ART APPRECIATION

Impqessionism i

ATUL ANAND JHA B.Arch. II (B)

Impqessionism in music
was tendency in Euqopean classical music, mainly in Fqance, which appeaqed in the late nineteenth centuqy and continued into the middle of the twentieth centuqy. Similaqly to its pqecuqsoq in the visual aqts, Musical impressionism occurred as a reaction Impressionist music musical to the excesses of impqessionism the Romantic era. While the focuses on a suggestion and an atmospheqe qatheq Reaction to 19th earlier era was characterized by a dramatic use Stylistic origins century than on a scale stqong of the major and minor systems, emotion oq the Romanticism depiction of to a impressionist music tended make stoqy. more use
of dissonance. Rather uncommon scales such as whole tone scale are also typical for this movement. Cultural origins Typical instruments Late 19th century in Paris, France Woodwind, strings, harp, piano, small chamber ensembles ca. 1875 to 1925

Romantic composers were using long forms of music, e.g. symphony and concerto, while impressionist composers were favoring short forms such as nocturne, arabesque and prelude.

Mainstream popularity

 Musical impressionism was based in France by the French composer Claude Debussy. He and Maurice Ravel were generally considered to be the two "great" impressionists.

Claude Debussy
August 22, 1862 March 25, 1918 French composer Music was not centered around one tone or pitch, he used symbolism Used many parallel chords and unprepared modulations Music was usually about events that occurred in his life Clair de Lune was one of his most famous works

Maurice Ravel
March 7, 1875 December 28, 1937 French composer Influenced by Claude Debussy Known for his melodies, orchestral, and instrumental textures and effects His music is found a lot in concert repertoire, also widely known for his orchestra pieces His piece Miroirs (Mirrors) was a five piano piece was a harmonic revolution

Pqominent Musical Chaqacteqistics:

Modal Influences: The medieval modes were attractive to composers who sought to escape the "tyranny" of the major/minor sound. Emphasized were primary intervals -- octaves, fourths, and fifths -in parallel motion. This resembled a medieval procedure known as "organum", where a melody was harmonized by another which ran parallel to it at a distance of a fourth or fifth.
Whole-Tone Scale: Claude Debussy heard the musicians of the Far East (Java, Bali, and Indo-China). He was fascinated by the music of the native orchestra, the gamelan, with percussive rhythms and bewitching instrumental colors. The music of the Far East makes use of certain scales, which divide the octave into equal major/minor system and leads to obscured fluidity. Pentatonic Scale: The pentatonic (five-note) scale is sounded when the black yes of the piano are struck (or also C, D, F, G and A). This scale is popularly associated with Chinese music, but is even more familiar to us through Scottish, Irish and English folk tunes ("Auld Lang Syne" and "Comin' Through the Rye"). Impressionist Harmony: Impressionist composers regarded the chord as an entity by itself, a "thrill" that hit the ear with a style all its own. Impressionism released the chord from its function as harmony to movement within the melody. Parallel Motion: In Classicism, tension was produced by moving voices in a contrary fashion. Impressionism, on the other hand, vied chords as melodic entities. This, it was "proper to move voices in a parallel fashion (this was "forbidden" in the Classical era). Escaped Chords: These were harmonies which gave the impression of having "escaped" to another tonality. Such chords are neither prepared for, nor are they resolved in any traditional sense. They simply

 Musical impressionism is closely related to the superior value of impressionist painting: placing the colour factor to the foreground strongly influenced the shaping of new sound effects. These effects include long, atypical chords, the fast movement of sounds in the piano dynamic, the exploration of interesting timbres of an instrument and specific articulation. On the scope of the form of pieces of music impressionist composers enriched the way of creating musical works.

Since music is essentially an abstract art, it was ideal in projecting Impressionism's vague images. The Impressionist composers had two favorite mediums: the orchestra (because of its variety of color) and the piano (because its damper pedal permitted vibrating harmonies to "suspend in mid-air").

In the majority of cases the form was a one-time idea for putting in the kind of order 'the fantasy of sound'.
Glimmering sound has become the main feature of impressionist music. It is conventionally called 'a timbre spot'. This phenomenon is connected with harmonic experiments and with the new meaning of piece's melodics. Precedence of timbre creates the melody from the mixture of accords' timbre and figurations rather than from the clear outline of the theme.

Descriptive titles as "Reflections on the Water", "The Snow is Dancing", "Sounds and perfumes Swirl in the Evening Air", reveal composers as poets and painters in addition to being musicians.

It comes that sometimes the melody disappears and only few bizarre accords reads. Impressionist harmonic is also about using pentatonic scale, whole-tone scale and modal modes.

Sensitization for the quality of the sounds influenced exposing the subtle dynamic effects e.g. the variety hues of piano (p, pp, ppp, pppp) which were often complemented by additional written notes. Debussy has implemented the French definitions that suggest sensual experiences, such as 'similarly to the flute', 'from the distance', 'like a rainbow fog' and many others. Titles referring to the poetic pieces help listeners to trigger of a wide range of emotions connected with the music. The most popular subjects for titles are e.g.: the rain, the play of the sea waves, unimaginative moon landscapes and other natural phenomena. Impressionism is usually connected with the term sensualism.

There was little room in Impressionism for the "heavenstorming" climaxes of Romanticism. Instead, there is a veiling of sonority and delicate texture. Impressionism is "opalescent" and "transparent", shimmering from time to time with showers of sound. Within the orchestra, flutes and clarinets are used in their dark lower registers. Violins reach for upper sonorities while trumpets and horns are muted. There is much use of the harp, celeste, triangle, glockenspiel and cymbal (usually brushed with a drumstick).

References
Tsai, Shengdar. Impressionistic Influences in the Music of Claude Debussy Adriano, Ernest Fanelli (1860-1917), Symphonic Pictures, Marco Polo, p.1-4 The Columbia Encyclopedia: "Impressionism, in music": 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press