AND RAVEL THESIS - Digital.library.unt.edu
AW&A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF THE PIANO WORKSOF DEBUSSY AND RAVELTHESISPresented to the Graduate Council of the NorthTexas State Teachers College in PartialFulfillment of the RequirementsFor the Degree ofMASTER OF MUSICByElizabeth Rose Jameson, B. Yi.Denton, TexasMay,194298756
9?756TABLE OF CONTENTS.Page.LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSChapterI.INTRODUCTION.,.,.v.vi.*LIST OF TABLES,***The Birth of Modern French MusicProblemNeed for the StudyScope of StudyProcedurePresentationII. THE LIFE AND WORKS OF CLAUDE DEBUSSY.12.,27LifeWorksIII. THE LIFE AND WORKS OF JOSEPH 1.AURICERAVEL.---.LifeWorksIV. STYLISTIC ELEMENTS OF DEBUSSY'S LUSIC . esDynamicsTextureiii
PageV. STYLISTIC ELEMENTS OF RAVEL'S. . . . . . . .llUS IC . . . . adencesDyanmicsTextureVI. A COMPARISON OF DEBUSSY AND RAVEL.General APPENDIX .BIBLIOGIRPHY . . .*.0.0.0.0.0.iv.VII. CONCLUSION.CadencesDynamicsTextureIdiomatic treatment.0167171176
LIST OF TABLESTableI.PageDiversity of Ivetrical SchemeFound in Six Different Compositions of Debussy, Preludes,Book II,3.Types of Triplets Found in PianoCompositions of Debussy andPlaces Where They Are Found. .5.0.Compositions of Debussy, theNumber of Measures MarkedPiano, and the Number ofMeasures Marked Forte. .56971060.00 00. . 14?.Form Analysis of Ravel's PianoWorks . . . . . . . . .*.6.4.Analysis of Form of Debussy'sPiano Works . . . . . .&a .039.2.------.Range of Dynamics Found inRavel's Compositions.**.Vm. 147
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSPageFigure4.5.#.0. . . . . .6.7.8.9.An Example of the Way in WhichDebussy Changes the TimeSignature with the MetricScheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41An Illustration of Brahms' Use ofSyncopation . . . . . . . . . . . . .42An Example of Debussy's Use ofSyncopation . . . . . . . . . . . .42An Illustration of Debussy's Variation of Subject to Change the.*.0. .Meter . .0.*.* .44An Example of Debussy's Use of theRest on the First Beat of theMeasure . . . * . . . . . . . . . .An Example of Liszt's Use of the Reston the First Beat of the Measure .Excerpt from Reflets dans L'eauShowing Debussy's Use of thePrinciple of Elongation . . . .3.409*.#.2.An Illustration of Brahms' Mannerof Changing the peter but notthe Time Signature . . . . . . . . .46.1.47An Example of Debussy's Inversion ofthe Principle of Elongation . . . . .4810. An Example of Debussy's Use of theFermato . . . . . . . . . . . . .0.049. . *vi.* * * *.Written*11. An Sxample of the Manner in Which aFermato Would ordinarily Be49
Page12.Debussy's Use of a Combination of Meters13.Two Excerpts from the Emperor Concerto,Showing Beethoven's Use of UnevenGroups of Notes14.--.-.-. . .52aUnusual Note Groupings Found in Debussy's. . .5858Another Example of the Dotted Note Figure.18.An Example of a Foreeful Rhythmic PatternFound in Minstrels . . . . . . . . , . . .20.An Example of a Debussy Melody. .21.An Example of a Debussy Melody Classifiedas a Motif.The First Motif from Voiles .**.*.The Second and Third Motifs of Voiles .The First, Second and Fourth Motifs of Voiles.966.967.68. ,68.96466An Example of Debussy's Development of the.**&.Further Melodic Treatment of Voiles28.Another Example of Debussy's 11'elodicDevelopment of Voiles. . .* .An Example of a Debussy Melody in La FilleAux Cheveux de Lin . . . . . . . . . .09.69.27.30.63.*.Melody of Voiles29.#.*.0*71"26.62.2)5.An Example of a Four-Measure Melody inLes Collines d'Anacapri24. .62.An Example of a Chopin Melody . . .19.6o.17.23.5An Illustration of Debussy's Use of DottedNote Patterns22.55.16.An Example from LaePuck, Showing how Debussy Distorted the Triplet*15.571An example of a Debussy Melody from Poissonsd'Ior-,.#**. *vii*#.0.0.*.0.0.0.0.0.0.#.
Page31.32.An Example of a Double MelodicLine Found in Dgnseuses de Delphes34.36.37.76.76.78An Example of Debussy's Use of FourTones of the Pentatonic Scale . .78An Example of Debussy's Use of TwoTones of the Pentatonic Scale . .79.An Example of Debussy's Use of the.44.An Example of What Lay Be Debussy's Use.0.0.*.0.80. 0.81.0.An Example of Debussy's Use of a ScaleWithout a Leading Tone and With ah. . *. .An Example of the Whole-Tone Scale.0.9.9.9.# 82.An Example of Debussy's Use of the.9 82.An Example of Debussy's Use of Ninth. .83Another Example of Debussy's Use ofthe Ninth Chord,.43.Found in Reflets dans l'eau . .Chords42.An Example of the Whole Tone ScaleAugmented Chord41.Used in Chord Structure40.71.Flat Seventh39.of the Dorian Mode38.Pentatonic Scale35.An Example of Debussy's Use of theWhole Tone Scale33. .84. . .An Illustration of Debussy's Employmentof Seventh, Ninth and Eleventh Chords.85An Illustration of Debussy's Use ofOpen Chords. .45.An Exaaple of Fifths Used as a46.An Illustration of Parallelism Foundin La Cathedrale Engloutieviii.otif.86.8687
Pagre47.An Example of Parallelism Found inLes Sons et les Parfums tournamentdansl'ai r.duSoir.0.*.0.0.0.0.0.0.048.An Example of Successive Seconds49.An Excerpt from Jardins sous la pluie *.* * . . .50.An Example of the Chromatic Grace Note51.An Excerpt from Poissons d'or, ShowingDebussy's Use of Chromatics . . . . 89.* . . . 99An Example of Debussy's Use of the Added. *.0.9 .An Illustration of Altered Chords54.An Example of Open Chords Found indans l'eau.55.Another Example of Open Chords.56.An Example of an Authentic Cadence57.An Example of the Modified Form ofPhrygian Cadence.-. . . .-.,-.-.990. . .100,, .101. . .101.1030103.Reflets.53.,.0.*.0 .0.0-Sixth58.90. . . . 91.52.38. . . .59.An Example of a Veiled Cadence. . .10560.An Example of the Habanera Rhythm.10961.An Example of the Rhythm of the Pavane.62.An Example of the Rhythm of the Forlane. .63.An Example from Five O'Clock. . .11064.An Example of the Jazz Rhythm of the66.An Example from Sonatine.An Example from Concerto. . .ix110. .0*0. .104.110"."il1.,0113".65.Concerto.-An Illustration of Debussy's Change ofMaterial Without Cadential Treatment113
Page67.An Example of Ravel's Use of Tied Notes . .11568.An Example of Ravel's Use of Syncopation.11569.An Example of Complex Rhythm Found in.PAvane70.116An Example of the Rhythm of TwoAgainst Three.71.An Example of Unusual Triplet Form .72.An Illustration of the Basic Rhythm ofthe Second Movement of the Ravel.Concerto73. .117.117.118.119An Example from the Second Movement of the.Concerto.0.1209. .74.An Excerpt from Valses75.An Example of a Melody from Sonatine.12176.An Illustration of a Liszt Melody.12177.An Example of Two Types of Melody . . . .12278.Two Examples of Melody Found in Habanera.12479.An Illustration of a Melody in Valses.12480.An Illustration of a Melody of.12581.An Excerpt from Five O'Clock. . .12782.An Illustration of the Melody from theSecond Movement of the Concerto.12883.ndine.**0.*.* . .129An Example of Ravel's Use of the PentatonicScale85. .An Example of Ravel's Use of the Whole ToneScale84.*.***000.An Illustration of the Ravel Use of theAeolian Mode0.0.00. . . 0.*. * . . .0.0.130x0000129
Page86.An Example87.88.An Excerpt89.Two Examples of Ravel's Use of Augmented.131An Excerpt from Jeux d'eau.132.132.133.134.134from Pavane .from SonatineTriads and Augmented Seconds.90.An Excerpt from Jeux d'eau.91.An Illustration of Ravel's Use of aDiminished Third and <ered NinthChord92.An Illustration of an Unusual Spellingof a Minor Triadd.93.An Excerpt from Sonatine .94.An Illustration of Ravel's Use ofParallelism.95.Five examples of Altered Chords96.An Excerpt from Pavane97.Two Lieasures from Valses98.An Illustration of Ravel's Use of.135.136.136.137.137138. .An Example of Ravel's Use of Chromaticism100. Another Example of Chromaticism135.0.*Cross Relationship.99. .139.139.143. .145101. An Example of Bi-Tonality Found inConcerto.102. An Exa.ple of a Cadence modified by theUseofSeconds.0 .*0.0. 0.103. An Illustration of the Use of the EleventhChord in aCadence.104. An Example of the Cadence V7-1 3105.146.146.147An Illustration of Ravel's Use of theConventional Cadencexiww.
page106.An Excerpt from Reflets dans L'eau107.An Illustration of the Type of Ritard.Employed by Ravel.0*.*@*.154.154110.An Example of a Motif from Debussy'sRefletsdans l'eau . . .*. . .0.*.* . . .&156111.A Reproduction of Lfotival material from. 1570An Example of a Flowing Kelody Found inLa Filleaux cheveux de lin. *. . . . .113.An Example of a Ravel Melody .114.An Example of Debussy's Use of SuccessiveSeconds.158.159160.An Example of Ninth Chords Found in. *.160.161An Lxample of Parallelism Found in Debussy'sldinstrels119.An Illustration of Debussy's Use of theRavel's Pavane118.158An Illustration of the Use of SuccessiveNinth Chord117.* * . . . * .* * . . . . . . 159Seconds by Ravel116.0153.An Example of Debussy's Use of the Tie115.153.109.An Example of Ravel's Use of the Tie112. .108.Jeux d'eau.*.#.*.*.*.1. 0. 0An Illustration of Ravel's Use ofParallelism. . . . . . . .*.161120.An Example of Debussy's Use of Open Chords . .162121.An Illustration of the Use of Open Chordsas Used byiRavel. 0.*. . . .162A Reproduction of a Measure from Le Ventdans la lpaine, Illustrating Debussy'sUse ofToneClusters . . . . . . . . .122.123.162An Example of Tone Clusters Found inRavel's Concerto.xii.163
CHAPTER IINTRODUCTIONThe Birth of Modern French MusicUp to the time of the Franco-Prussian war, there wasno doubt but that German music held sway over French music.During the first half of the nineteenth century, Frenchmusic, which had been largely given over to opera, hadbeenunduly eclectic in character.1Rossini and Ieyerbeer hadbeen the dominating personalities of that era, despitethegenius of Berlioz, whose dynamic qualities and importancewere not recognized until long after his death.After thePrussian war, there was an awakening of interest in chambermusic, which caused a revolution in public taste; furthermore, there was created a need for the delving into theliterature of all instrumental music.As a consequence,many orchestras and chamber music societies were established.Saint-Saens- the brilliant organist, pianist, conductor, composer author, and instructor of GabrielFaure - who later became the instructor of Ravel - was apioneer in the field of instrumental music of France alongEdward Burlingame Hill, Modern French1sp. 4.
2with the violinist Lalo and the organist Franck.As aminor but conjunctive point, it is interesting to note thatSaint-Saens himself twice failed to receive the Prix deRome.After the bitterness of feeling caused by the FrancoPrussian conflict had somewhat waned, Paris, and not a fewof the French composers, fell under the spell of RichardWagner and the Neo-Russians.At the same time, however,a strong national feeling had come into being among theFrench people.The result, as will be seen, was thatthe music and the arts became strongly imbued with thisnew quality.The French of today may feel very grateful to CesarFranck and his pupils for their re-introduction into Frenchmusic of classic forms and methods of an individual style;likewise they may feel grateful to Chabrier and Faure, thefirst of the modernists, whose independent styles revealan indubitable assertion of French traits.So the gradual abandonment of dependence upon foreignstyles and models and the accompanying development of originality in musical style and thought is noted.In 1905,the Paris critic and writer, Romain Rolland,although still expressing his appreciation and praise ofRichard Strauss as the first musical personality, made the
3assertion that French art was silently taking the place2of German art.After a period of unquestioned leadership extendingover a century and a half, the influence of German musicwas beginning to suffer a serious decline.At the sametime, French influence was making great strides throughadvances in technical mastery, originality, subtlety ofexpression, and, above all, through the aforementionednationalistic tendencies.The achievements of French composers within the lastseventy years have outranked all contemporary schools,with the possible exception of the later Russians, whoante-date the modern French, and to whom the latter arerather indebted.The influence of the French, who ex-plored new fields of harmonic effects, stylistic adaptability, clarity and fineness of emotional discrimination, has been felt by the entire civilized musical world.Closely related to French music, and undeniably playing their parts in the rejuvenation of instrumental music,are the impressionistic arts and symbolical writing.Debussy, whose music has been considered by some as themost Gallic of the French,22b.Pp. 1.3I bd.,p. 6.is a striking example of the
4composers who have been influenced by various aestheticsources.This practice of deriving influence from aes-thetic sources tends to a more comprehensive expressionof sentiment and emotion in French music.When the development of French music is viewed fromthe time of Franco-Prussian dominance and Cesar Franckto the present day, Debussy and his younger contemporary,Ravel, are two outstanding figures.It is possible thatthese two composers did more to bring about the presenttrend of French music than any other composers. Debussy,the elder of the two, received the many harsh blows thatusually come to those who are innovators; but after hisdeath his compositions became more readily accepted bythe public and made the course easier for Ravel.These two men, whose styles of writing and personalcharacteristics varied so differently, created a form ofmusic which sounds strangely similar to the ear.Both ofthem played important parts in creating a new style ofmusical literature.Although neither has left a directfollowing, such as the school created by Franck and hispupils, their influence has been felt upon the whole ofmodern French music, indeed upon the whole musical world.From them grew the "French Six," Honegger, Poulenc,Auric,Vilhaud, Durey, and Taillefee. Even in Stravinsky onemay perceive some of the characteristic uttering, a
voicing of the contemporary spirit which these two French-,men strove to achieve.ProblemIn literature, each author creates his own individualstyle of writing by the combination of certain literarydevices arranged in a particular form; in art, each artist creates his own distinctive style of painting by thecombination of certain colors mixed in a particular manner, as well as linear form and proportion.So it is inmusic: a composer creates his own characteristic style ofcomposition by the combination of certain elements ofmusic arranged in a specific fashion.These elements of music are generally conceded to be:harmony, rhythm, melody, spacing, and form.By diffusion,expansion, or combination of these basic elements, otherelements of style may be formed.For example, a melodicand harmonic rhythm may be achieved by combining melodyand rhythm, or harmony and rhythm, or all three.Like-wise modulation is achieved through the use of themechanics of harmony.This study has three purposes:first, to point outthe stylistic elements of music that are present in thepiano works of Debussy and Ravel; second, to determinehow the composers have used these elements; and third,4111., -. - - %*qit4J4
6to discover the effects that have been achieved throughindividual uses of the elements.Need for the StudyAlthough there has been a considerable amount ofmaterial published about Debussy and Ravel, it is of acontroversial rather than a technical nature.One ofthe major controversial issues of French music waswhether Debussy copied from Ravel, or vice versa; therefore it is understandable that a critical analysis ofthe music of Debussy cannot be obtained from a biographerof Ravel, nor can a similar analysis concerning the musicof Ravel be acquired from a biographer of Debussy.The chief significance of this study is its techni-cal nature and its attempt to present accurate data concerning the style of composition used by Debussy andRavel.Scope of StudyThis study of the stylistic elements of music asemployed by Debussy and Ravel has been limited to thepiano works of the two composers, and these, in turnhave been limited to a representative number of thepiano compositions.In an exhaustive study of the stylistic elementsfound in the piano works of Debussy and Ravel, it would
7be necessary to examine carefully every piano compositionwritten by the two composers and to list the recurrenceof every portion of each stylistic element.This de-tailed investigation, however, is unnecessary, since avery good impression of the characteristic musical traitsof a composer may be found from the study of a representative number of his compositions.Each of the following compositions selected as beingrepresentative of the piano works of Debussy and Ravelwas chosen for a specific reason.E. B. Hill's bookModern French Music was used as authority.The Ballade of Debussy was chosen because it is oneof Debussy's early works which is considered to be uninteresting and lacking in the qualities which latercharacterize his music.Clair, de lune was considered to be representativeof the transition period of Debussy's life from a stageof relative insipidity to one of indisputable originality.This composition shows definite premonitions of his laterstyle, and is the autotypeof an atmospheric presenta-tion of an aspect of nature, in which Debussy shoneduring the years of his maturity.Jardins sous l aluiewas considered to be valuablefor study because it is from EstaMpes,Debussy's first
work in which he definitely reconciles his impressionisticaspirations with his personal idiom in piano style.L'Isle joyeuselikewise was included because it isa work formed on a larger scale than anything previouslyattempted by Debussy, while Reflets dans l'eau was believed to be valuable to the investigation because it isa vivid example of the coordination of sensitive observation and musical imagery.The Preludes, (BookI and II) were of inestimablevalue in this analysis because they are considered to bethe most comprehensive exposition of Debussy's pianisticstandpoint, and because they crown the maturity of Debussyas a piano composer.The Habanera and Pavane pour uIntdefunte wereselected for study of Ravel's style because they are twoof his earliest works, preceded only by the unpublishedLenuet, and constitute a precocious assertion of Ravel'smaturity.Ted'eau,considered to have no forerunner in Frenchor any other piano music, is perhaps the most importantpiano composition written by Ravel.No study of Ravel'spiano style would be complete if Jeux d'eau were not included.The Sonatine is of importance to this study becauseit exemplifies the classic sympathies of Ravel, his
9acceptance of the limitations of the sonatine form, andhis skill in overcoming the handicap.The suite, Gaspard de la nuit(Ondine, Scarbo, andLe Gibet) was of special interest because all three compositions of the suite are difficult, both in a technical way and in an interpretive way, and also becausethey exemplify the maturity of Ravel.The ValseslNobles etS entimentalesare of impor-tance chiefly because impressionism is abandoned, andnew emphasis is given to the waltz.Le Tombeau de Couperinwas
Les Sons et les Parfums tournament dans l'ai r.du Soir . .0.*.0.0.0.0.0.0.0 48. An Example of Successive Seconds . . . 49. An Excerpt from Jardins sous la pluie *.* 50. An Example of the Chromatic Grace Note . 51. An Excerpt from Poissons d'or, Showing Debussy's Use of Chromatics . 52. An Example of Debussy's Use of the Added Sixth . .0.*.0 .0.
4 Ravel and the piano Roy Howat [71] 5 Harmony in the chamber music Mark DeVoto [97] 6 Ravel and the orchestra Michael Russ [118] 7 Ballet and the apotheosis of the dance Deborah Mawer [140] 8 Vocal music and the lures of exoticism and irony Peter Kaminsky [162] 9 Ravel’s operatic spe
r e w a Mh a r o b e4D Emily Kilpatrick. 21 Larger questions of the complex relationship between Ravel the man and Ravel the musician, and between his private and public personas, underpinned Benjamin Ivry’s thought-provoking biography Maurice Ravel: A Life, published in 2000, 22 and have subsequently been taken up by others. 23 Arguably
Ravel Favorites Thursday, October 1 / 7:30 PM Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor Lisa Batiashvili Violin Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin Szymanowski Violin Concerto No. 1 Chausson Poème, for violin and orchestra Ravel Bolero We open our new season with two of Ravel
heritage and father’s mechanical brain greatly influenced Ravel and nowhere more so that in his Bolero composition of 1928. Ravel had piano lessons from the age of 6 and progressed quickly performing in public at the age
vision. The early piano work of Ravel is in 1905. It was the work that Ravel used for . Sonatine. competition at the very beginning. However, it received multiple after playingapplauses and they are greatly admired by the listeners. Later it was promoted and published, w
Boléro, but Ravel’s insistent rhythm is considerably slower than an actual bolero – though it has now become more famous and arguably more ‘definitive’ than the dance-style it is modelled on. In subsequent years Ravel
AGENDA DES CONCERTS ET ÉVÉNEMENTS M AURICE R AVEL DE LA SAISON 2019-2020 Version 13 Inventaire par les bénévoles des Amis de Maurice Ravel Maurice Ravel au champ de
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