.” Current Musicology 13 (1972): 48-57.
Goldman, David Paul. “Esotericism as a Determinant of Debussy’s Harmonic Language.” The Musical Quarterly 75, no.2 (summer 1991): 130-47.
Gute, Serge. “’Canope’ de Debussy, analyse formelle et structure fondamentale.” Revue Musicale de Suisse Romande 33, no. 2 (Mai 1980): 60-65.
Haimo, Ethan. “Generated Collections and Interval Control in Debussy’s Preludes.” In Theory Only 4, no.8 (1979): 3-15.
Hepokoski, James A. “Formulaic Openings in Debussy.” 19th-Century Music 8, no.1 (summer 1984): 44-59.
Lockspeiser, Edward. Debussy. 5th ed. London, Toronto, Melbourne: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1980.
Nadeau, Roland. “Brouillards: A Tonal Music.” Cahiers Debussy” Nouvelle Série No 4- 5 (1980-1981): 38.
Nichols, Roger. Debussy Remembered. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press, 1992.
______. Oxford Studies of Composers: Debussy. London: Oxford University Press, 1973.
______. The Life of Debussy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
39
Parks, Richard S. The Music of Claude Debussy. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1989.
______. “Pitch Organization in Debussy: Unordered Sets in ‘Brouillards’.” Music Theory Spectrum 2 (1980): 119-34.
Plante, Daniel. “Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune.” Ph.D. diss., Princeton University, 1995.
Smaldone, Edward M. “Linear analysis of selected posttonal works of Arnold Schoenberg: toward an application of Schenkerian concepts to music of the posttonal era.” Ph.D. diss., The City University of New York, 1986.
Smith, Richard Langham, ed. Debussy studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Wenk, Arthur B. Claude Debussy and Twentieth-Century Music. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1983.
Yih, Annie K. “Analyzing Debussy: Tonality, Motivic Sets and the Referential Pitch- Class Specific Collection.” Music Analysis 19, no. 2 (July 2000): 203-29.
Zank, Stephen. “L’arrière pensée in music of Maurice Ravel: sound, style and virtuosity.” Ph.D. diss., Duke University, 1996.
40 Appendix A
Reductive Analysis: Voiles
Foreground
41 Middle Ground and Ursatz
42
Appendix B:
Marked score: Brouillards
43
44
45
46
47
48 Appendix C
Marked score: Voiles
49
50
51
52