A Comparative Analysis of Debussy's Ondine and Ravel's Ondine Hexin
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The Role of Harmony and Timbre in Maurice Ravel's Cycle Gaspard De
Miljana Tomić The role of harmony and timbre in Maurice Ravel’s cycle Gaspard de la Nuit in relation to form A thesis submitted to Music Theory Department at Norwegian Academy of Music in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master’s in Applied Music Theory Spring 2020 Copyright © 2020 Miljana Tomić All rights reserved ii I dedicate this thesis to all my former, current, and future students. iii Gaspard has been a devil in coming, but that is only logical since it was he who is the author of the poems. My ambition is to say with notes what a poet expresses with words. Maurice Ravel iv Table of contents I Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Preface ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Presentation of the research questions ..................................................................... 1 1.3 Context, relevance, and background for the project .............................................. 2 1.4 The State of the Art ..................................................................................................... 4 1.5 Methodology ................................................................................................................ 8 1.6 Thesis objectives ........................................................................................................ 10 1.7 Thesis outline ............................................................................................................ -
ABSTRACT Final
ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: THE BREADTH OF CHOPIN’S INFLUENCE ON FRENCH AND RUSSIAN PIANO MUSIC OF THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES Jasmin Lee, Doctor of Musical Arts, 2015 Dissertation directed by: Professor Bradford Gowen School of Music Frederic Chopin’s legacy as a pianist and composer served as inspiration for generations of later composers of piano music, especially in France and Russia. Singing melodies, arpeggiated basses, sensitivity to sonorities, the use of rubato, pedal points, and the full range of the keyboard, plus the frequent use of character pieces as compositional forms characterize Chopin’s compositional style. Future composers Claude Debussy, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Scriabin, Nikolai Medtner, Gabriel Faure, and Maurice Ravel each paid homage to Chopin and his legacy by incorporating and enhancing aspects of his writing style into their own respective works. Despite the disparate compositional trajectories of each of these composers, Chopin’s influence on the development of their individual styles is clearly present. Such influence served as one of the bases for Romantic virtuoso works that came to predominate the late 19th and early 20th century piano literature. This dissertation was completed by performing selected works of Claude Debussy, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Scriabin, Gabriel Faure, Nikolai Medtner, and Maurice Ravel, in three recitals at the Gildenhorn Recital Hall in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center of the University of Maryland. Compact Disc recordings of the recital are housed -
A BIOGRAPHY of JOSEPH MAURICE RAVEL by Matthew Dechirico
A BIOGRAPHY OF JOSEPH MAURICE RAVEL by Matthew DeChirico Joseph Maurice Ravel, who lived from March 1875 to December 1937 was a French composer born in the Basque region of France His mother of Basque-Spanish heritage from Madrid Spain had a strong influence on his life and his music. His father was a Swiss inventor and industrialist from France. Both parents provided a happy and stimulating life for Joseph and his younger brother. His parents encouraged his musical pursuits and sent him at age 14 to the Conservatoire de Paris first as a preparatory student and eventually as a piano major. Although intellectually bright and well read, he was not successful academically even as his musicianship matured. Considered “very gifted” he nevertheless was called “somewhat heedless” in his studies. He failed to meet the requirements of earning a competitive medal and was expelled. He returned three years later studying with Gabriel Faure focusing on composition rather than piano. He was again dismissed for having won neither the fugue nor the composition prize. He remained an auditor with Faure until he left the Conservatoire in 1903. During his years at the Conservatoire, Ravel tried numerous times to win the prestigious Prix de Rome but to no avail: he was probably considered too radical by the conservatives. Ravel’s “String Quartet in F” is now a standard work of chamber music, though at the time it was criticized and found lacking academically. His first significant work, “Habanera” for two pianos was later transcribed into the third movement of his “Rapsodie Espagnole”. -
1) Aspects of the Musical Careers of Grieg, Debussy and Ravel
Edvard Grieg, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Biographical issues and a comparison of their string quartets Juliette L. Appold I. Grieg, Debussy and Ravel – Biographical aspects II. Connections between Grieg, Debussy and Ravel III. Observations on their string quartets I. Grieg, Debussy and Ravel – Biographical aspects Looking at the biographies of Grieg, Debussy and Ravel makes us realise, that there are few, yet some similarities in the way their career as composers were shaped. In my introductory paragraph I will point out some of these aspects. The three composers received their first musical training in their childhood, between the age of six (Grieg) and nine (Debussy) (Ravel was seven). They all entered the conservatory in their early teenage years (Debussy was 10, Ravel 14, Grieg 15 years old) and they all had more or less difficult experiences when they seriously thought about a musical career. In Grieg’s case it happened twice in his life. Once, when a school teacher ridiculed one of his first compositions in front of his class-mates.i The second time was less drastic but more subtle during his studies at the Leipzig Conservatory until 1862.ii Grieg had despised the pedagogical methods of some teachers and felt that he did not improve in his composition studies or even learn anything.iii On the other hand he was successful in his piano-classes with Carl Ferdinand Wenzel and Ignaz Moscheles, who had put a strong emphasis on the expression in his playing.iv Debussy and Ravel both were also very good piano players and originally wanted to become professional pianists. -
MAURICE RAVEL Miroirs (“Mirrors”) Work Composed: 1904–05 in Contrast to the Voluptuous, Sens
MAURICE RAVEL Miroirs (“Mirrors”) Work composed: 1904–05 In contrast to the voluptuous, sensuous and intentionally ambiguous music of Debussy, Ravel’s compositions are precise, clear in design and economical in scoring. Nonetheless, the music of both composers — and many strikingly similar titles — clearly shares an overlapping sensibility and sense of fantasy. Ravel presented his freshly minted piano score Miroirs (“Mirrors”) to his inner circle of artist friends known collectively as the Apaches, dedicating each movement to a specific member of the tight-knit group. The five-part suite reflects the gauzy evanescence of Debussy’s impressionism while paying homage to Liszt’s pianistic pyrotechnics. The influence of Debussy is felt immediately in the first movement, Noctuelles (“Night moths”). Schumann and other composers have rhapsodized about butterflies but Ravel, who always maintained a fascination for the outré, obviously delighted in the intentional grotesqueries evoked in the music. Not coincidentally, he dedicated this piece to Léon-Paul Fargue, who authored this phrase: “The owlet-moths fly clumsily out of the old barn to drape themselves round other beams.” Rapidly scurrying passagework vividly portrays the rapidly changing flight patterns of the winged insects. In the second piece, Oiseaux tristes (“Sad Birds”), dedicated to pianist Ricardo Viñes, Ravel sought to evoke “birds lost in the torpor of a dark forest during the hottest hours of the summer,” or so the composer explained. Even so, the textures are more crisply chiseled than one might expect from the descriptive explanation. Unlike his latter compatriot, Messiaen, Ravel does not imitate bird-song but conveys an unmistakable avian aura. -
Wiley John Williams, BM
1-- q ASPECTS OF IDIOMATIC HARMONY IN THE HARPSICHORD SONATAS OF DOMENICO SCARLATTI THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State College in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF MUSIC By Wiley John Williams, B. M. Denton, Texas June, 1961 TABLE O CONTENTS Page Lr3 ISTRTIOS. .. .. .. .. iy Chapter I. BI10GRAPHY. a . II. THE STYLE OF THE SONATAS . 8 III. HA2MOSIC 3TYE -. - . 12 Modality Leading Tone Functions of Lower Neighbor Tones Modulation Cyclic Modulation Unprepared Modulation General Types of Dissonance Polychordal Progressions Dissonance Occurring in Modulation Extended 'ertal Harmony Permutating Contrapuntal Combinations IV. CONCLUSIONI.. .a. .a. ... ,. 39 ,IBLI RAP HY . .a .. a . .. 0.0. .0 .0 .. 0 .0 .0 .. .. 41 iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Longo 180--iv-V Phrygian Cadence . 14 2. Longo 202--Parallel Fifths Between iv and V . - - -. 15 Chords -. " - - - - - - - - 3. Longo 273--Modulating Figure Based on Phrygian Cadence. - . 15 4. Longo 257--Resembles Pure Phrygian Mode. 16 5. Longo 260--Phrygian Cadence and Dominant Pedal 17 6. Longo 257--Major and Minor Scale in Contrary Motion . " . 17 7. Long 309--Leading Tone Effect on I, IV, V . 18 8. Longo 309--Leading Tone Effect on I and II . 19 9. Long 342--Non-harmonic Tones are Turning Points of Scale Motion . 20 10. Longo 273--Raised Fourth Degree Delays Upper Voice Progress . 21 11. Longo 281--Alterations Introduce Modulation. 22 12. Longo 178--Raised Fourth Scale Degree. 22 13. Longo 62--Upper Harmonic Minor Tetrachords . 23 14. Longo 124--Raised Lower Neighbor Tones and Principal Tones Produce Melody. -
PROGRAM NOTES by Pamela Dellal (PD) & Michael Manning (MM)
PROGRAM NOTES by Pamela Dellal (PD) & Michael Manning (MM) © 2013 The transition from the 19th to the 20th centuries saw what is arguably history’s greatest revolution in music – indeed, in art. The grandiose ambitions of Romanticism that began with Hector Berlioz had become fully realized in the megalomythic operas of Richard Wagner and the prolix, populous symphonies of Gustav Mahler. Looking through the other end of the telescope, the Romantic miniature that began with Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Frederic Chopin, Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt culminated in the technically and psychologically complex and deeply layered songs of Hugo Wolf and the compact, plenipotentiary late works of Johannes Brahms. For younger generations of composers inheriting this auspicious legacy, the glaring question facing them was “now what?”. So began the full assault on aesthetics, politics and culture that would spawn what in retrospect we call modernism. This assault came from multiple schools of thought, from every Western nationality, from every quarter, and its ambition was both focused and comprehensive: dismantle this edifice and start over. In music, the momentum built in two primary places, Germany and France. The former movement saw two principal branches, a very technical one led by Arnold Schoenberg and his disciples, and the very practical one intertwined with the Bauhaus movement and best represented by Paul Hindemith and Kurt Weill. In France, the effort was led by Claude Debussy with the able help of his junior, Maurice Ravel. Together, they embody a style of composition that borrowed its name from painting – Impressionisme, a moniker that was actually despised by both composers who saw it as a lazy term of convenience invented by “imbeciles”, i.e. -
Ravel's Sound
Ravel’s Sound: Timbre and Orchestration in His Late Works Jennifer P. Beavers NOTE: The examples for the (text-only) PDF version of this item are available online at: hps://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.21.27.1/mto.21.27.1.beavers.php KEYWORDS: Ravel, timbre, contour, magical effect, illusory instruments, timbrally marked form, sound object, auditory scene analysis, Pictures at an Exhibition, Boléro, Menuet antique, Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, Piano Concerto in G Major ABSTRACT: Ravel’s interwar compositions and transcriptions reveal a sophisticated engagement with timbre and orchestration. Of interest is the way he uses timbre to connect and conceal passages in his music. In this article, I look at the way Ravel manipulates instrumental timbre to create sonic illusions that transform expectations, mark the form, and create meaning. I examine how he uses instrumental groupings to create distinct or blended auditory events, which I relate to musical structure. Using an aurally based analytical approach, I develop these descriptions of timbre and auditory scenes to interpret ways in which different timbre-spaces function. Through techniques such as timbral transformations, magical effects, and timbre and contour fusion, I examine the ways in which Ravel conjures sound objects in his music that are imaginary, transformative, or illusory. DOI: 10.30535/mto.27.1.0 Received January 2020 Volume 27, Number 1, March 2021 Copyright © 2021 Society for Music Theory 1. Introduction [1.1] Throughout his career, Ravel’s sound often defied harmonic and formal expectations. While most analytic scholarship has treated Ravel’s use of timbre as secondary to the parameters of harmony and form, particularly in early- and middle-period compositions, recent scholarship has made timbre a central concern of Ravel’s style. -
Baroque and Classical Style in Selected Organ Works of The
BAROQUE AND CLASSICAL STYLE IN SELECTED ORGAN WORKS OF THE BACHSCHULE by DEAN B. McINTYRE, B.A., M.M. A DISSERTATION IN FINE ARTS Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Chairperson of the Committee Accepted Dearri of the Graduate jSchool December, 1998 © Copyright 1998 Dean B. Mclntyre ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful for the general guidance and specific suggestions offered by members of my dissertation advisory committee: Dr. Paul Cutter and Dr. Thomas Hughes (Music), Dr. John Stinespring (Art), and Dr. Daniel Nathan (Philosophy). Each offered assistance and insight from his own specific area as well as the general field of Fine Arts. I offer special thanks and appreciation to my committee chairperson Dr. Wayne Hobbs (Music), whose oversight and direction were invaluable. I must also acknowledge those individuals and publishers who have granted permission to include copyrighted musical materials in whole or in part: Concordia Publishing House, Lorenz Corporation, C. F. Peters Corporation, Oliver Ditson/Theodore Presser Company, Oxford University Press, Breitkopf & Hartel, and Dr. David Mulbury of the University of Cincinnati. A final offering of thanks goes to my wife, Karen, and our daughter, Noelle. Their unfailing patience and understanding were equalled by their continual spirit of encouragement. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii ABSTRACT ix LIST OF TABLES xi LIST OF FIGURES xii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xvi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 11. BAROQUE STYLE 12 Greneral Style Characteristics of the Late Baroque 13 Melody 15 Harmony 15 Rhythm 16 Form 17 Texture 18 Dynamics 19 J. -
The Harmony of Debussy in Contemporary Jazz Brigham
THE HARMONY OF DEBUSSY IN CONTEMPORARY JAZZ BRIGHAM PHILLIPS A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN MUSIC YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO JANUARY, 2018 © BRIGHAM PHILLIPS, 2018 ABSTRACT Claude Debussy and other late 19th-century composers (especially Maurice Ravel) introduced several new harmonic innovations that have since become standard tools of the jazz composer/arranger/improviser, among them the rich harmonies of chromatically altered chords as well as the use of the whole tone, pentatonic and octatonic scales. This thesis presents an original composition The Stanley Bridge Suite that demonstrates how these harmonic concepts are used in modern orchestral jazz. A brief history of impressionism is included, followed by a chapter showing the increasing prevalence of impressionist harmony in jazz over the years. Because The Stanley Bridge Suite was arranged for an orchestral jazz ensemble the makeup of the modern jazz orchestra is also discussed. The final chapter analyzes the thesis composition in detail, showing where and how the various Debussy techniques were incorporated in the work. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Professors Al Henderson and Dr. Mark Chambers for their guidance and assistance. I would also like to acknowledge and thank my parents for giving me the gift of music and encouraging my choice to make a living as a professional musician. My father, recently deceased, always hoped I would pursue a Masters Degree in Music one day. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, daughter and son for encouraging me to go on this Masters journey and for putting up with my frequent absence from their lives while doing so. -
May, 1952 TABLE of CONTENTS
111 AJ( 1 ~ toa TlE PIANO STYI2 OF AAURICE RAVEL THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State College in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS by Jack Lundy Roberts, B. I, Fort Worth, Texas May, 1952 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OFLLUSTRTIONS. Chapter I. THE DEVELOPMENT OF PIANO STYLE ... II. RAVEL'S MUSICAL STYLE .. # . , 7 Melody Harmony Rhythm III INFLUENCES ON RAVEL'S EIANO WORKS . 67 APPENDIX . .* . *. * .83 BTBLIO'RAWp . * *.. * . *85 iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Jeux d'Eau, mm. 1-3 . .0 15 2. Le Paon (Histoires Naturelles), mm. la-3 .r . -* - -* . 16 3. Le Paon (Histoires Naturelles), 3 a. « . a. 17 4. Ondine (Gaspard de a Nuit), m. 1 . .... 18 5. Ondine (Gaspard de la Nuit), m. 90 . 19 6. Sonatine, first movement, nm. 1-3 . 21 7. Sonatine, second movement, 22: 8. Sonatine, third movement, m m . 3 7 -3 8 . ,- . 23 9. Sainte, umi. 23-25 . * * . .. 25 10. Concerto in G, second movement, 25 11. _Asi~e (Shehdrazade ), mm. 6-7 ... 26 12. Menuet (Le Tombeau de Coupe rin), 27 13. Asie (Sh6hlrazade), mm. 18-22 . .. 28 14. Alborada del Gracioso (Miroirs), mm. 43%. * . 8 28 15. Concerto for the Left Hand, mii 2T-b3 . *. 7-. * * * .* . ., . 29 16. Nahandove (Chansons Madecasses), 1.Snat ,-5 . * . .o .t * * * . 30 17. Sonat ine, first movement, mm. 1-3 . 31 iv Figure Page 18. Laideronnette, Imperatrice des l~~e),i.......... Pagodtes (jMa TV . 31 19. Saint, mm. 4-6 « . , . ,. 32 20. Ondine (caspard de la Nuit), in. 67 .. .4 33 21. -
Resource Pack: Ravel
RESOURCE PACK: RAVEL musicbehindthelines.org FOOTER INSERT ACE LOGO RPO LOGO WML LOGO MAURICE RAVEL (1875–1937) RAVEL: FURTHER REFERENCE ABOUT BEHIND THE LINES Books, Scores & Audio BIOGRAPHY Periodicals Ravel during the War Websites Chronology of Key dates WW1 CENTENARY LINKS FEATURED COMPOSITIONS Le tombeau de Couperin La Valse Page | 2a About Behind the Lines Behind the Lines was a year-long programme of free participatory events and resources for all ages to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. The programme was delivered in partnership by Westminster Music Library and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and supported using public funding by Arts Council England. Public Workshops Beginning in autumn 2013, educational leaders and world-class musicians from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra led a series of 18 interactive workshops for adults and families (early years and primary age focus). Sessions explored the music and composers of the First World War through these engaging creative composition workshops, targeted at the age group specified, and using the music and resources housed in Westminster Music Library. Schools Projects In addition to the public workshop series, Behind the Lines also worked with six schools in Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; two secondaries and four primaries. These six schools participated in 2 day creative composition projects which drew upon the themes of the programme and linked in with the schools own learning programmes – in particular the History, Music and English curriculum. Additional schools projects can be incorporated in to the Behind the Lines programme between 2014 – 2018, although fundraising will be required.