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Clair de Lune Claude Debussy Debussy was a French composer. He and Maurice Ravel were the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music. • Looking at these 3 impressionist paintings • What are some of the characteristics of this period? • Not exact • Used many short brush strokes, applying paint thickly, to create the idea, or impression of a subject rather than its details • Vague and hazy outlines • Emphasis on light and the changing qualities of it • Creates a mood a spirit When listening to Debussy, it helps to keep Impressionist paintings in mind. Debussy’s style was in the same vein, only on piano instead of on a canvas. He was opposed to the Romantic style of playing with themes and chord patterns. Suite Bergamasque is one of the most famous piano suites by Claude Debussy. It was first composed by Debussy around 1890, at the age of 28. (Bergamasque is a folk dance of the Bergamo region of northern Italy popular mainly in the sixteenth century) . Clair de Lune is the third movement of the four-movement suite. The title is French for “Moonlight”, and is based on a poem by Paul Verlaine. A lot of composers took inspiration from poetry, and Debussy was no exception Clair de Lune, like an impressionist painting, is really all about capturing the essence of something – not so much the details, but the spirit. Clair de Lune Claude Debussy What imagery and feelings does a moonlit night evoke in you? Clair de Lune Claude Debussy Brainstorm Clair de Lune Moonlight Votre âme est un paysage choisi Que vont charmant masques et bergamasques Jouant du luth et dansant et quasi Tristes sous leurs déguisements fantasques. Your soul is a select landscape Where charming masqueraders and bergamaskers go Playing the lute and dancing and almost Sad beneath their fantastic disguises. Tout en chantant sur le mode mineur L’amour vainqueur et la vie opportune, Ils n’ont pas l’air de croire à leur bonheur Et leur chanson se mêle au clair de lune, All sing in a minor key Of victorious love and the opportune life, They do not seem to believe in their happiness And their song mingles with the moonlight, Au calme clair de lune triste et beau, Qui fait rêver les oiseaux dans les arbres Et sangloter d’extase les jets d’eau, Les grands jets d’eau sveltes parmi les marbres. With the still moonlight, sad and beautiful, That sets the birds dreaming in the trees And the fountains sobbing in ecstasy, The tall slender fountains among marble statues. Paul Verlaine (1844 – 1896) Clair de Lune Moonlight Votre âme est un paysage choisi Que vont charmant masques et bergamasques Jouant du luth et dansant et quasi Tristes sous leurs déguisements fantasques. Your soul is a select landscape Where charming masqueraders and bergamaskers go Playing the lute and dancing and almost Sad beneath their fantastic disguises. Tout en chantant sur le mode mineur L’amour vainqueur et la vie opportune, Ils n’ont pas l’air de croire à leur bonheur Et leur chanson se mêle au clair de lune, All sing in a minor key Of victorious love and the opportune life, They do not seem to believe in their happiness And their song mingles with the moonlight, Au calme clair de lune triste et beau, Qui fait rêver les oiseaux dans les arbres Et sangloter d’extase les jets d’eau, Les grands jets d’eau sveltes parmi les marbres. With the still moonlight, sad and beautiful, That sets the birds dreaming in the trees And the fountains sobbing in ecstasy, The tall slender fountains among marble statues. Paul Verlaine (1844 – 1896) •Different notes hiding in-between •Synchronicity between dynamics and rhythm/tempo •Harmonies create a gentle tone •Scales and patterns contributed to the dreamy sound •Legato, calm and slow tempo •Use of the pedal makes it more resonating •High notes highlight of the piece, low notes providing the dark surroundings, it is vague, but also plays a strong role •Lower notes are sad notes and trying to intrude on the beauty of the moonlight •Tranquil – decorative notes •Serene – Long sustained notes •Euphoric – High pitch notes coming in •Mysterious – choice of key Clair de Lune Claude Debussy Clair de Lune Opening Section 0:00-1:02 • What makes Clair de Lune interesting is the way in which the piece builds from being dreamlike and almost formless to something a bit more solid and almost tangible • Almost as if we are about to take a walk in the moonlight • We are finding our way, it feels uncomfortable at first • We are unsure of the landscape surrounding us • Gradually more movement and animation - things start to feel more comfortable we are becoming part of the landscape • Opening melody line – very simple and sparse • Curious notes and pauses, long held notes • Has several places where it is tied across the bar lines which gives the effect of blurring the meter of the piece • 2 notes in the space of 3 in bar 3, rest of the piece uses 3 • In the first 8 bars the melody starts off the downbeats of each bar • This slow, syncopated rhythm in which the motif is played makes it difficult for the listener to grasp. It’s almost as if we hear a hint of a melody as opposed to the fullyformed melody itself • Con sordina - With damper pedal – Pedalling was very important in the playing of Debussy although he almost never marked it in his score • When a note is struck on the piano while the damper pedal is down, the vibrations from the strings of that note cause other strings to vibrate as well. These new vibrations are called sympathetic vibrations • Since the resonance of the entire instrument is called into play, the chief effect of the damper pedal is a change in the sound quality of the piano. TONALITY • Db major although it never feels that secure – tonal ambiguity •Debussy begins without the tonic note •Also no dominant Ab major chord, which also would play a role in establishing the key •Dissonance Unexpected points of curiosity 1:02 • • • • • Magical moment Movement increases in this section Lover octave of the piano and then reaching upwards Uses the bass line to increase the intensity of the music Descending phrases in the A section, and then reaching higher in the response • The rhythmic ambiguity of the piece continues throughout the first fifteen measures, although the rhythm does get stronger here. As the rhythm becomes stronger and the phrases become clearer and easier to comprehend, we finally hear the strong yet hauntingly beautiful melody 1:40 • Harp like chords 1:49 • Forward moving motion – un poco mosso • Shorter note values • As if the moonlight is shining on the rippling waves with the RH melody peaking above • More relaxed • Use of whole tone scales 2:28 • Notes tumbling down like a waterfall – refer back to the poem! 2:35 • Sense of anticipation in the left hand – something is going to happen 3:04 • Part 3 sees a return to the opening theme, but it’s not an exact replica • An interesting change from the beginning is that, though the beginning implied a Db major chord, and a “happier” sound because of it, the third part, echoing the first part, takes it in a minor, “sadder” direction, implying an F minor harmony. It’s still peaceful like the beginning, but maybe a little more mysterious and melancholic. • Very soft – use of dynamics to portray peacefulness • Ascending figure in the bass line almost as if we are looking up to the moonlight • Arpeggio fragments continue in the left hand, creating a fluid and changing harmony. 4:36 • Return to waves which gradually fade out as chords are played in harp – like manner • A last a perfect cadence with resolution Db major Tonality –whole tone scales The whole-tone scale, true to its name, has no semitones, and if it started on C, the rest of the scale would follow as D-E-F#-G#-A# (or Bb)-C. It has no tonal center, so to speak, and so is often used in dream sequences in movies as well as underwater scenes. • Structure- long phrases • Pitch- use of different/unconventional harmonies i.e. whole tone scales and dissonance • Rhythm – how does the rhythm change and enhance the ‘feel’ of the piece and build the music to the climax • Texture- how do the 2 parts, right and left hand work together to create change throughout, are more ‘parts’ introduced? • Tone colour- what instrumental techniques are employed; expressive techniques- dynamics and phrasing, use of pedal? Useful Sites https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_49YGGZhkQ http://www.pianotv.net/2016/05/analysis-of-clair-de-lune/ Janelle Monáe - Say You'll Go / Debussy - Clair de Lune https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n06NfuYi_w from 3:30