Debussy and the Veil of Tonality: Essays on His MusicThis new book on Debussy's music comprises analytical studies of individual works not widely examined previously, including the Fantaisie for piano and orchestra, La demoiselle élue, Nuages, and Gigues. A discussion of the tonal structure of the first movement of La mer finds new relevance in the overused term symphonic in relation to Debussy's position in the history of French orchestral music. An extensive essay documents Debussy's aural images in his propensity for recycling his own musical ideas and quoting the music of other composers. A final lighthearted chapter, Debussy and Ravel: How to Tell Them Apart, systematically addresses this century-old critics' conundrum. |
Contents
Debussy and the Symphonic Principle | 1 |
Debussys Recycling | 24 |
From lEnfant prodigue to La Damoiselle | 66 |
Nuages and Reduced Tonality | 96 |
The Keel Row Gigues and Bifocal | 126 |
Symphonic Tonality in La mer | 144 |
Wholetone | 161 |
How To Tell Them | 179 |
Text of The Blessèd Damozel | 201 |
| 209 | |
| 217 | |
Common terms and phrases
appears appoggiatura aural image bars bass beginning cadence cellos Chapter characteristic chord chromatic classical Claude Debussy complete composer connection continuous cyclic Damoiselle Élue Danse Debussy Debussy's dominant early edition English entire especially Example expressif Fantaisie Faune Fêtes fifth final flute four French function harmony harp horn idea important later less Lockspeiser major marked measures melody minor motion motive move movement ninth Nocturnes Nuages orchestral original particularly passage pedal Pelléas et Mélisande phrase piano piece Prélude progression published Quartet Ravel relative remains root scale score seems seventh shows significant similar single solo Sonata song sord sound strings structural Symphony Tempo texture thematic theme third tion tonal tone tonic triad University Press Violin Wagner whole-tone