Impressionism in music

As a music of Impressionism refers to a style of music about 1890 to 1920, the main representative of the French composer Claude Debussy. As the Impressionism in painting and literature of musical Impressionism tries to depict impressions of moments. For this reason, the main focus of the composer is not on the form of music, as it was for example in the Viennese classicism and romanticism of the case, but on the sound. This sound is similar to a picture of Impressionist painting, the task to convey to the audience the mood and atmosphere of a moment, and it comes to subjective impressions rather than concrete material properties. Through the training and further processing of these soundscapes created a blurry picture, which usually can be identified no solid forms.

Impressionism - term

The main impetus for the musical impressionism went from painting (see Impressionism ). Contrary to the usual work within the closed studios began some French artists, Claude Monet ahead of them, in the open air (French plein air ) painting. Careful observation of light and shadow conditions they left with these effects play, instead of clear contours put the Impressionist canvas subjectively perceived color of a decisive eventually became the impression (Fr. l' impression ) of the moment. Such an attitude was accused in 1887 Debussy's compositions as " vague Impressionism " before.

Composers

Another important composer of Impressionism is Maurice Ravel, which, however, also composed many works which can not be described as impressionistic. The works of many composers belong to the Impressionism, or were influenced by him.

Synergy of the Arts

The friend of Debussy poet Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine and Stéphane Mallarmé brought him to the symbolism of the seal in conjunction. On a libretto by Maurice Maeterlinck Debussy composed his opera " Pelléas et Mélisande ". His songs are characterized by a high concentration on the text content and the resulting atmosphere. The music " Prélude à l' après -midi d'un faune " was later converted into a ballet.

Features

Coinciding with the late Romantic period taking place, Impressionism developed its own sound, which separated him from it.

The most striking feature of Impressionist music is the timbre and instrumentation. Are typical layering of musical levels: a profound, but not intrusive bass, moving inner voices and a significant motif in the upper voices, but that does not to the laws of the usual classical-romantic processing ( diminution, elimination, etc.) is subjected, but rather associative treated will. A special case is Maurice Ravel's " Bolero".

Through these elements, it is possible to make mood and room change within a plant and subtly iridescent, without the work would need to be more final, self-contained small forms such as songs or clearly separated from the rest of an opera duets. Within an act for running all the transitions smooth and without formal conditional breaks. The ambivalent harmonies ensures today for surprises in the listening habits and can no longer be often set by harmonic laws.

Typical forms of music of Impressionism, the through-composed opera (next to " Pelléas et Mélisande " by Debussy, " Ariane et Barbe -Bleue " by Paul Dukas and " L' Enfant et les Sortilèges " by Maurice Ravel ) and symphonic poems. Also piano works and songs, which were grouped into different collections by poets, are common. Another characteristic is the use of pre-classical forms such as Toccata, sarabande, minuet and Passepied. Starting point in this case, the harpsichord master Jean -Philippe Rameau and François Couperin.

Form of Impressionist works

The composer of musical impressionism tried deliberately to get away from the strict rules of form of the previous eras. So in musical impressionism no more issues after the sentence or period model are designed. However, no new rules of this type for forms to be developed. Rather, the work is as it must be for the representation of the impression. There are quite motifs and themes, but these are not developed in the symphonic sense by the composer, but create a sound image. They are characterized by the fact that they often are not done, but souvenir ideas can be woven together like the mixing of the colors of a painter.

In the example on the left immersed in the flute motif, which was previously introduced in the piece for a clock on, but before and after that reflect natural motifs ago. This motif throw runs through the entire orchestra.

Unlike in the symphony, the timing of impressionist music reflects not usually a temporal succession of the sitter resist, but is used to enhance the impression of the scenery and complete. The music thus describes a state ( Zuständlichkeit ).

Harmonics

The harmony of Impressionism is oriented as all the music on the placement of impressions and creating atmosphere. In this case, no value is placed on traditional rules of classicism and romanticism, on the contrary, it is rather trying to break those rules intentionally to avoid anything that goes beyond the creation of a sound atmosphere. An example of this is the mediant harmony: Instead Quint affinities between successive chords that formerly constituted the defining chord relationships, also like Terzverwandtschaften such as parallel and counter sounds are now used as the dominant relationships between chords. Popular is especially the parallel guidance of chords in thirds, but also in octaves, fifths or fourths. Just sevenths or other dissonant chords are happy to run in parallel (see the figure on the right ).

Sequence and its goal is to eliminate the Leittonfunktion. Septim and other dissonant chords are used instead as tonmalerisches element equal footing with other chords. Generally, no distinction between consonance and dissonance, chords are differentiated only by their tone-painting effect. Overall, the impressionistic music of a variety of new and also exotic chords that allow as equal elements soundcolouring the detailed creation of special and exotic atmospheres served. The chords are floating freely and harmoniously unbound, nuances get an extreme importance that can change atmospheric moods imperceptibly.

These are, for example, Sounds with irritable dissonances ( phonetically motivated chords added tones in Sekundabstand, they are not set to be resolved ), nonene and Undezimakkorde and augmented triads and Bordunquinten. Also fourths and whole-tone harmonies are typical. The stimulus dissonances are exemplary shown in the left figure.

In addition, different keys are superimposed in impressionism like, the result is bi- or polytonality. In the example on the right to bitonality the keys in the left and right hand on the basis of the signs are obviously distinguishable. Overall, the harmony of Impressionist music a " move away from the dominance of harmonic surfaces " dar.

Melodics

Stable tonal centers are often avoided, as closed tunes in a specified schema, or set. Instead, the melody is characterized by a flowing, often engräumigen, waves or circular, or oscillating movement. In Debussy's " Pelléas " there are also many passages in which recitative passages are sung on one tone; here are the timbres of the orchestra much more important than the melody of the singing voice.

Links can be seen an example of a typical Impressionist theme with engräumig guided topic. The range, from which the subject is very small, the largest tone jump is a perfect fourth. The topic also is characterized by a wave- shaped guide. The second votes in clarinet and bassoon are almost completely chromatic, this is also common in impressionist music of the case; provide mostly chromatic, pentatonic scales or ganztönige the basis for the themes. The latter are scales which consist of five or six colors. The crucial property of Ganztonskalen and pentatonic scales, as used in impressionism is that they do not have small seconds and thus no leading tones. Also have chromatic scales, since they consist only of small seconds, no leading tones.

Due to the lack of chromatic leading tones, pentatonic and Ganztonskalen act aimlessly and exotic ( pentatonic scales have a Far Eastern character ). In addition, neither major nor minor are attributable. Whole-tone scales were specifically a characteristic of Debussy's music, even scales church or church tonal phrases were used instead of fixed keys.

In the example on the right a pentatonic motif can be seen, there are the five notes C sharp, D sharp, F sharp, G sharp, and Ais used. These are the five tones of a typical pentatonic scale on Cis.

In addition, scales on the basis of the church modes are frequent; they are used as a motif for the past.

Respect to the gamelan

The Impressionists, whether painter, poet or musician, began to va to care for the world exhibition in Paris for foreign, non-European arts, and this turn is also reflected in their works resist. Not least by the World's Fair was the time of Impressionism in Europe, the gamelan, a form of music, among other things from Bali and Java, is known. For Central European ears exotic sounding it is part of the culture of the respective ethnic groups. This music has to bring as a target, the mental world of human expression. Apparently, she was particularly impressed by Claude Debussy so that it is possible in many of his works are found allusions to this music. He uses different characteristics, such as already explained above pentatonic scales, as they occur in the first part of the two-part gamelan pieces, or the sound of chimes.

The pentatonic scale in the example on the left consists of the notes B, As, F, Eb, and Db, which account also the clay material of the accompanying violins. The harp mimicking the chimes of gamelan by tones in fourths and fifths distance be passed downward in parallel. Really clear, the effect is only when you listen to it.

Apply this sound images often used to describe exotic moments and places.

( ". : Pagodes, from Estampes Debussy " see figure below ): A beautiful example of the exoticism in the Impressionist music and the piano piece Pagodes from Estampes by Claude Debussy is the title ( Pagodes = pagodas ) promises an exotic atmosphere, and Debussy realized with the compositional means, which are typical of tone painting Impressionism. First, there are the Bordunquinten in the bass. The chords are without clear functionality and are sounded picturesque, the melody in the upper voice is pentatonic and lacks a clear structure, as was usual in the Viennese Classicism. In some places accompany quart or fifth parallels the melody. Occasionally loses the melody because of the frequent change between duplets triplets and their contours. The large range on the piano ( from the Contra -G to d '''') it difficult to hear and recognize structures or clear melodies. The often required use of the right pedal causes the sounds lose their contours blur. These funds Claude Debussy alludes to the Indonesian gamelan music and gives the impression of a pagoda in East Asia forth in the listener.

Rhythm

The rhythm of Impressionist works is also marked by an obfuscating, refined aesthetic. The impression of a constantly changing soundscape without abrupt change is rarely canceled. Often the rhythm is so much obscured that a clock notation is totally unnecessary, because they can no longer reproduce. Often, the metrics confused even more than that she creates order, as the music can be very difficult to reconcile with an order system with its free-floating, veiled character. Often a topic begins with a long sustained note without any rhythmic accompaniment, making the classification in time signature and speed through the handset is sometimes difficult target.

In the theme of Debussy's Nuages ​​shown on the right the English horn, the topic, the flutes accompany with a long chord without impulses. It is particularly striking that the English horn a different time signature ( 4/4) than the rest of the orchestra ( 6/4 ), whereby the blurring of rhythm is recorded already in the notation. Also emphasized beats are often provided with breaks, the use of an instrument is then only to the following unaccented beat. This results in syncope find quite well in the middle of motive gradients using. Another rhythmic style means are triplets, which are often used in parallel with a designed without triplet rhythm.

In the left example, the mixing of different rhythms can be clearly seen: The flute has a straight -eighth rhythm, while the harp quintuplets and the horn plays triplets.

Instrumentation

The instrumentation follows like everything else the goal of creating tone and atmosphere. For this purpose, the instrumentation is done in the Impressionist music very targeted and differentiated. This means, firstly, that the choice of instruments is very differentiated, there are also often used this exotic instruments, provided they allow the tone you want. Secondly, it means that the orchestra are constructed minimalist, compared to over time get bigger and more pompous becoming orchestras of Romantic music. The differentiated instrumentation can also be seen in the figure to appeal dissonance in the harmony section: For the violins specifying A3 made ​​, so it should per line play exactly 3 violins, the exact equivalent of a violin per voice.

Major works

Chronologically

  • Debussy: Deux Arabesques for Piano ( 1888-91 )
  • Debussy: Prélude à l' après -midi d'un faune ( 1892-94 )
  • Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande, lyrical drama in five acts and twelve pictures with orchestra on a text by Maurice Maeterlinck (1893-1902)
  • Dukas: L' Apprenti sorcier ( The Sorcerer's Apprentice ) ( 1897)
  • Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte (1899, orchestral version 1910)
  • Dukas: Sonata in E flat minor for Piano (1900)
  • Ravel: Jeux d' eau for piano (1901 )
  • Debussy: Pour le piano ( 1901-02 )
  • Debussy: La Mer ( 1903-05 )
  • Debussy: Images pour orchester ( 1905-12 )
  • Ravel: Miroirs for piano (1904-1905, orchestral version 1906)
  • Ravel: Introduction and Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet, two violins, viola and cello (1905 )
  • Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit for piano (1908 )
  • Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, ballet music (1909-1912)
  • Debussy: Preludes - Livre I ( 1909-10 ) and Preludes - Livre II for Piano ( 1910-12 )
  • Dukas: La Peri, Ballet ( 1911-12 )
  • Ravel: Piano Trio in A minor (1914 )
  • Debussy: Etudes (1915 )
  • Ravel: La Valse, choreographic poem for orchestra (1919-1920)
  • Ravel: Chansons Madecasses, song cycle for soprano, flute, cello and piano on texts by Evariste -Désiré de Forges Parny (1925-1926)
Impressionism (literature) First Viennese School Charles-Marie Widor Paul Ladmirault Georges Migot Henri Duparc (composer) Joaquín Turina John Ireland (composer) Walter Niemann (composer) Motif (music) Musical form Ariane et Barbe-Bleue Jean-Philippe Rameau Period (music) Perfect fifth Ninth chord Eleventh Drone (music) Meter (music) The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Dukas) La Mer (Debussy)
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