Thesis (M.A.)--California State University, Sacramento, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 175-179).

I detta arbete analyseras Claude Debussys stråkkvartett op.10 i g-moll från 1893. Stråkkvartetten skrevs tidigt i Debussys karriär då han ännu inte förknippades som impressionistisk kompositör. Med frågeställningen Impressionism eller romantik analyseras verket utifrån motiv, form, tematik, satsstruktur, harmonik och instrumentering. Det romantiska formatet i kombination med ett nytt impressionistiskt tonspråk gör verket unikt i sitt slag. Debussy använder sonatform i första satsen men lyssnarens intryck är inte ett verk av romantisk karaktär. Musikens oavbrutna flöde kan förklaras med användning av heltonsskala, kyrkotonarter, staplade dimackord, septim-och nonackord utan förberedelser eller upplösning. Arbetets resultat visar att verket är både romantiskt och impressionistiskt. / In this study, Claude Debussy's string quartet op.10 in G minor from 1893 was analyzed. The string quartet was written early in Debussy's career when he was not yet considered as an impressionist composer. With the question Impressionism or romanticism, the work is analyzed based on motif, form, theme, movement structure, harmony, and instrumentation. The romantic format combined with a new impressionistic sound makes the work unique. Debussy uses sonata form in the first movement, but the listener's impression is not a work of romantic nature. The music's uninterrupted flow can be explained using whole-tone scales, church modes, stacked diminished chords, seventh and ninth chords without preparation or resolution. The results of the study show that the work is both romantic and impressionistic.

No description available.

O Quarteto de cordas em sol menor de Claude Debussy é uma obra marcada por importantes dicotomias. Composta em 1893, ela se encontra permeada de elementos harmônicos e formais ligados à tradição tonal e ao final do século XIX, particularmente ao compositor César Franck. Ao mesmo tempo, a peça utiliza procedimentos que são observados apenas em obras maduras do compositor, nas quais o tonalismo se encontra pouco presente, e análises que dependam exclusivamente de elementos tonais mostramse pouco eficientes para o Quarteto. Essa relação entre tradição e inovação é investigada nesta pesquisa, que traz como enfoque duas características diretamente relacionadas: a maneira como Debussy utiliza elementos repetidos nesta peça, assunto pesquisado por Sylveline Bourion, e aspectos relativos à forma cinética, elemento descrito por Richard Parks. Uma comparação entre o primeiro movimento do Quarteto e o primeiro movimento da Sonata para flauta, viola e harpa, peça do final da carreira de Debussy, é oportuna para que sejam observados elementos formais semelhantes aplicados em contextos diferentes. / Claude Debussy\'s String quartet in G minor is a work characterized by important dichotomies. Written in 1893, the piece is permeated by harmonic and formal elements attached to the tonal tradition and to the end of the 19th century, and specially to the composer César Franck. At the same time, the Quartet uses procedures observed only in Debussy\'s mature works, in which the presence of tonalism is weak, and analyses that rely exclusively on tonal elements are proven to have little efficiency regarding this piece. The relation between tradition and innovation is examined in this research, which focuses on two related characteristics: the way in which Debussy uses repeated elements in this piece, a matter also examined by Sylveline Bourion, and aspects related to the kinetic form described by Richard Parks. A comparison between the Quartet\'s first movement and the first movement from the Sonata for flute, viola and harp, composed at the end of Debussy\'s career, is useful for observing similar formal elements applied in different contexts.

O Quarteto de cordas em sol menor de Claude Debussy é uma obra marcada por importantes dicotomias. Composta em 1893, ela se encontra permeada de elementos harmônicos e formais ligados à tradição tonal e ao final do século XIX, particularmente ao compositor César Franck. Ao mesmo tempo, a peça utiliza procedimentos que são observados apenas em obras maduras do compositor, nas quais o tonalismo se encontra pouco presente, e análises que dependam exclusivamente de elementos tonais mostramse pouco eficientes para o Quarteto. Essa relação entre tradição e inovação é investigada nesta pesquisa, que traz como enfoque duas características diretamente relacionadas: a maneira como Debussy utiliza elementos repetidos nesta peça, assunto pesquisado por Sylveline Bourion, e aspectos relativos à forma cinética, elemento descrito por Richard Parks. Uma comparação entre o primeiro movimento do Quarteto e o primeiro movimento da Sonata para flauta, viola e harpa, peça do final da carreira de Debussy, é oportuna para que sejam observados elementos formais semelhantes aplicados em contextos diferentes. / Claude Debussy\'s String quartet in G minor is a work characterized by important dichotomies. Written in 1893, the piece is permeated by harmonic and formal elements attached to the tonal tradition and to the end of the 19th century, and specially to the composer César Franck. At the same time, the Quartet uses procedures observed only in Debussy\'s mature works, in which the presence of tonalism is weak, and analyses that rely exclusively on tonal elements are proven to have little efficiency regarding this piece. The relation between tradition and innovation is examined in this research, which focuses on two related characteristics: the way in which Debussy uses repeated elements in this piece, a matter also examined by Sylveline Bourion, and aspects related to the kinetic form described by Richard Parks. A comparison between the Quartet\'s first movement and the first movement from the Sonata for flute, viola and harp, composed at the end of Debussy\'s career, is useful for observing similar formal elements applied in different contexts.

Les recherches entreprises sur Olivier Messiaen présentent encore de nombreuses lacunes bien que cet artiste figure parmi les compositeurs les plus connus et les plus influents du XXe siècle. Puisant à des sources primaires négligées dans les Archives nationales, la Médiathèque du CNSMDP, la fondation Sacher et des collections privées, cette thèse se penche sur trois aspects mal connus de cette figure phare de la modernité : la formation musicale de Messiaen au Conservatoire national de Paris pendant les années 1920 et les liens de sa musique avec les traditions pédagogiques de cet établissement, le développement de sa technique d’emprunt, de transformation et de juxtaposition des musiques préexistantes dans son œuvre pendant les années 1930 et 1940 et, enfin, ses expériences dans les domaines de la musique microtonale et de la musique concrète. Ce travail met en évidence plusieurs œuvres oubliées du compositeur et reconsidère notre compréhension de sa manière de composer. / Despite his place of privilege among the best-known and most influential composers of the twentieth century, the state of current research on Olivier Messiaen leaves much room for development. This study focuses on three understudied aspects of this major modern figure drawing from neglected primary sources in the French National Archives, the Mediathèque of the Paris Conservatory, the Sacher Stiftung, and private collections, notably 1º Messiaen’s eductation at the Paris Conservatory during the 1920s and the relationship of his music to the institutions pedagogical traditions, 2º the development of Messiaen’s technique of borrowing, transforming and juxtaposing pre-existing music in his compositions during the 1930s and 1940s, and finally, 3º Messiaen’s experimentation in the domains of microtonal music and musique concrète. The current study brings to light many of the composer’s forgotten or lesser-known works and reconsiders our understanding of how he composed.

Plus connu comme ethnologue que comme musicologue, André Schaeffner (1895-1980) a adopté, dans ses travaux sur la musique savante, une position contraire à un type de critique prétendument « objective », qui se voudrait neutre face à l’œuvre d’art. Il y revendique le droit à une « critique d’admiration », ne cachant pas ses préférences personnelles. La démarche de Schaeffner se caractérise par l’absence d’une « vision téléologique de l’histoire de la musique » ou de tout esprit de système, et par l’importance accordée à la mise en perspective historique et esthétique, à la contextualisation de l’œuvre du compositeur. Cette vision de la critique a été fréquemment dénoncée comme péchant par l’absence de tout jugement. En reconstruisant l’ensemble des circonstances qui entourent les événements auxquels il s’intéresse, en collectant et en soumettant à un examen attentif les documents qui y ont trait, Schaeffner remet en question des idées reçues, des clichés autour desquels flotte une trompeuse aura de légitimité. Cette thèse montre, en s’appuyant sur de nombreux documents – textes publiés ou restés inédits, notes de travail, riche correspondance –, comment Schaeffner a mené ce type d’étude critique à propos de l’œuvre de deux musiciens auxquels il a voué un intérêt passionné, l’un disparu : Claude Debussy, l’autre vivant et qu’il a pu côtoyer : Igor Stravinsky, ainsi que la manière dont on a accueilli ses travaux de son vivant, et leur validité aujourd’hui. / André Schaeffner (1895-1980), better known as ethnologist than for his musicological activity, in his works concerning classical music embraces a position against the kind of critique that claims to be “objective” or neutral towards the artwork. He makes a plea for a “critique of admiration” that takes sides and displays one’s preferences. His writings pay no heed to a teleological or systematic approach of the history of music. Instead, he puts the composer’s work in perspective, reconstructing its historical and aesthetic background. Many condemned this kind of approach as lacking any judgement criterion. Nevertheless, thanks to his study of the circumstances in which a composer’s works were created, Schaeffner was able to call into question common and supposedly true preconceptions and stereotypes. Based on a study of several documents – both published and unpublished texts, drafts, rich correspondence – this thesis shows how Schaeffner carried out this kind of critique, especially in his writings concerning two composers that he fervently admired: the deceased Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky, still alive at that time and with whom Schaeffner was acquainted; as well as how Schaeffner’s theories were received upon publication and what their validity is nowadays.

Detta konstnärliga examensarbete är ett försök att nå en fördjupad förståelse för pianostycket L’Isle joyeuse L.106 komponerat av Claude Debussy år 1904, i syfte att se hur den kunskapen kan sättas i relation till min musikaliska gestaltning av musiken. Till bakgrunden hör att stycket är förmodat inspirerat av 1700-talskonstnären Antoine Watteaus målning Le Pèlerinage à l’île de Cythère. Målningen föreställande kärlekspar på väg till eller från kärleksgudinnan Afrodites födelseö Kythera kan sättas i relation till att Debussy komponerade stycket under en vistelse på ön Jersey dit han reste med sin kärlek Emma Bardac. I bakgrunden tar jag upp historia både kring Debussys liv men även om tavlan och de stildrag i Watteaus måleri som jag tror kan ha varit en källa till inspiration för Debussy. Jag gör därtill en analys av stycket, mestadels utifrån mina egna tolkningar och associationer vid studerandet av den musikaliska texten men även till viss del med hjälp av litteratur om ämnet. I Watteaus måleri finns en atmosfär av elegans, glädje och lätthet som jag även finner i Debussys komposition och min analys av stycket leder fram till flera associationer kopplade till vatten, hav och lycka. Studien kan inte ge några konkreta svar på exakt vad Debussy ville när han komponerade musiken men kan fungera som utgångspunkt till inspiration för en pianist som planerar att spela verket. / This artistic thesis is an attempt to reach a deeper understanding of the piano piece L'Isle joyeuse L.106, composed by Claude Debussy in 1904, with the aim of seeing how that knowledge can be put in relation to my interpretation of the music. The piece is supposedly inspired by the 18th century artist Antoine Watteau's painting Le Pèlerinage à l'île de Cythère, which depicts several couples on their way to or from the birthplace of Aphrodite, the Island of Kythera. This can be put in relation to the fact that Debussy composed the piece during a stay on the island of Jersey where he traveled with his love Emma Bardac. In the thesis I present the historical background, both about Debussy's life but also about the painting and the stylistic features in Watteau's art that I believe may have been a source of inspiration for Debussy. I also do an analysis of the piece, mostly based on my own interpretation and associations when studying the musical text, but also to some extent with the help of literature on the subject. In Watteau's painting there is an atmosphere of elegance, joy and lightness that I also find in Debussy's composition and my analysis of the piece leads to several associations linked to water, sea and happiness. The study cannot provide any concrete answers to exactly what Debussy wanted when he composed the music but it can serve as a starting point for inspiration for a pianist who plans to play the work. / <p>Franz Schubert - Impromptu i f-moll, Op. 142 D. 935, No. 1 </p><p>Joseph Haydn - Pianosonat i Eb-dur, Hob. XVI 49 </p><p>Claude Debussy - Ur preludier bok 1 L. 117, No. 5 ”Les Collines d’Anacapri” </p><p>Claude Debussy - Ur preludier bok 2 L.123, No. 10 ”Canope”</p><p>Claude Debussy - L’isle joyeuse, L. 106 </p><p> </p>

It is not by accident that virtually every important study of Debussy's life or works (including the recent and definitive biography by Edward Lockspeiser) has been made from a psychological viewpoint. The peculiar nature of the composer's art, resulting from his intimate ties with the French symbolist poets and his contacts with many other extra-musical influences, makes such an approach not only advantageous, but necessary. In this brief study of Pelleas et Melisande, the composer's only completed music drama, an attempt will be made to trace these many and varied influences, correlate them with the composer's musical style, and thus arrive at a deeper understanding of the nature of this remarkable work, along with its place in the history of the music drama. The actual study of the structure of the opera will give equal consideration to both the literary and the musical elements. As the unique quality of this work is grasped, the justification of such an approach will perhaps be verified.

Diss.--Philosophie--New Brunswick, N.J.--State univ., 1997. / Bibliogr. p. 185-191.