The incidental music for Chansons de Bilitis is little known and rarely performed. However, the relegation of this work to the realms of obscurity is highly unjustified. Chansons de Bilitis requires an unusual combination of instruments: two flutes, two harps, and celesta in addition to a reciter. The work is a theater piece in the tradition of melodrama, with spoken text and background music in alternation. Despite the rather unique nature of the work, many of the melodic, textural, and orchestrational devices for which Debussy is noted are evident. The music is throughcomposed; each movement mirrors and emphasizes the meaning and mood of the accompanying poem. Because of the fragmentary nature of the music and its rather subordinate role in the total theater work, the primary emphasis in gaining an appreciation of the value of the work lies in an investigation of its historical background.

This study seeks to discover the extent and manner of Debussy's use of the motive in thematic material. A total of 40 melodic examples were analyzed in order to show their relationship to a single motive, a three-note figure having a step-leap relationship. Using eighty-four series of examples, the study shows the melodies analyzed to be 85% motive-derived. The study concludes, therefore, that Images I is a remarkably economical work, using a single three-note motive as a unifying and developmental basis.

The purpose of this thesis is to discuss and give a descriptive analysis of twelve of the twenty-four preludes written by Claude Debussy. This paper also includes a brief history of preludes as well as possible influences upon Debussy and his compositions.

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This thesis proposes to determine the construction of the two string quartets and to reveal through the study of the quartets the similarities and contrasts of the creative musical characteristics of Debussy and Ravel.

This study has three purposes: first, to point out the stylistic elements of music that are present in the piano works of Debussy and Ravel; second, to determine how the composers have used these elements; and third, to discover the effects that have been achieved through individual uses of the elements.

The period between 1880 and 1885 was a significant time in Claude Debussy's life and compositional career. 1880 marks the date of his first published composition, "Nuit d'étoiles," and 1885 is the year in which he began his two-year tenure in Rome after winning the coveted Prix de Rome in 1884. During the intervening time Debussy composed about forty songs. Scholarly literature, especially analytical literature, tends to focus heavily on music in Debussy's mature style, often casting his early compositions in an unfavorable light. Writing on Debussy is scattered with references to the early songs but authors almost always situate them on one end of a continuum that shows an evolution of compositional style culminating in maturity. Such a view tends, if only tacitly, to regard early works as inferior instances of juvenilia rather than works worthy of study in their own right. In this dissertation I establish a foundation for regarding Debussy's early songs as significant compositions in their own right, independent from anachronistic comparisons with his more mature compositional style, and provide justification for considering the songs as a unified, identifiable repertoire within Debussy's larger œuvre. Using a modified Schenkerian analytical approach, I identify consistencies among the songs that give them an independent identity and provide support for their classification as an identifiable collection of works. I consider the songs within a proper historical narrative and in close association with poetry, French musical culture, and issues related to Debussy's biography. Furthermore, I delineate Debussy's compositional aesthetic in the early songs and examine his relationship to other notable contemporary composers of the mélodie, thus showing how his early style emerged from the tradition of the mélodie, how he participated in late-nineteenth century art-song culture, and how he ultimately pushed the genre of the mélodie forward.

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In this dissertation thesis I focus on the overview of some outstanding international clarinet competitions, their repertory, and compositions written to order for the given competition. The itemization of compositions I enriched by the characteristics and analysis of some compositions focused on the difficulty and appearance of contemporary clarinet techniques. Last but not last, I write about the establishment, history, and point of each competition and their contribution to young talented musicians.