What’s the general rule for harmony in the Impressionist style?
harmony - makes less use of the modal system and relations of keys choosing harmony simply for sonority rather than functionality
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where is whole tone scale used
prominent from bar 33 has no clear sense of tonic due to all intervals being the same of one tone
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where is the pentatonic scale used
section starting bar 64
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where is the acoustic scale used
from bar 21
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5
rotation 1 bar numbers
1-10
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6
rotation 2 bar numbers
11-28
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7
rotation 3 bar numbers
29-56
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8
rotation 4 bar numbers
57-93
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9
rotation 5 bar numbers
94-102
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x material in rotation 1
1-4 B octatonic scale with hints of minor in top part (F#s indicate such)
A natural scale is also chromatic to B octatonic which establishes B as a centre but only weakly
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x material in rotation 2
11-16 starts same as R1 but with strings rather than woodwind
Parallel dominant 9ths in bar 14 w/ melody based on overlapping E flat and G min pentatonic scales
Notes falling in fiths in bar 15 becoming increasingly important
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x material rotation 3
29-32 most contrasting presentation of x with slightly different melodic profile and pure triads ending unexpectedly on a Cmaj chord at bar 31
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13
x material ln rotation 4
57-63 more like R1 but w/ new melody against main x idea in viola.
Parallel dominant 7ths in bar 61 and 63 with a whole tone idea in between in bar 62 (echoed in bar 66)
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14
x material rotation 5
94-97 much more darker and fragmented orchestration of x trails over G pedal initially but moves up to B in bar 96 where the idea mumbles out in vague rumbling
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15
which motif is the octatonic scale used
y material majority octatonic
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y material rotation 1
5-10 cor anglais melody and harmony is pure B octatonic G7 in first inversion (B drone in bass) is main sonority cor anglais melody is in 4/4 against the prevailing 6/4
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y material rotation 2
21-28 dominant G9 harmony continues as an accompaniment to cor anglais melody
From R1 Octatonic apart from the 9th (A) itself which makes it a G acoustic scale
Falling tritone idea in bar 23 represents the span of the melody from F to B and becomes an increasingly important idea
No drone
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y material rotation 3
43-56 cor anglais melody now accompanied by G7 chords alternating with dissonant chords suggesting bar 13
B drone is back at bar 51 the cor anglais
goes back into 6/4 and expands two note horn idea from bar 50 (B2)
bass descends by step from B to F (same span as melody) ending very ambiguously
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y material rotation 4
cor anglais melody exactly the same as R3 but with darker orchestration of accompanying G7 sonority also different chords from B octatonic change colour (C\#7 at bar 82 and E7 at b 86 - both have chromatic appoggiaturas of D\# and F\# respectively) falling tritone at bar 82 and B2 at 88 as before
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y material rotation 5
99-end skeleton version of Y with just G7 sonority and falling tritone remaining (main melody has disappeared) ends on B (same centre as opening) but G7 sonority just before helps to make this ending very tonally understandable
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21
interpolation rotation 3
33-42 crotchet motion reminiscent of X in strings in sparse two part counterpoint with octave unison in wind together create a C whole tone feel but with chromatic passing notes in woodwind. more octatonic at 40 to link into Y
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interpolation rotation 4
64-79 (b section) melody is d# pentatonic expanding on the idea from the middle of R1 and also includes the falling fifth idea from bar 1)
D# drone but moves to G# (IV?) in the middle of the section
bar 77 repeats a pentatonic fragment (B2 from R3)
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23
one feature of interest in metre of bars 14-20
ambiguous note groupings of 2 or 3 crotchet beats within 6/4 time sig
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24
give two ways in which the accompaniment to the cor anglais melody in 21-28 relates to previous material -
repeated rocking crotchet configuration from opening bars in woodwind persists here
static harmony also similar (essentially based on single chord)
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where is acoustic scale used in 14-32
21-28
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where is dorian mode used bars 14-32
19-20
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describe harmony in bars 21-28
series of parallel dominant 9th chords
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how does harmony change in bars 29-32
switches to parallel triad
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how does harmony change in 33-42
alternating whole tone harmony (33-36) and octatonic harmony (35-36)(40-42)
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use of texture in 33-41
essentially in two parts only but texture is filled out by orchestral doublings in triple 8ves
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31
discuss Debussy's use of the orchestra beginning bar 14
becomes less static (harmonic rhythm increased) also introduces octatonic element
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describe one way in which debussy creates a sense of structure in the extract
repetition of both x and y material (opening piano phrase ,triplet based melody)
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33
comment on the writing for string instruments after bar 21
some tremolando strings in accompaniment pizzicato double bass statements of extended version of 2 note motif
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