Impressionism

Question 1

Who are the 2 major impressionist composers?

Answer 1

Debussy and Ravel

Question 2

Name 3 other composers who could be considered as impressionist in regards to some of their compositions?

Answer 2

Lili Boulanger, Nadia Boulanger and Erik Satie

Question 3

What is planing?

Answer 3

The use of the same chord shape moving exactly in parallel

See: Debussy ‘Sunken Cathedral’

Question 4

What is rhythmic ambiguity/obscured downbeat?

Answer 4

Rhythmic textures which create ambiguity as to what the time signature or tempo (or both) of a passage is.

See: Debussy ‘Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun’, Ravel ‘Miroirs’, Stravinsky ‘The Rite of Spring’

Question 5

What is non-functional harmony?

Answer 5

Harmonic decisions that do not make use of the tonal function of the chord (I.e. The use of a dominant 7th chord simply for its colour, rather than its function as a chord that falls to I, is a non-functional harmony). Modes such as the whole-tone scale, which do not imply a tonal centre, are also non-functional.

See: Debussy ‘The Sunken Cathedral’, ‘Voiles’, ‘Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun’

Question 6

What is thematic fragmentation?

Answer 6

The development of musical ideas not according to the linear exposition, development and resolution of a thematic idea. A sonata form is a ‘linear’ form, but if one were to take the sections of a sonata form, divide them into smaller sections, and put them all in the wrong order, this would be a ‘non-linear’ structure. Many of Debussy and Stravinsky’s compositions exhibit thematic fragmentation

See: Debussy ‘Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun’, Stravinsky ‘The Rite of Spring’

Question 7

What is delineating structures using modalities?

Answer 7

Changing the mode of a piece to signal a new section, rather than changing key (I.e. Instead of changing from C to G, changing from C major to whole tone)

See Debussy ‘Voiles’, Lili Boulanger ‘Pie Jesu’

Question 8

What is rotational form?

Answer 8

A form based on a repeated, unchanging theme, with variations that occur around the theme (like a theme and variations where the theme itself stays the same)

See: Debussy ‘Des pas sur la neige’

Question 9

What is secundal, quintal and quartal harmony?

Answer 9

Chord built off of stacked 2nds, 5ths or 4ths (respectively) rather than stacked 3rds

See: Debussy ‘The Sunken Cathedral’