More than Music

Lucy Walker

Column II: First Impressions

Time period: Late 19th - Early 20th Century

Culture in focus: Music and Fine Art

Music in focus: Debussy, “Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune”

Playlist: ‘First Impressions’ 

Argenteuil (outskirts of Paris), 1872: Claude Monet completed his now-famous painting, entitled: Impression, Sunrise

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The title of this painting is the origin of the label ‘Impressionist’, a term ascribed to a style of French painting from the late 19th century. Though Monet was by no means the inventor of Impressionist painting, he is the artist most widely associated with the style nowadays. Impressionism in art is characterised by vibrant, exaggerated colours, bold brush strokes, and a focus on the play of light, all with an air of vagueness rather than a lifelike portrayal of the painting’s subject. These subjects tend to be moments, or natural phenomena, rather than people or objects. This is exemplified in ‘Impression: Sunrise’; the dawn rays dappled on the lagoon are captured effortlessly rather than photorealistically, with unconventional, but effective colour schemes. By offering a hint, or impression, rather than a realistic image, Impressionist painters drew attention to a seemingly casual, spontaneous method which some say mirrored the laid-back Parisian lifestyle ideals of the time. 

Claude Monet, The Japanese Footbridge and the Water Lily Pond

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Impressionism translated into music around the turn of the century and adopted the approach of ephemerality rather than realism; the (largely) natural, peaceful subject matter was transcribed via descriptive titles. This is more difficult to conceptualise in music than in art; characteristics of Impressionist music include harmonies, chosen for their sounds rather than their function, that produce evocative natural and exotic soundworlds. Some argue the musical movement was a reaction to fin-de-siècle Germancentric maximalist music, as Impressionism nurtures individual musical moments rather than teleological structures. For the listener, Impressionism  strove to induce a feeling of detached observation rather than ones of progression and investment.

In some ways, the painting and musical methods can be compared: parallel motion creates the aural equivalent of sweeping strokes and isolated chords evoke the dabbing of a brush. ‘Tone colour’ is a term often applied to Impressionist music, a further connection to its visual counterpart. 

Impressionism’s musical pioneer, Debussy, ironically disliked the term; he preferred to liken his artistic attitude to the Symbolist poets – who disrupted syntactic function for expressive effect – just as he did with functional harmony. In fact, Debussy’s Impressionist masterpiece, “Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune”, is inspired by a poem of the same title by Symbolist poet, Mallarmé. 

The “Prelude” begins with a solo flute, evoking the myth of Pan, whilst the horn calls and harp glissandos contribute to the magical woodland scene setting. Listen here!

Another example of Impressionist musical style is Debussy’s piano piece, “Reflets dans l’eau”, which features cascading waterfall-like runs (1’20’’) and ends with gentle octaves that symbolise droplets. Listen here!

Approaching harmony in this new way, often using unexpected and unresolved chords, was liberating and creates an other-worldly atmosphere. Debussy was also influenced by the Javanese Gamelan orchestra and frequently used non-Western scales, enhancing the distinct other-worldliness of his music due to its unfamiliar heritage.

As well as fine art, the Impressionist movement relied on technology. Technical advances on the piano, such as a steel frame to increase the string tension, allowed composers to explore new sounds and tone colours that were previously unavailable.  

Debussy once said: ‘There is no theory. You merely have to listen. Pleasure is the law’, which seems to allude to the decadent Parisian quotidienne, just like the attitude of the painters of the previous generation. Simultaneously, his prioritisation of listening over ‘theory’ shows his intuitive approach to composing.  

To summarise, the distinctive sound of Impressionism derives from composers exploring soundworlds rather than linear progressions. Like the painters and Symbolist poets, Impressionist musicians focussed on a present moment and prioritised the real-time experiences and emotions of both the composer and listener,  providing the potential for a sensory escape from artistically and politically problematic surroundings. 

GLOSSARY

Harmonic function – resolution-oriented harmonic progressions where chords have a specific role within the progression.

Javanese Gamelan orchestra – a traditional ensemble from Indonesia, largely made up of percussion instruments, tuned to a unique scale which uses intervals that differ from the semitone and tone divisions of the traditional Western note.

Maximalist – large-scale, typically German, music of the late 19th century, usually very lengthy works with unusually large orchestration, such as Mahler Symphonies.

Non-Western scales – scales other than major or minor, for example pentatonic (consisting of only 5 notes). 

Pan – the spirit or god of the wild in traditional mythology. 

Parallel Motion – when chords or musical parts move in the same direction at the same pace. This is usually considered poor technique in functional harmony, but can create special sound effects.

Soundworlds – using instrumental sounds to evoke a particular scene or atmosphere.

Teleological – striving for a resolution or goal.

Tone Colour – a term to describe the expressive sound or timbre of an instrument.