Studied by 0 peopleState the style of ‘La cathedrale
Engloutie’ by Debussy
Impressionism
Describe the melody of ‘La cathedrale Engloutie’ by Debussy
- Lots of pentatonic scales (b. 1 (G), 42-43)
- Chromatic scales, pentatonic scales, whole tone scales, and brief flourishes of atonality
Describe the harmony and tonality of ‘La cathedrale Engloutie’ by Debussy
- Parallel dyads/open 5th in the first 5 bars
- Parallel unresolved 7th chords in b. 63-66
- Chromaticism, along with whole tone scales and unusual timbres
- Chromatic scales, pentatonic scales, whole tone scales, and brief flourishes of atonality
Describe the form and structure of ‘La cathedrale Engloutie’ by Debussy
- Introduction: b.1-15
Describe the rhythm and metre of ‘La cathedrale Engloutie’ by Debussy
- The rhythm and tempo of impressionist music is not fixed
- Pieces might be played rubato
- This was different from rubato in romantic music, which would have sudden changes
- Instead the aim was for pieces to be played in a flowing and natural way
Describe the instrumentation of ‘La cathedrale Engloutie’ by Debussy
- Impressionist music often showcases woodwind instruments, especially the flute.
- Brass instruments were kept in the background if used at all.
- The Piano replaced the harpsichord, and compositions used them as foundational instruments in orchestral, chamber, and duet pieces
State the style of ‘Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune’ by Debussy
Impressionism
Describe the melody of ‘Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune’ by Debussy
- Chromatic melody in b. 1-4
Describe the harmony and tonality of ‘Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune’ by Debussy
- C#minor
- Figure 3 – whole tone scale
Chromaticism, along with whole tone scales and unusual timbres
- Chromatic scales, pentatonic scales, whole tone scales, and brief flourishes of atonality
Describe the form and structure of ‘Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune’ by Debussy
- No apparent structure
Describe the rhythm and metre of ‘Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune’ by Debussy
The rhythm and tempo of impressionist music is not fixed
- Pieces might be played rubato
- This was different from rubato in romantic music, which would have sudden changes
- Instead the aim was for pieces to be played in a flowing and natural way
- cross rhythms (b. 67)
- syncopation (b.55)
Describe the instrumentation of ‘Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune’ by Debussy
- three flutes, two oboes, cor anglais, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two harps, two crotales and strings.
- Impressionist music often showcases woodwind instruments, especially the flute.
- Brass instruments were kept in the background if used at all.
- The Piano replaced the harpsichord, and compositions used them as foundational instruments in orchestral, chamber, and duet pieces
State the style of Webern’s Five Pieces for Orchestra
Expressionism
Describe the melody of ‘Five Pieces for Orchestra’ by Webern
- Tone row
- inverted, retrograde, transpose, I+R
- Klangfarbenmelodie (melody is split between instruments) (movement 1, b. 1-6)
- Rhythmiclly free (difficult to find the pulse)- Tone row
- No functional harmony, cadences, triads, sevenths or tonal centres (atonal)
- Generate chords from tone row
Describe the form and structure of ‘Five Pieces for Orchestra’ by Webern
- No conventional forms (e.g. sonata for, ternary form, etc.)
- No structure (e.g. intros, codas)
- The structure is generated by repetition of the tone row
- WPO is in five movements
Describe the rhythm and metre of ‘Five Pieces for Orchestra’ by Webern
- Rhythmically ambiguous
- Metre is ambiguous (m. 2, b. 8 2/4, b. 10 ¾, b. 12 2/4, b. 13 ¾)
- Precisely written
Describe the instrumentation of ‘Five Pieces for Orchestra’ by Webern
- Orchestra (flute, oboe, harp), but an unusual orchestra (block, xylophone, celeste, mandolin)
- Specific instrument directions (m. 2, b. 1)
State the style of ‘Symphony No.1’ by Prokofiev
Neoclassicism
Describe the melody of ‘Symphony No.1’ by Prokofiev
- Balanced symmetrical phrases (eg. Start of the second movement)
- Frequent use of sequences
- Rhythmic ideas
- Diatonic
Describe the harmony and tonality of ‘Symphony No.1’ by Prokofiev
- Diatonic
- Functional harmony – based around cadences, triads
- Tonal centre
- Modulations are more unexpected and frequent (D major to C major)
Describe the form and structure of ‘Symphony No.1’ by Prokofiev
- Four movements
- Sonata form, ternary form, gavotte (4/4) and sonata form
Describe the rhythm and metre of ‘Symphony No.1’ by Prokofiev
- Basic note value
- Occasional unusual melody (first two movement is in 2/2 but there is a bar of 2/4 just before fig 2)
Describe the instrumentation of ‘Symphony No.1’ by Prokofiev
- Standard classical instrumentation
- Specific instrumentation examples (‘a punt a d’arco)
- Brass instruments now have valves
Note
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