DQ for Watkins, 116-29 (grad students: also read .pdf, Scott “Orientalism and Musical Style”)

DQ for Watkins, 116-29 (grad students: find the pdf for Derek Scott’s “Orientalism and Musical Style” and read the last, summary section pp326 & ff; be prepared to provide insights regarding Scott’s take on “orientalism” as part of our larger discussion of exoticism)

Please be prepared to respond in either seminar meeting or in "Comments" on the course blog. In all venues, you must be prepared to cite specific passages (by page, paragraph, line, and quotation) in support of your responses—and specific works.

This section explores the impact of both the musical and associative sources which European composers found in “exotic” cultures—cultures of “the Other.” Recall our conversation about this in seminar: the ways in which various “othernesses” were mapped-onto topics, musics, and peoples from outside the European classical-music orbit. Be prepared to link and contrast exoticism, 20^th-century nationalism, primitivism, and the respective motivations impacting each.

(1) In his opening section, Watkins identifies a long-standing fascination on the part of European composers with various “Eastern” influences. From what combinations of historical and cultural encounters does pre-20^th-century exoticism arise, and in what ways do the 20^th-century versions of the phenomenon repeat or contrast those earlier versions? What might account for these contrasts? What aspects of 20^th-century composers’ experiences transformed the “exotic” resources available to them?

(2) Note on pp116-17 the Saint-Saens prediction that, as a result of these “eastern” encounters,” “harmony and rhythm were bound to change.” Why were they so bound? What types of changes might have been anticipated from these encounters? Crucial question: why might these “eastern resources” have struck European composers, at this particular historical junction, as particularly timely or useful?

(3) There are interconnections in this period between certain musical epicenters, and performing and compositional communities; these can be discovered through a consideration of the biographies and communications between members of these communities. What were those epicenters, and, importantly, how can we discover philosophical and stylistic continuities across wide geographies? How would these interactions shape musical style in the ‘Teens and ‘Twenties?

(4) Similar to (3) above: there is a musical/historical “nexus” in this period between various forms of nationalism, antiquarianism, folklorism, primitivism, and so on. Be prepared to cite specific composers and/or works which display contrasting combinations of these influences. Out of these influences, who wrote how? Why?

(5) What is the significance of Paris, in the pre-WWI era?

(6) Which “exotic” cultures were borrowed for which pieces by which composers, with which sorts of musical or philosophical motives? Cite pieces, discuss style, seek to relate motives and results.

(7) Read closely the discussion on pp121-23, specifically investigating the influences (both musical and, more importantly, in the realm of ideas) of various cultures upon specific works of Debussy. What did Debussy specifically find in specific cultures? Paralleling (2) above, what aspects of these cultural musics might have struck Debussy as particularly timely or useful?

(8) Read the section on Ravel’s Scheherazade (123-27) and be prepared to articulate a thesis which links Wagnerian romanticism, eastern exoticism, and Ravel’s own prior influences. How did Ravel locate common inspirations in these remarkably different resources? Specific adjectival description is apt and called-for here. [Grad students: this is the place to provide insights from your reading of the “Orientalism” article.]

(9) p127, 2^nd full paragraph (“While the heyday of Exoticism…”) is a very concise and articulate summary of a very complex shift of historical perspectives—and in my opinion it is almost too concise: so many factors come together in Watkins’s model that we need to unpack them. Be prepared to lead the class in a discussion, accomplishing that, and unpacking this paragraph.

Breeze slideshow on Wozzeck

On WebCT, see "Materials - Week05 - Links - Breeze" for a slideshow on Berg's Wozzeck, including Watkins citations, diagrams, questions for consideration, etc. Read Watkins on Wozzeck (357-71) and then view/listen to this slideshow.

A bit more for grad students

Please find, on WebCT under "Materials - Week 05 - Links", a pdf article from 1918 containing Debussy's mocking fictional "interview" with a critic called M. Croche. Read for next class meeting and be prepared to summarize the artistic philosophy that Debussy puts into the mouth of this fictional character. In other words, what can we infer about Debussy's own artistic credo based upon his fictional interview? And what is the significance of the style and mode in which he chooses to present these opinions?

DQ for Watkins, 104-114 (grad students: please add 157-68)

DQ for Watkins, 104-114 (grad students: please add 157-68 and be prepared to describe their contents to the rest of the class in terms of the music of Kandinsky, Schoenberg, and Skriabin)

Please be prepared to respond in either seminar meeting or in "Comments" on the course blog. In all venues, you must be prepared to cite specific passages (by page, paragraph, line, and quotation) in support of your responses—and specific works.

This section seeks to “separate” Ravel from Debussy and to recognize that each of the two most influential “Impressionist” composers in fact occupied their own individual compositional spaces, orbits, and spheres of influence.* It suggests that Ravel, while responding to some of the same stimuli (or, to use the terminology of the Syllabus, some of the same “problems”), took quite different and in ways much more diverse strategies than did Debussy in response. It is also important to recognize that because Debussy died in 1917 and Ravel lived until the mid-30s, it is logical to see later and more contemporary musical issues appear in Ravel’s later music.

(1) Watkins makes several references (first on p104) to “cyclic” structures in Ravel’s music. What does Watkins mean by this? In what musical parameters (e.g., which SHMRG characteristics) does he identify a “cyclic” quality: form, rhythm, scales, melodic shapes, other, all of these? What might be the motivations and the implications of this “cyclic” usage?

(2) Also on p104 Watkins cites the “Neo-classicism” (discussed in future) implicit not only in the Tombeau de Couperin but also much earlier in the Sonatine (1903-05). Specifically, he mentions issues of “formalities” and “texture”. What are the “formalities” associated with these works and/or with neo-classicism? The “textures”? Be prepared to link the textures implied and described in these pieces with other works by composers outside the French orbit, and to articulate a reason for these particular textural concerns at this particular time.

(3) On pp105 & ff, Watkins describes a series of commonalities, shared interests, or even shared texts, between French and German composers of this period. How could we summarize these shared ideas and influences, in, say 25 words or less? (E.g., “Schoenberg, Berg, and Ravel—three composers of differing compositional and national background, shared an interest in this period with the works of [X], the general fin-de-siecle interest in [Y], and the specific texts of the poems [Z, 1 and 2].”

(4) Watkins cites Bertrand (poet) and his disciples as a strong influence upon various French artists and composers. Be prepared to provide a 10-15 word summary of the “nature” or “affect” of Bertrand’s work, and relate it to at least 3 pieces, 1 cited by Watkins and at least two more not cited by Watkins. In other words: identify thhe nature of Bertrand’s artistic vision and demonstrate its influence (direct or indirect) upon at least 3 specific compositions. [Grad students: try reading the French texts aloud: if a crucial element of Symbolist poetry is its sound, you should familiarize yourself with that sound.]

(5) On the bottom of p107, Watkins cites Messiaen’s term “personnage rhythmique” to describe an 8^th-note rhythm group [1+2,1+2+2]. What is/are the immediate impacts of a rhythm like this: upon phrase structure, upon accompaniment patterns, upon motivic organization? What is the relationship between “cyclic” form, personnage rhythmique, palindrome, and other quasi-symmetrical organizations? Why might composers in this period have chosen to prioritize these types of organization? What are the practical and the “affective” (interpretive/subjective) results of such organizations?

(6) p108 top: note the cited interest in bells in this period, as not only symbol (they recur throughout expressionist works) but also as sound-source: the very different composers (among others) Varese and Ives both experimented with bell-sounds or bell-imitations. Why might such sounds have provoked interest: compositionally? Sonically? Programmatically?

(7) Note (pp110 & ff) the discussion and the stylistic implications of the following strategies: new, altered, or synthetic scales; extended techniques, especially for the voice; an interest in composition organized around “shapes” (defined very broadly). Be prepared to articulate a thesis that relates these factors to issues of program and expression.

(8) p112: note the interplay between the following factors: symmetry; modality; harmonic and formal implications of both. Why are composers interested in these strategies at this time? How does they serve program? How does they relate to trends in other art forms? Cite specific passages in specific works, whether mentioned by Watkins or not.

(9) pp113-114: historically/stereotypically expressionism and exoticism have tended to be understood separately and in a not-particularly-related way. Watkins seeks to demonstrate relationships and shared influences and modes of expression between them. Summarize these, cite specific works that exemplify the relationships, and relate to specific stylistic results.

*The term “Impressionist” is placed in double-quotes because, as we shall see in discussion, it is a widely-misunderstood and mis-applied term, and requires “complication” and clear usage.

DQ for Watkins, 64-95

DQ for Watkins, 64-95 (grad students: please continue reading through p103)

Please be prepared to respond in either seminar meeting or in "Comments" on the course blog. In all venues, you must be prepared to cite specific passages (by page, paragraph, line, and quotation) in support of your responses—and specific works.

This section seeks to place Debussy in his time, place, and compositional context, and to address the ways in which Debussy’s resources as a late-19^th century composer both paralleled and also contrasted those of the Viennese composers we have previously looked at. In this particular section, I will suggest some additional ideas, resources, and motives, beyond those Watkins provides—so please read carefully and think hard about the questions I pose.

(1) The first and most obvious question: why does Watkins choose to address Debussy here in the text, having just closed a discussion of the 2^nd Viennese school? To do this requires him to jump back in time, to investigate a composer whose years of active composition began in the 1880s and ended with his death in 1917. It would seem on the surface that Watkins is addressing Debussy in an illogical sequence; please articulate a convincing argument in favor of the sequence Watkins uses. What does this tell us about Watkins’s own model of musical history in the 20^th century?

(2) Throughout this chapter, certain musical characteristics in Debussy are described as being reflective of and dependent upon a certain set of aesthetic models and goals. What are these aesthetic models and goals, from what other sources (particularly what other art forms) does Debussy draw them, and how do they play out in specific SHMRG musical characteristics? NOTE: this is a very broad question demanding both an articulate thesis and detailed discussion of examples. In responding to this (on the blog, in class, or in an examination), do not simply settle for broad, general, unspecific, or vague statements: be specific, articulate a specific thesis, and provide specific concrete examples.

(3) Provide, in your own words, a concrete and specific definition of Symbolist poetry’s goals and techniques. In turn, link your definition to specific characteristics in specific works of composers influenced by Symbolist poetry. Include discussion of at least one work by Debussy and one work by each of two other composers.

(4) A more deductive and inductive question: what are the root causes of the Symbolist movement in literature? In music? Why now, at this time, in this particular geographical part of the world, were Symbolist aesthetics and techniques seen as a “new way forward”? Again, be specific, relate poetry to music, and provide examples from specific pieces.

(5) Similar to (4) above: what is the role of Richard Wagner’s music in all this? Of his artistic philosophy? Of the Wagner “cult” that enveloped European (not just German) arts (not just music) culture by the end of the 19^th century? Cite at least three composers, each of different nationality, and using specific pieces, who were affected by Wagner, and describe ways in which each composer sought to “break free” of this early influence?

(6) Beyond the obvious connection with Symbolist poetry (and the frequent choice by French composers of the period to set this poetry to music), what is the significance of text in these works of Debussy? What compositional factors might drive the choice of texts, or the choice whether to include text at all? Explain and cite examples.

(7) On pp69-70 Watkins cites the influence of Satie upon Debussy, and particularly of Satie’s interest in (a) old French music and (b) popular or “café” music of the period. He also (c) describes Satie’s apparently-intentional naiveté in saying that “nothing could be simpler” than to translate Impressionist painting techniques to music. We will speak about (b) in class, but in understanding (a), you need to understand why old French music might have seemed an attractive source for new compositional ideas. Undergrads: be prepared to articulate the motive behind this borrowing from old French music. Grad students: begin from the indicated section of this Wikipedia article on Rosicrucianism and then quickly “read for musicological content” the JSTOR article “Erik Satie and Vincent Hyspa: Notes on a Collaboration.” Be prepared to share insights from these with the class as a whole.

(8) Be prepared to summarize Watkins’s insights about the Prelude a “L’apres-midi d’un faune, paying particular attention to (a) Debussy’s musical language and the question of whether that language is more concerned with “mood” or with “text”; (b) considerations of formal organization in Debussy’s “post-functional” harmonic world. Articulate and cite passages supporting your summary.

(9) See Watkins’s detailed discussion of this piece and transcription of large chunks of its libretto (pp75 & ff). Why does Watkins choose to function on this work, which is relatively anomalous in Debussy’s catalog (his only completed opera), not widely played in the repertory, and typically not used as an example of Debussy’s “quintessential style”?