What makes up the content of Impressionist music?
Impressionist music contains evocative title. It emerged as a result of the introduction of impressionism within the visual arts thus leading to analogous movements that became the impressionist music. The contents of impressionist music are not based on color alone, but also features elements such as ambiguous tonality, use of modes, recent chord combinations, exotic scales, extra-musicality and parallel motions.
How does Debussy employ this content in Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun?
Debussy’s composition of “The Afternoon of a Faun” opens up with a flute. Chromatic descent plays part in the music following an original pitch and the after-ascent. The work by Debussy is characterized by cor anglaise, three flutes two bassoons, two harps, four horns, two clarinets, strings and two crotales. Eroticism is evoked in the music because of the layered orchestration and mediated melody. The Prelude at the first observation seems improvisational. Nonetheless, the piece comprises of complex organization of motifs carefully formed, and musical cells. Moreover, Debussy employs harmonic fluidity, extended scale runs without a large time span on the modulations between the tritones and central keys in both the harmony and melody. Debussy brings in shading and voicings in the orchestra to a greater degree, ensuring that the major melodic cell is transferred from the solo flute and back, then other two unison flutes creating the melodic atmosphere. Moreover, the melodic cells come in handy within the legato strings while the violas convey the soprano section on top of the alto violins.
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Similar kinds of connections between the content of visual art and music in other styles we have explored- for example, Renaissance, Romantic, and Classical.
Renaissance era (15th-16th century) is traced also through the different arts and learning. It contained sustaining expressions. Classical era (1750-1820) was based on the instrumentals than the vocals similar to the contents of the impressionist music. Sonato form founded the symphonies, string quartets, concertos and sonatos. Romantic era (1820-1910) used the notes used to paint the impressions and thus the composers created more rhythms and harmony. connections between the content of visual art and music in other styles.
