MUSL-3100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Octatonic Scale, Leading-Tone, Nuages
6 Apr 2016
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Debussy rejected the label impressionist and often described his music in visual terms to recall the techniques of the impressionists. The goal was to reveal the depth of experience accessible through close attention to the most mundane objects. In similar ways, debussy"s approach allows us to hear familiar intervals and chords as if for the very first time. Nuages (clouds) is a play of musical images, each characterized by instrumental color, motive, pitch collection, rhythm and register. In the program for the piece premiere, debussy wrote that he sought to capture the unchanging appearance of the sky with the slow and melancholy progress of the clouds, ending in a grey dissolution gently tinged with white". Know some general info on the symbolist poets and how their ideas influenced. Debussy"s focus on the sound and expressive effect of melody and harmony can be compared to the approach of words taken by symbolist poets.
