Music and Gesture: An Analysis of

Debussy’s Préludes Book 1

James O’Malley

Submitted in partial fulfilment of MA in Performance

and Musicology

NUI Maynooth, Music Department

Submitted: August 2013

Supervisor and Head of Department: Dr. Alison Hood

Table of Contents Preface ..................................................................................................................................... vi

Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................... v

List of Illustrations ................................................................................................................. vi

Chapter 1- Foundation of Gesture ................................................................................... 1

1.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1

1.1.1. What is a musical gesture? ................................................................................. 1

1.1.2. Origins of musical gesture .................................................................................. 2

1.2. Established theories- Hatten and Larson.................................................................... 5

1.2.1. Hatten’s definitions of musical gesture .............................................................. 5

1.2.1- Larson’s definitions of musical force ............................................................... 10

1.3. Choice of repertoire ................................................................................................. 13

1.3.1. Previous Debussyan analyses ........................................................................... 13

1.3.2. Debussy- applicability? .................................................................................... 14

Chapter 2- Existing Methodologies ................................................................................ 16

2.1. Scholars methods of analysis ................................................................................... 16

2.1.1. Hatten’s analyses .............................................................................................. 16

2.1.2. Larson’s analyses .............................................................................................. 18

2.1.3. Scott’s analysis ................................................................................................. 20

2.2. My altered form of these analyses ........................................................................... 24

2.2.1. Consolidated approach of Hatten and Larson................................................... 24

2.2.2. Performative considerations. ............................................................................ 25

Chapter 3- Analyses ........................................................................................................ 26

3.1. Analysis 1- Voiles and La fill aux cheveus de lin. .................................................. 26

3.2. Analysis 3- Danse de puck ....................................................................................... 31

3.3. Analysis 2- Des pas sur la neige. ............................................................................. 34

3.4. Analysis 4- Voiles, Le vent dans la plaine and Ce qu’a vu le vent d’Oeust ............ 43

Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 50

Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 51

Preface

My impetus for writing this thesis is twofold; I have always had a strong fascination and

love for the music of Claude Debussy. Upon commencing my MA in performance and

musicology there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to perform anything other than

his first book of preludes, such an inspiring, varied and colourful work was too much of a

challenge to avoid.

With regards my research I have always been drawn to the area of musical analysis,

in particular Schenkerian and forms of performative analysis. Thus I decided early on in my

study that a combination of my interest in Debussy and musical analysis was vital.

My research then led me to the concept of gesture and to the work of Robert Hatten. I

was immediately fascinated by this complex and philosophical area of music. Its intricate

grounding in subconscious human perception and emotion is particularly interesting. Thus I

present for you the result of my year’s research. Every effort has gone into making this study

both accessible yet probing. I have endeavoured at all times to use this research and analysis

to both deepen our understanding of Debussy’s glorious music while remembering that its

true beauty often lies in the mystery we can never quite understand. My only hope is that

you find this thesis illuminating and that it piques your interest in some part at least into this

captivating area of research.

v

Acknowledgments

Firstly to my supervisor Dr. Alison Hood, her unfailing willingness to help and guide is

surpassed only by her passion and knowledge of music. I am ever grateful for her

continued help.

To Dr. Cascelli and all staff of the department who have always done what they can during

my degree and my MA to instil an ambition to ever greater standards and a constant

pursuit of perfection that has become indicative of the music department in NUIM.

To my piano tutor Fionnuala who has constantly deepened my understanding and passion for

performance and the music of Debussy.

To Marie and all in the music department office, unfailingly helpful and always supportive.

Finally, to my friends and family, without whom none of this would have been possible.

They more than anyone have endured numerous rants and spellchecks and I am always

appreciative of their support.

vi

List of Illustrations

Chapter Illustration Page

Chapter 1 Table 1.1- Hatten’s definitions 5

Figure 1.1- Hallelujah figure 10

Table 1.2- Anchoring strength values 11

Chapter 2 Table 2.1- Hatten’s classes and functions of gestures 16

Fig. 2.1- Hatten analysis example 18

Fig. 2.2- Larson analysis example 19

Fig. 2.3- Larson voice exchange 20

Table 2.2- Scott truth table 21

Fig 2.4- Scott analytical tableaux 22

Chapter 3 Fig 3.1- Opening gestures of preludes II and VIII 26

Fig 3.2- Different key attacks for different tones 27

Fig 3.3- Opening two gestures of La fille 29

Fig 3.4- Opening two gestures of Voiles 29

Fig 3.5- Opening bars of prelude XI 31

Fig 3.6- Theme from L’isle Joyeuse 31

Fig 3.7- Fanfare gesture 32

Fig 3.8- Iterations of fanfare gesture 33-34

Fig 3.9- Act III scene ii, Pelléas 34

Fig 3.10- Opening bars of Des pas sure la neige 34

Table 3.1- Harmonisations of principle gesture 37

Table 3.2- Melodic modes used 40

Fig 3.11- First and second gestures of Des pas sur la neige 41

Fig 3.12- Return of melodic gesture in bar 20 42

Fig 3.13- Wind gesture in preludes II, III and VII 43

Fig 3.14- Bars 5-6 of Le vent dans la plaine 45

Fig 3.15- Bars 5-6 of Le vent from Durand (2007) edition 45

Fig 3.16- Gestural development in Le vent dans la plaine 46

Fig 3.17- Gestural similarities in preludes III and VII 47

Fig 3.18- Bars 15-16 of Ce qu’a vu 48

1

Chapter 1- Foundation of Gesture

1.1. Introduction

1.1.1. What is a musical gesture?

‘The musical gesture epitomizes human

expressivity. It represents an implied level

of communication, in which a musical

phrase signifies a gesture. In this way,

gesture becomes key to the understanding

of musical meaning’1

(Ole Kühl)

In their leading publication, Music and Gesture Elaine King and Anthony Gritten

have remarked that: ‘The study of music and gesture- of music as gesture, of Musical

Gesture – has come of age’2. Gesture is no longer understood as a simple wave of the hand,

nod of the head or flick of the baton. Contemporary research has come to recognise gesture

within a musical context, as a much more complex concept.

Robert Hatten readily defines gesture as ‘any energetic shaping through time that

may be interpreted as significant’3. Before we can delve into the world of gesture however

we must first understand the philosophy upon which it is based. Semiotics, the science of

how meanings become associated with material, is a widely interdisciplinary field of

research. When Pavlov’s dog salivated at the sound of the bell he was demonstrating the

same semiotic principles which cause musicians to tingle at the doors of their national

1 Ole Kühl, ‘The Semiotic Gesture’, in New Perspectives on Music and Gesture, ed. by Anthony Gritten and

Elaine King (Great Britain: Ashgate publishing ltd., 2011), pp. 123-131. 2 Anthony Gritten and Elaine King (ed.), Music and Gesture (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006), p.xix.

3 Robert Hatten, ‘A Theory of Musical Gesture and its Application to Beethoven and Schubert’, in Music and

Gesture, ed. by Anthony Gritten and Elaine King (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006), p.1.

2

concert hall. So too are we demonstrating semiotics when we perceive the soaring lines of

Debussy’s feux d’artifice as fireworks rocketing into the air, or indeed when we perceive any

physical motion in music. In philosophy and psychology we term these unperceived

combinations of numerous senses: gestalts. That is, ‘the perceptual experience depends on

the patterns formed by stimuli and on the organisation of experience’4, for example the

‘Doppler Effect’ is a perceived change in frequency which we equate with movement. So do

we perceive these aforementioned ‘overriding patterns’ in music? If so, how do we define

and analyse these patterns in order to deepen our understanding of music in general?

So we are led to the burning question; what is a musical gesture? In many ways this

question will not be answered for you entirely until the end of this thesis. The subject is too

broad and complex to be succinctly described by even a single definition. At the end of the

last paragraph I posed two fundamental questions. Luckily much more research and

discussion has focused on the former, some of which I will summarise in the next section.

Research regarding the latter has only begun to take shape and so will occupy the remainder

of our attention in this thesis.

1.1.2. Origins of musical gesture

As Hatten remarks ‘perhaps no other term has been used in a bewildering array of contexts

as the term gesture’5, therefore we must always remember the most important origin of

gesture, that is; ‘it is a deeply held musical intuition that is held by every musician and

listener’6. We must always remember the golden rule of musical analysis, one must trust

their ear, especially in a field as complex as gestural analysis there is an ever-present

temptation to over think and to run away with one’s suspicions. Thus I must posit here that

4 D. Massaro and G.R. Loftus, ‘Sensory storage: Icons and echoes’, in Handbook of perception and cognition,

10 vols (New York: Academic Press, 1996), p.8. 5 Robert Hatten, ‘A Theory of Musical Gesture and its Application to Beethoven and Schubert’, in Music and

Gesture, p.93. 6 Ibid, p.93.

3

the most fundamental origin of gesture is our own musical instinct and intuition. This is what

makes gesture so powerful but also so bewildering.

Igor Stravinsky once famously stated that ‘music is, by its very nature, powerless to

express anything at all’7. I think it is fairly obvious that I would not be conducting research

into the power of musical expression if I were to agree with this opinion. However I think it

is important to note it here in order to spark our thoughts on what exactly we mean by

musical expression. Is music in itself just a random collection of sounds, powerless to

express anything? Are all the meanings we gain from music merely an ‘illusion’8 created by

our own subjectivity? Whether or not these connections between music and meaning are a

consequence of nature or nurture is surely a topic for debate, however due to the prominence

of gestures throughout tonal music we come to freely associate them with certain feelings

and thoughts. In this way a gesture is separated from its origins and in many ways becomes,

inseparably, both the signifier and the signified9. I am of course in danger here of launching

into the most troublesome of philosophical debates; that regarding human perception.

Nonetheless, this is the foundation of music and gesture and I feel it is important to at least

stir up these questions in order to open our minds to the theories in the following chapters.

Central to our understanding of gesture in my view is its connection with language, a

point Hatten himself highlights as an ‘important area of research’10

. There is music in

language that many of us fail to note as we use it so often and unconsciously. Great public

speakers, voice actors and thespians are just some of the people who capitalise on these

verbal intricacies. From the subtle inflection that separates a statement from a question to the

cadence which marks the end of a point, or even the dynamics and tempo of speech can

7 Igor Stravinsky, Chronicle of My Life, translated from French (V. Gollancz, 1936), pp. 91-92.

8 Ibid, p.91.

9 Judith Williamson, Decoding Advertisments. Ideology and Meaning in Advertising (London and New York:

Marion Boyars, 1978), p.13. 10

Robert Hatten, ‘A Theory of Musical Gesture and its Application to Beethoven and Schubert’, in Music and

Gesture, p.104.

4

drastically alter our experience and perception just as they do in music. Ekman outlines five

principal categories: emblems, illustrators, manipulators, regulators and emotional

expressions11

. The scholar Deryck Cooke however discussed these points long before this. In

his publication of 1959, he notes that ‘composers have consciously or unconsciously used

music as a language from at least 1400 onwards- a language never formulated in a

dictionary, because it is incapable of such treatment’12

. Cooke uses the example of the two

note slur from a minor sixth to a major fifth of the scale which expresses anguish in such

pieces as Bach’s B minor mass or Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni where Anna expresses her

grief at her father’s death13

. Cooke’s point is remarkably similar to Hatten’s discussion of the

two note slur or sigh gesture as he terms it14

. Thus we can see the intuitive foundation for

musical gesture as borne from language.

Thus my goal here is to provide as clear an introduction to this field of research as

possible, to provide an introduction to research which I have discovered complements

gestural analysis and to accommodate all this study into an analysis of Debussy’s first book

of preludes.

11

Paul Ekman, ‘Emotional and Conversational nonverbal signs’, in Gesture, speech and sign, ed. by Lynn

S.Messing and Ruth Campbell (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), pp.45-55. 12

Deryck Cooke, The Language of Music (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), pp. 13-14. 13

Ibid, p. 14. 14

Robert Hatten, ‘A Theory of Musical Gesture and its Application to Beethoven and Schubert’, in Music and

Gesture, p.140.

5

1.2. Established theories- Hatten and Larson

1.2.1. Hatten’s definitions of musical gesture

As I have already mentioned a musical gesture is defined by Hatten as ‘any energetic

shaping through time that may be interpreted as significant’15

. Such a succinct definition

raises as many questions as it answers, Hatten does however present a more comprehensive

list of gestural characteristics in his own publication, Interpreting Musical Gesture, Topics

and Tropes: Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert. The complexity of the musical gesture is

highlighted by the fact that Hatten requires twelve definitions in order to adequately

articulate his point. These definitions along with my own interpretive summary are presented

in table format below.

Hatten’s Definitions Interpretations

1. Musical gestures are grounded in

human affect and its

communication- they are not merely

the physical actions involved in

producing a sound or a series of

sounds from a musical score, but the

characteristic shaping that give those

sounds expressive meaning.

The theory of musical gesture is heavily

grounded in semiotics. Gestures are not

simply the physical actions that produce

sound but the expressive meaning that an

observer attaches to those sounds.

15

Robert Hatten, ‘A Theory of Musical Gesture and its Application to Beethoven and Schubert’, in Music and

Gesture, p.1.

6

2. Musical gestures have meaning that

is both complex and immediate, and

often directly motivated by basic

human expressive moments. They

‘go beyond’ the score to embody the

intricate shaping and character of

movements that have direct

biological and social significance for

human beings.

Musical gestures are first and foremost

grounded in human perception and

expression. As such their true meaning

cannot be found in the notation.

3. Gestures may be inferred from

musical notation, given knowledge

of the relevant musical style and

culture.

This definition is self-explanatory. It must

be noted however that it does not contradict

the previous definition in that the gestural

inference can only be gained when the social

knowledge of style and culture have been

established.

4. Gestures may be inferred from a

musical performance even when we

do not have visual access to the

motions of the performer. We have

sufficient aural imagery to

reconstruct as meaningful gestures

those actual sounds that combine in

smoothly nuanced ways.

Much like definition one Hatten here

reiterates the fact that gestures are not the

physical actions that produce sound. Their

nature and composition is aural. In fact we

can gain all that we need to know of musical

gestures using our own aural imagery.

7

5. Gestures may be comprised of any

of the elements of music, although

they are not reducible to them; they

are perceptually synthetic gestalts

with emergent meaning.

Building on def. four when he introduced

the term aural imagery Hatten points out

that gestures are gestalts, which I mentioned

earlier. Their emergent meaning is worth

more than the sum of their parts.

6. The prototypical musical gesture is a

unit in the perceptual present

(typically within two seconds). It has

initiation and closure, such that we

can speak of a series of gestures, or

gestural units.

The basic unit of musical gesture is well

defined. The time limit of two seconds is

corroborated by what psychologists term our

sensory store; the first of our three memory

stores that attends to input from our senses.

Massaro and Loftus have pointed out that

the lifespan of auditory information in this

store is in the region of a few seconds16

.

7. When gestures encompass more than

one musical event, they provide a

nuanced continuity that binds

together otherwise separate musical

events into a continuous whole.

Musical gestures are additive. By nuanced

continuity Hatten suggests that combined

musical gestures create smooth meta-

gestures that bind together a musical whole.

16

D. Massaro and G.R. Loftus, ‘Sensory storage: Icons and echoes’, pp. 69-101.

8

8. Gestures may also be hierarchically

organised, in that larger gestures can

be comprised of smaller gestures.

Phrase structure and melodic

contour are two examples of the

generalisation of gesture to temporal

dimensions greater than the

perceptual present.

Connected to the previous definition with

some clarification. The term “hierarchically

organised” seems to preface a methodology

for future analyses.

9. Certain motive-length gestures may

be marked as thematic for a

movement, hence foregrounded and

amenable to development, variation,

or ongoing evolution by means of

developing variation.

Gestures may serve thematic functions and

undergo variation and all other forms of

musical development. We can think of

themes and motifs as specific gestures. i.e.

All motifs are gestures but not all gestures

are motifs

10. Gestures may encompass, and help

express, rhetorical action, as in a

sudden reversal, a collapse, an

interruption, or a denial of

implication. Rhetorical gestures

disrupt or deflect the ongoing

musical discourse, contributing to a

contrasting dramatic trajectory.

Gestures not only comprise the basis of

music but also guide its flow. Here we can

see the true complex nature of a musical

gesture; it can simultaneously guide and

disrupt the trajectory of a musical work.

9

11. Besides the correlative gestures a

performer enacts in competently

expressing a musical work on an

instrument such as the piano, there

may be higher-level gestures that a

performer employs to help direct the

listener’s attention to the main

structural outlines of a form, or an

expressive genre.

While we have observed higher level

gestures in terms of combined lower level

gestures Hatten observes that there is again a

higher level of gesture which performers

may employ to guide our attention towards

larger scale musical effects such as form or

expressive genre. He does not however

reveal the nature of these higher level

gestures.

12. Gestures provide a level of musical

truth that make it difficult (but not

impossible) for music to “lie”

The most ambiguous but perhaps most

important of the twelve definitions. Hatten

here suggests that gesture provides us with

access to musical truth. I would posit that

‘truth’ here means more than a form of

knowledge but an insight into the very

nature of musical effect and expression. As

well as an insight into the truth of extra-

musical factors.

Table 1.1 Definitions of gesture summarised from Hattens publication Interpreting

Musical Gesture, Topics and Tropes: Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert.17

17

Robert Hatten, Interpreting musical gestures, topics, and tropes : Mozart, Beethoven,

Schubert (Bloomington, Ind. : Indiana University Press, 2004), pp. 93-95.

10

Fig 1.1

1.2.1- Larson’s definitions of musical force

While Hatten provides a more than comprehensive basis for the definition and identification

of musical gestures he does not go as far in his descriptions of the inner workings of these

gestures. For me, a description of the inner machinations of a gesture is just as important and

interesting than their identification and categorisation. One of the more curious

considerations is exactly what Hatten means by the term ‘energetic shaping’18

? I believe that

the best answer to these questions can be found in the work of the late Steve Larson.

In his posthumous publication Musical Forces: Motion, Metaphor and Meaning in

Music Larson outlines his theories regarding three musical forces; gravity, magnetism and

inertia19

. Larson believes that these three forces may be used to

describe how gestures arise and more importantly, gain meaning.

The first of these forces, gravity, is the most intuitive. We

are all aware of the ‘what goes up must come down’ law in

nature and, in general, this is also true of music. Indeed Curt

Sachs identified what he terms as ‘tumbling melodies’ in a

number of cultures traditional musics20

. Vladimir Jankélévitch

uses the term ‘geotropism’, a scientific term also linked to

gravity, to explain the tendency of musical lines and melodies to

curl downward, a characteristic of many of Debussy’s melodic

shapes21

. Larson himself defines gravity as ‘the tendency of a note,

heard as above a stable position, to descend’22

. Larson defines these stable positions as

18

Robert Hatten, ‘A Theory of Musical Gesture and its Application to Beethoven and Schubert’, in Music and

Gesture, p.1. 19

Steve Larson, Musical Forces: Motion, Metaphor and Meaning in Music (Indiana University Press, 2012),

pp. 82-110 20

David Huron, Sweet Anticipation: Music and the Psychology of Expectation (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press,

2006). 21

Roy Howat, The Art of French Piano Music (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009), p. 16.

11

strong diatonic or triadic points within the context of the musical phrase. One example of

gravity at work is what Larson calls the ‘Hallelujah Figure’. This gesture is identified by its

5^- 6^- 5^ motion in the melody. Famous examples include Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus

(highlighted in fig. 1.1 above) or even Twinkle twinkle little star and Happy birthday. Due to

its physically uplifting nature the gesture has come to signify happiness23

.

The second of Larson’s three musical forces is termed magnetism. Magnetism is

defined as ‘the tendency of an unstable note to move to the closest stable pitch’24

. Much like

physics, magnetic attraction depends on distance, the closer a note is to a stable pitch the

greater the magnetic force. Much research has gone into this theory as it is corroborated by

Aarden (2003), Margulis (2003) and Lerdahl. While each of these scholars’ research differs

in subtle details their overall hypotheses all aim to the same end, thus for the purpose of this

thesis we can regard them as suitably similar to prove Larson’s definition on magnetism.

Based on personal preference I will refer to Lerdahl’s theory of anchoring strength when

discussing any issues of magnetism. Therein Lerdahl classifies each note of the scale with an

anchoring value:

Level Anchoring Strength Example- C maj

Tonic 4 C

Triadic 3 C,E,G

Diatonic 2 CDEFGAB

Chromatic 1 C,C#,D,D# etc.

Table 1.2- Anchoring strength values

Then one can determine the magnetic force based on his attraction equation given by:

22

Steve Larson, Musical Forces: Motion, Metaphor and Meaning in Music, p.83. 23

Ibid, p.83. 24

Ibid, p.88.

12

( ) (

)

Where:

S1 = Anchoring strength of source pitch

S2 =Anchoring strength of goal pitch

N = Number of semitones separating them

e.g. Leading note attraction from B-C (key of C major)

S1- 2

S2- 4

N-1

(

) (

)

The last of Larson’s three musical forces is termed inertia, the tendency of a pattern

of motion to continue in the same fashion, where ‘same’ depends on how the pattern is

represented in musical memory25

. This is one of the most intriguing forces when we consider

it in terms of musical gesture. How do these patterns relate to gestures? Inertia seems to have

a strong link with strategically rhetorical gestures which I will discuss later.

25

Steve Larson, Musical Forces: Motion, Metaphor and Meaning in Music, p.96.

13

1.3. Choice of repertoire

1.3.1. Previous Debussyan analyses

‘The fact that Debussyan voice leading occupies

ambiguous regions of tension and interaction

between diatonic and chromatic, tonal and

modal, makes analytical attempts to interpret

most of his compositions in these terms

problematic’26

Whittall goes on to discuss how scholars such as David Lewin have begun to analyse

Debussy’s work from a neo-Riemannian perspective in terms of transformational networks.

These networks treat ‘musical material as a mixture of motivic and harmonic components in

a logically evolving rather than hierarchically stratified context’27

. The networks also chart a

process in which ‘continuity and change interact’28

, a process which is remarkably similar to

our discussion of inertia or rhetorical gestures in section 1.2.2. Lewin’s research serves to

highlight how traditional models of analysis are not entirely suitable for the complex musical

language which Debussy was developing at the beginning of the twentieth century. Richard

S. Parks also notes how the absence of the Urline in Debussy’s music makes it difficult to

apply Schenkerian techniques29

. Two of Schenker’s own students have tried this approach

however, adapting their teacher’s own techniques. Felix Salzer blurs Schenker’s strict

distinction between dissonance and consonance in an attempt to show a large scale tonal

coherence of entire pieces. Adele Katz on the other hand was more reluctant to adjust the

26

Arnold Whittall, ‘Debussy Now’, in The Cambridge Companion to Debussy, ed. by Simon Trezise

(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), p.280. 27

Ibid, p.280. 28

Ibid, p.280. 29

Richard S. Parks, The Music of Claude Debussy (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1989), p.4.

14

original theory and so her analysis is restricted to shorter passages30

. For this very reason,

and due to my fascination with Debussy, I have chosen to investigate the applicability of

gestural analysis to Debussy’s first book of préludes. My choice of the préludes is based on

an intimate knowledge of the work and because I believe it is highly representative of

Debussy’s overall pianistic and musical style.

1.3.2. Debussy- applicability?

My choice of repertoire is not based solely on preference however. There are many logical

reasons that would suggest early on that gestural analysis is suitable to Debussy’s music.

From a semiotic perspective Debussy’s music is highly expressive. While he disliked

the term impressionist as it was used with negative connotations, there can be no doubt that

his music displays impressionist characteristics. Debussy himself was quoted as saying ‘my

dream is to suggest’31

. This quote seems to link directly with Hatten’s second definition that

gestures ‘”go beyond” the score to embody the intricate shaping and character of movements

that have direct biological and social significance for human beings.’32

Many scholars have also noted that much of Debussy’s music forms itself into two

part cells where the second is the same, or a variant of the first33

. This would seem to link

strongly with definitions six and nine in table 1.1 above.

Finally, and perhaps most promising is the assertion which every student of Debussy

music will hear time and again; Debussy is all about colour. I include this term in italics as it

presents for me a perfect practical example of an expressive gestalt. Furthermore colour in a

30

Boyd Pomeroy, ‘Debussy’s tonality: a formal perspective’, in The Cambridge Companion to Debussy, ed. by

Simon Trezise (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), p.162. 31

The Open University, The Rise of Modernism in Music 1890-1935, Units 5-7, Debussy (Worcester and

London: The Open University Press, 1979), p.37. 32

Robert Hatten, ‘A Theory of Musical Gesture and its Application to Beethoven and Schubert’, in Music and

Gesture, pp.93-95. 33

The Open University, The Rise of Modernism in Music 1890-1935, Units 5-7, Debussy, p.38.

15

Debussyan context directly ties in with Hatten’s fifth definition from table 1.1. Ideas of

Debussy’s colour will also allow us to discuss chromaticism more accurately as in Debussy’s

music chromaticism is not often used as a departure from diatonicism rather it is used for its

own sonorous value34

34

Richard S. Parks, The Music of Claude Debussy, pp.4-5.

16

Chapter 2- Existing Methodologies

2.1. Scholars methods of analysis

2.1.1. Hatten’s analyses

It is already quite self-evident at this point how important Hatten’s research and theories are

to gestural analysis, therefore it follows that his own analyses should be our first point of

departure when developing our own approach. Our first point of reference is the summary of

classes and functions of gestures which Hatten outlines in his 2004 publication; these are

contained in table 2.1 below.

1. Stylistic Gestures- conventional

energetic shapings through time

a. Presuppose tonality and meter as

“gravitational background fields”.

b. Appear in ritualised genres such as

dances and marches. Provide the

gestural syntheses of topics.

c. Entail conventions for interpreting

articulation, accentuation, dynamics,

tempo, timing (performance practice

issues).

d. Comprise a wide variety of stylistic

types (e.g. the two-note slur).

2. Strategic Gestures- as constrained by

the stylistic, may be understood as

tokens of pre-existing stylistic types,

and may even be generalised as new

subtypes.

a. Spontaneous, as negotiated within a

meter and tonality. These novel

mappings of expressive gesture to

sounding forms are often marked and

subsequently thematised.

17

b. Thematic, as subject of discourse for

a movement. May be treated to

developing variation.

c. Dialogical, as gestures between

agencies or within a single agency.

d. Rhetorical gestures, marked with

respect to an otherwise unmarked

musical discourse or flow.

a. Are used to foreground stages

of an expressive genre.

b. Include sudden or unpredicted

pauses, changes or shifts.

c. May highlight tonal reversals

or textual undercuttings.

d. May mark a shift in level of

discourse.

e. Troping of gestures occurs when the

character of two separate gestures is

blended into an emergent gesture.

Table 2.1- Hatten’s classes and functions of musical gestures35

During Hatten’s own analysis of Schubert’s piano sonatas in A minor D.784 and A

major D.959 he focuses on the issue of developing thematic gestures. Hatten posits that ‘for

Beethoven and Schubert, gestural developing variation can help generate the structure and

35

Robert Hatten, Interpreting musical gestures, topics, and tropes: Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert , pp. 136-137.

18

motivate the expressive meaning of major works in sonata form’36

. For example Hatten

discusses the opening gesture in Beethoven’s Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit

Empfindung und Ausdruck. This gesture (highlighted in fig 2.1 below) is an ‘upbeat-

downbeat, short-long, and release-held articulatory configuration’37

.

Fig 2.1

Hatten goes on to discuss how this gesture is used and developed throughout the piece and

furthermore, how it also appears in Schubert’s piano sonata in A major D 959. He discusses

some other thematic elements which Schubert inherits from Beethoven including the

overtone resonance of the instrument and certain articulatory characters, signifying how even

instrumental effects can create sentic significance38

.

2.1.2. Larson’s analyses

‘Schenkerian analysis, when supported by this

theory of musical forces, offers a powerful tool

for illuminating motion meaning, and metaphor

in music’39

36

Ibid, p.186. 37

Ibid, p.178. 38

Ibid, p.184. 39

Steve Larson, Musical Forces: Motion, Metaphor and Meaning in Music, p.180.

19

One could easily argue, as I will that this claim applies just as powerfully to gestural analysis.

In fact, Larson himself proves our point almost immediately during his analysis of the

opening bars of Schubert’s Am Feierabend from Die schöne Müllerin where he states that

‘the passage can be heard […] with a shape that flows like a graceful physical gesture’40

.

Larson then goes on to analyse the opening piano figure of this piece, fig 2.2 below.

Fig2.2

As expected Larson discusses issues of inertia in this extract. However, his discussion of the

piano part (lower two staves) is not as simple as one might initially assume. It is somewhat

obvious that the piano part gives into inertia for its first three iterations. During its fourth

sounding however the left hand changes to playing a C rather than an A. Larson remarks

how this would traditionally be read as a pattern breaking inertia. Yet if we consider the left

hand as engaging in a voice exchange with the vocal part the pattern can be seen to give in to

inertia as it preserves the quality of the chord41

. This voice exchange is highlighted in figure

2.3 below.

40

Ibid, p.181. 41

Steve Larson, Musical Forces: Motion, Metaphor and Meaning in Music, p.182.

20

Fig 2.3

This is just the first and most simple of a wide range of points Larson makes so eloquently.

Unfortunately I do not have the scope to discuss these in full in this thesis but for our

purposes this example presents all that we need.

2.1.3. Scott’s analysis

A similar study to my own regarding gestural analysis has been conducted by Douglas Scott

on Mozart’s flute quartet in D, K285. As part of an MA dissertation Scott presented his own

logico-deductive form of analysis based on Hatten’s theories of music and gesture. In the

following section I will present some pros and cons regarding Scott’s analysis and what

lessons may be learned for our own study on Debussy.

Pros-

Scott’s analysis presents a highly structured and logical approach to gestural analysis. His

primary point of departure is an analytical algorithm which divides an entire section up into

its constituent gestures based on Hatten’s two second benchmark for the prototypical

gesture. Each of these gestures are termed to be either forward/advancing ( / ),

21

backward/retreating ( \ ) or stable/holding ( ^ ). These gestures can then be combined using

the truth table below

Table 2.2- extracted from Scott (table 7)42

The result of this algorithm is what Scott terms an analytical tableaux43

, an example is

shown below.

42

Douglas Walter Scott, ‘An Applied logico-deductive analysis of Mozart’s flute Quartet in D, K.285’ (MA of

Musicology dissertation, 2009), p.35. 43

Ibid, p.49.

22

Figure 2.4- extracted from Scott (figure 21)44

The obvious advantage of this approach is that both the procedure and the result are clear

and structured hierarchical models that can be reproduced for any piece of music.

Cons-

While there are many lessons to be learned from Scott, his approach to gestural classification

is too narrow in my view. As Scott points out, his model is based on ‘discrete symbolic

representations of tension flow’45

. While this model is indeed highly useful when based upon

Lerdahl’s right and left branch subordination model46

it perhaps loses some of the more

semiotic aspects of gesture. My point here stems from definition two of table 1.1; gestures

have meanings that are complex and that go beyond the score to embody intricate characters

and shapings of music47

. I believe that if we were to classify gestures as simply advancing,

retreating or holding, we would lose much of the power which underlies their ‘[grounding]

44

Douglas Walter Scott, ‘An Applied logico-deductive analysis of Mozart’s flute Quartet in D, K.285’, p.49. 45

Ibid, p.49. 46

Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff, ‘Toward a Formal Theory of Tonal Music’, Journal of Music Theory, Vol.

21, No. 1 (Spring, 1977), pp.111-117. 47

Robert Hatten, Interpreting musical gestures, topics, and tropes : Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert , pp. 93-95.

23

in human affect and its communication’48

. Furthermore Lerdahl and Jackendoff’s theory

does not consider metric levels such as triple beat division as ‘well formed’, their theories

require all levels to be of equal duration49

, due to the prominence of polyrhythms is

Debussy’s music this limitation could become quite problematic. My other and most

fundamental problem with Scott’s approach is his approach to gestural troping. As we can

see in figure 2.1 Scott uses his analytical tableaux to combine each successive gesture into a

meta-gesture based upon the logic of table 2.2. However Hatten firmly states that ‘in order to

interpret a gesture as an amalgam of two separate gestures, the gestures in question must

already possess established expressive correlations or else be (strategically) familiarized as

thematic before they are combined’50

, furthermore he asserts that ‘these are stringent criteria

to meet’51

. Hence I will be adopting a much more strict approach to troping in my own

analyses.

48

Robert Hatten, Interpreting musical gestures, topics, and tropes : Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert , pp. 93-95. 49

Fred Lerdahl, Ray Jackendoff, A Generative Theory of Tonal Music. 50

Robert Hatten, Interpreting musical gestures, topics, and tropes : Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert , p.136. 51

Ibid, p.136.

24

2.2. My altered form of these analyses

2.2.1. Consolidated approach of Hatten and Larson

While I firmly believe in the formidable power of both Hatten and Larson’s techniques

separately, together I find them even more useful. I have shown at this point how Hatten

treats and analyses his gestures and how he shows their expressive meaning which is

‘grounded in human affect and its communication’52

. To be able to identify, codify and

discuss these elements which give such power to music and its communication is amazing.

In my opinion one way to improve this new form of analysis is to be able to explain the

forces which govern these gestures. In science we place much emphasis not only on

understanding the movement of the world around us but also on the forces of nature which

govern this movement. If gestures are indeed the true auditory counterparts of physical

motion and share with physical motion the same expressive moments then surely we must

strive to understand the musical forces which govern musical gestures. Furthermore, this two

pronged approach is vital if we are to truly fulfil Whittall’s definition that the analytical

process ‘is two-fold: to identify various materials of a composition, and to define the ways in

which they function’53

. Fortunately Hatten and Larson’s research both lend themselves quite

well to consolidation. In the following chapter you will observe how I not only identify and

discuss gestural elements and their functions but also the musical forces that not only

accompany these gestures but in many ways reinforce my claims about their effects and

dialogues.

52

Robert Hatten, Interpreting musical gestures, topics, and tropes : Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert , p.93. 53

Arnold Whittall, ‘Analysis’, in The New Oxford Companion to Music, 2 vols. (Oxford: Oxford University

Press, 1983), i, p.58.

25

2.2.2. Performative considerations.

‘Analysis is indispensable to a discipline

that takes the musical object as its point of

departure’54

As Hatten has noted in his definitions from table 1.1, ‘gestures can be inferred from musical

performance even when we do not have visual access to the motions of the performer’55

and

‘there may be higher level gestures that a performer employs to help direct the listener’s

attention to the main structural outlines of a form or an expressive genre’56

. Clearly Hatten

regards performance as a central part of gestural realisation and perception. In fact any

theory that is grounded in human experience and expression will rely in part at least on

human subjectivity. My initial instinct when beginning my research was to shy away from

this aspect as I felt it in some ways limits an abstract analysis down to a specific

interpretation. However, as I will show in the subsequent chapter, this is not always the case.

Due to my own experience playing the first book of preludes and encounters with numerous

recordings, performative considerations are not only enriching and valuable but simply

unavoidable. As José Bowen puts it, the ‘study of the performance tradition of a musical

work is the study of the musical work itself’57

. I have been careful however to use these

considerations as evidence to support my own hypotheses rather than a point of departure for

them. This helps us avoid the common logical fallacy of reasoning from the specific to the

abstract rather than the other way around, i.e. the difference between the enriching rather

than the misleading.

54

Kofi Agawu, ‘Analyzing Music under the New Musicological Regime’, The Journal of Musicology, vol. 15,

no.3 (Summer, 1997), p.297. 55

Robert Hatten, Interpreting musical gestures, topics, and tropes: Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, p.94. 56

Ibid, p.95. 57

José Bowen, ‘Finding the Music in Musicology: Performance History and Music Works’, in Rethinking

Music, ed. by Nicholas Cook and Mark Everist (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), p.430.

26

Chapter 3- Analyses

In order to fully introduce the various gestures and gestural development in Debussy’s

preludes I will present four varied examples. The first two will be in many ways an

introduction to gestural analysis as I examine the similarities and differences between the

opening gestures of preludes II and VIII and then the rhetorical elements of prelude XI. I

then intend to examine the many varied gestures of prelude VI and their development

throughout the piece. Finally I will present my argument for what I regard to be gestural

development between preludes no.2, no.3 and no.7.

3.1. Analysis 1- Voiles and La fill aux cheveus de lin.

Much like Hatten’s analysis of Beethoven and Schubert I will discuss the gestural qualitites

of the opening gestures of Voiles and La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin (fig 3.1 below)

II- Voiles

VIII- La fille aux Cheveux de Lin

27

Fig 3.1- Opening gestures of preludes II and VIII contained in brackets58

,59

Both of these gestures are quite similar in that they present strongbeat-weakbeat, long-short

and release-held stylistic gesture types. They both also tie their opening notes, leaving the

listener in suspense for that bit longer before the gestures skip downward. Despite these

stylistic similarities I would consider these gestures to in fact contrast quite strongly due to

the overriding differences in their articulation and physical gestural analogues. In order to

explain my reasoning more clearly I must turn to Maurice Dumesnil’s guide on how to teach

and play Debussy. This guide published after Debussy’s death but endorsed by (the second)

Madame Debussy is in my view an essential reference for any pianist or musician who

strives to get to the heart of Debussy’s music. Dumesnil lays out a variety of techniques for

achieving different colours in Debussy’s music. Two types of attack are presented below as

they appear in the guide.

Fig 3.2- Different key attacks for achieving varied tones.60

Dumesnil remarks that in order to achieve certain pianissimo effects the second caressing

attack is preferable as it entails more progressive contact with the keys which softens the

58

Claude Debussy, Préludes I for Solo Piano, ed. by Hans Swarenski (London: Peters edition Ltd., 1975), p.5. 59

Ibid, p.34. 60

Maurice Dumesnil, How to Play and Teach Debussy (New York: Schroeder and Gunter, 1932)

28

tone61

. These two illustrations are remarkable as physical representations of musical gesture.

In many ways they are a kind of musical onomatopoeia where the direct attack produces a

harsher tone whereas the second softens the tone as the finger gently strokes the keys. In my

experience the second caressing attack is favourable in La Fille where a gentle piano

opening requires a gentle relaxed and warm tone. In contrast the exposed nature of the major

thirds at the beginning of Voiles requires the pianist to use a more direct wrist and finger

action to ensure the notes maintain a clear and balanced sound. These contrasting approaches

transform two quite similar gestures into something much different, for evidence of this one

need only consult any of the great recordings by Michelangeli or Zimmerman.

Further evidence which corroborates this approach can be seen in the strategic

dialogical responses to the opening gestures; here I may strengthen my argument with

reference to Larson. We may recall at this point Larson’s definition of inertia from section

1.2.2. as the tendency of a pattern of motion to continue in the same fashion62

. While this is

proved by Larson to be true of pitch and metric patterns I believe it is also true of gestures.

Therefore it would follow that were the caressing gesture at the opening of La Fille to create

a strategic dialogue with a second gesture which it directly precedes, the second gesture

would have a tendency to carry on in the same fashion as the first63

. Upon inspection of the

score it would seem that this theory holds. As we can see in the figure below the opening

gesture of La Fille is followed by its retrograde (with an overlap on the e’♭), and while the

notes and rhythm are reversed the articulation and attack are not.

61

Maurice Dumesnil, How to Play and Teach Debussy. 62

Steve Larson, Musical Forces: Motion, Metaphor and Meaning in Music, p.96. 63

The exact same argument could be made of the more direct nature of the gesture at the beginning of Voiles.

29

Fig 3.3- Opening two gestures of La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin

The second gesture of Voiles is also ruled by inertia but in a much different way. The direct

action of the opening thirds is followed by a similarly direct action which snaps the melody

upward with no warning. The long-short, strong-weak nature of the gesture is also turned on

its head as the second gesture is characteristically weak-strong and short-long. This gestural

reversal is further accentuated by a crescendo to the climax on the f#’’/ b♭’’ interval.

Fig 3.4- Opening two gestures of Voiles

As we can see here it is possible to compare and contrast gestures from two very different

pieces. While La fille is without doubt a tonal piece in Voiles Debussy uses the whole tone

30

mode as a sort of ‘musical sponge’64

allowing him to move in and out of clear tonality as he

wishes65

. While traditional forms of tonal analysis would have found these two differences

hard to cope with, gestural analysis offers us remarkable flexibility. Thus I offer this analysis

as an introduction to not only the method but also to its advantages.

64

Roy Howat, The Art of French Piano Music, p. 10.

65 Ibid, p.10.

31

3.2. Analysis 3- Danse de puck

The eleventh prelude in Debussy’s first book is supposedly based on the fairy puck from

Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The capricious character of the opening theme

is a characteristically playful figure which harks back to L’isle Joyeuse. Both these melodies

are presented below for comparative purposes.

Fig 3.6- System 1- Opening bars of prelude XI- Danse de Puck

System 2- Theme from L’isle Joyeuse

We can also observe from fig 3.6 a perfect example of the two note cell technique I referred

to earlier. However Debussy plays with the phrasing in order to personify the character of

32

the Puck. As we can see in system one above the first cell encompasses bars one and two of

the piece while the second cell develops this in bars three and four. Proceeding to bars five

and six however Debussy plays with our expectations by displacing the opening gesture by a

single beat and introducing it on its second measure. This effect cheekily plays with our

expectations and is a prime example of a strategic gesture.

In fact this whole prelude is rich in rhetorical gestures, the most important of which

appears for the first time in bar six, i.e. the triplet figure below.

Fig 3.7- Fanfare gesture

I have termed this the fanfare gesture because of its function throughout the piece. It appears

four times and serves a strategically rhetorical function each time, introducing a change in

the musical discourse. The other three iterations are presented in figure 3.8 below.

Bar 41

33

Bar 69

Bars 91-93

Fig 3.8- Different iterations of the fanfare gesture

These various occurrences serve to show how an initial spontaneous strategic gesture can

become thematised and developed in the course of a piece. I have presented it here as an

introduction to the rhetorical and developing functions gestures can have.

34

3.3. Analysis 2- Des pas sur la neige.

Edward Lockspeiser has noted a remarkable unity of gesture based on Debussy’s fascination

with the ‘stagnation of water’66

. One could note that this preoccupation with stagnation is

reflected in a stagnation of both rhythm and pitch class. Lockspeiser directs us to act III

scene ii of Pelléas to observe this effect; Gouland’s line ‘Eh bien, voice l’eau stagnante dont

je vous parlais’ is set to a markedly stagnant melody and a pedal rhythm, fig 3.5 below.

Fig 3.9- Act III, Scene ii, Pelléas

Pedals are also prominent in the first book of preludes and serve interesting roles as gestures.

Similar to the pedal above is the hypnotic rhythm from Des pas sur la neige, fig 3.10 below.

Fig 3.10- VI- Des pas sur la neige

66

Edward Lockspeiser, Debussy: His Life and Mind, 2 vols. (London: Cassell, 1962), ii. p.234.

35

Here Debussy seems to have translated the stagnation of running water into the ‘bleak’

landscape of frozen water using the same pedal function, Debussy himself points this out

with the performance direction underneath bar one above. Roy Howat remarks that this

rhythm, ‘deftly evokes a sense of snow crunching underfoot’67

. While the rhythm of this

pedal is repeated every half bar the overall gesture can be thought of in two parts, the first

moving from d’-e’ and the second from e’-f’. Hence the gesture is constantly oscillating

from points of stability to instability and back again, that is, stable in the sense of Larson’s

‘points of stability’ for magnetism or gravity. While this gesture does evoke symbolic

readings such as the effect of the hypnotist’s coin or the weary explorer battling through the

snow it is also interesting to investigate the musical forces that create its static nature.

On the surface we can clearly see that this gesture is in a constant battle with musical

magnetism. Throughout the piece a tonal centre of D is firmly established, the first half of

this gesture departs from this centre to a point of instability on e’. This sense of tension then

immediately succumbs to the chromatic attraction of the minor second between e’ and f’. In

fact if we were to apply Lerdahl’s anchoring strength formula we discover a magnetic

attraction index of 1.5:

(

) (

)

An extremely strong value when we consider the strongest diatonic index value to be 2. In

this respect we seem to have a contradiction between the magnetic energy of the gestural

movement and our initial hypothesis regarding Debussy’s ‘preoccupation […] with

67

Roy Howat, ‘The Art of French Piano Music’, p.14.

36

stagnation’68

. Any recording will also reveal a sense of the pieces eerie static nature. Upon

closer inspection however we can see how any forces of tension that are built up in the first

half of the gesture are released in the second half, this tension-release effect has an inverse

relationship with magnetic force. In fact, this tensile energy can be thought of as potential

energy relating to magnetism, and as such the magnetism of this gesture is also negated by

the end of the second half. We can also observe from figure 3.10 how the dynamics rise and

fall, negating each other also. As a pianist the two diminuendos in this gesture always

puzzled me. Why would Debussy place a diminuendo over a held note? A somewhat

redundant dynamic seeing as a pianist has no choice but to let a held note die away once it

has been sounded, it would have sufficed to place another pianissimo marking half way

through the bar. I believe that Debussy has made a point of placing this diminuendo here so

that he can emphasise the static movement of the gesture. We can also see the gestures clear

analogue with physical movement, the symmetrical implication of the notation creates for

the listener a sense of movement, departure and return, or in terms of Scott’s notation from

section 2.1.2 the stylistic gesture would be / for the first half and \ for the second half.

Applying the logic from table 2.2 thus yields ^: a holding gesture.

While magnetism sets up a static feel along with the holding nature of the gestures

stylistic elements the musical force inertia really reinforces the stagnant nature during

performance and subsequent hearings. Apart from certain linking sections, e.g. bars 12-13,

the rhythm of this gesture is heard throughout the entire piece, creating a hypnotising

foundation which at once stagnates the piece while at the same time never lets it rest.

While we now have a working understanding of the principal gesture one must ask

the question, how does Debussy maintain our interest in such a piece? To answer this

question we must investigate Debussy’s use of colour. As I have mentioned before, the

68

Edward Lockspeiser, Debussy: His Life and Mind, ii. p.234.

37

principal gesture is reiterated almost throughout the entire piece, and while we get a sense of

the gestures static nature it is balanced by an ever changing number of harmonisations and

melodic modes. Kaleidoscopic is a term that is often used in terms of Debussy’s

orchestration69

; its masterful use here reflects a migration of Debussy’s orchestral colouring

techniques over to his piano music, indicative of his style in the early 20th

century. Below I

have included a table of all the harmonisations Debussy utilises in this piece.

First half harmonisations Second half harmonisations

Bar 1

Bar 1

Bar 5

Over G major

Bar 5

Over F major 7th

Bar 6

Bar 6

69

Christopher Gunning, review of Debussy, Pélleas et Mélisande, dir. Louis Langrée, Seen and Heard

International, 21 April 2011, http://www.seenandheard-international.com/2011/04/21/debussys-pelleas-et-

melisande-at-londons-barbican/ [accessed 14th August 2013].

38

Over E minor 7th Over D minor

Bar 8

C dominant 7th

- F# and D appoggiaturas.

Bar 8

C# dominant 7th

- E appog. To F (E#)

Bar 10

B♭- part of descending bassline

Bar 11

G♭ maj- 2nd

inv.

Bar 11

Bar 16

39

Bar 16

Bar 22

D♭7

Bar 26

Over G major

Bar 23

D7- G♭(F#)- E appog.

Bar 27

Bar 24

E♭11

Table 3.1- Harmonisations of principle gesture70

. Note- adjacent entries do not

necessarily share the same bar number.

70

José Rodríguez Alvira, Des pas sur la neige- Prelude by Claude Debussy,

<http://www.teoria.com/articles/des_pas_sur_la_neige/index.html> [accessed 14th August 2013]

40

Based on this table it would be tempting to delve into a lengthy discussion regarding the

harmonic progressions of this piece, I believe however that this piece represents a case

where ‘Debussy’s surface chord successions typically serve ends of colouristic effect rather

than tonal-syntactical coherence’71

. In terms of the melody a number of different modes and

scales are used, I have included these below in table 3.2. However due to the constantly

changing nature of the piece some of these modes are merely alluded to, i.e. certain pitch

classes are missing which are necessary to complete the scale, I have included these in

parentheses where appropriate.

Bar Number Mode

Bar 3 B♭ Lydian

B. 4 A Phrygian

B. 12 G♭ Lydian

B.14 Whole Tone on C (d’)

B. 17-18 G Dorian ♭2

B. 21 A♭ Dorian (Gb) or

A♭ Melodic Minor (G♮)

B.30 C♭ Lydian

Table 3.2- Melodic modes used72

71

Boyd Pomeroy, ‘Debussy’s tonality: a formal perspective’, in The Cambridge Companion to Debussy, p.158. 72

José Rodríguez Alvira, Des pas sur la neige- Prelude by Claude Debussy, [accessed 14th August 2013].

41

Interestingly, none of these mode changes correspond with a change in gesture

harmonisation, adding further effect to the pieces kaleidoscopic nature. Thus we can clearly

see that while the gesture itself creates a static and stagnant foundation, Debussy’s subtle and

delicate use of harmonisation and colour maintains our interest and attention.

The principal gesture of this piece, while extremely interesting, is not the only force

at work here. As I noted in section 2.1 there are also strategic gestures which may be

interpreted as significant. For example the stylistic gesture of bars 2-3 is thematised and used

throughout the piece. For example it is developed in bars 5-7, shortly after its first iteration.

It is characterised in both these instances by a typical gravitational archetype of: rise-fall,

weak-strong and soft-loud-soft.

Fig 3.11- First gesture in bars 2-3. Second gesture can be seen in bars 5-7. Both

contained here in brackets

42

When the second developed gesture from bars 5-7 returns in bar 20 it contains a vitally

important rhetorical element, seen in fig 3.12 below.

Fig 3.12- Melodic gesture as it returns in bar 20.

As we can see from fig 3.12 the melodic gesture returns in seemingly the same form,

supported by the same harmonisation of the principal gesture from bar 5. However, the c’’♭

in bar 21 here acts as a rhetorical gesture in that it marks a change in the ‘unmarked musical

flow’73

, i.e. one expects to hear the same c’’♮ from bar 5, coupling this with the ever

changing colouring of the principal gesture we are well alerted to an important change in the

musical discourse.

73

Robert Hatten, Interpreting musical gestures, topics, and tropes: Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, pp. 136-137.

43

3.4. Analysis 4- Voiles, Le vent dans la plaine and Ce qu’a vu le vent d’Oeust

We can now extend our theories to Debussy’s seventh prelude: Ce qu’a vu le vent d’Oeust.

Ce qu’a vu in many ways represents the climax of Debussy’s first book, in terms of technical

difficulty and musical intensity. It builds from an ominously tumultuous beginning to a

violent climax, supported by the opening arpeggios which build the impending sense of

danger. In bar 31 however we observe a characteristic rhythm which we first observed in

preludes II and III. This rhythm is included below.

Fig 3.13

Bar 2 of prelude II- Voiles Bar 3 of prelude III- Le vent dans la plaine

Bar 17 of prelude VII- Ce qu’a vu le vent d’Oeust

44

While Ce qu’a vu represents the most obvious and dramatic case of this gesture we

can trace its preparation back as far as prelude II. The title of this prelude, Violes, is

somewhat ambiguous in that it can be translated as meaning either ‘veils’ or ‘sails’. Edgard

Varèse, an acquaintance of Debussy, claimed that it portrays the long silk veils of Loïe

Fuller74

, a dancer for whom the piece was possibly intended as music for a stage act though

never completed75

. More than likely the title was left deliberately ambiguous by Debussy,

either way the suggestion and provocation of movement through material would be central to

the piece. In this respect I believe that the short-long, weak-strong and release-hold nature of

the gesture relates directly to the flick of a sail or dress in the wind or dance. This effect is

further emphasised by what I referred to in section 3.1 as this gesture’s contrasting response

to the opening gesture. Thus the wind gesture serves a strategically rhetorical function at the

beginning of Voiles as our attention is immediately drawn to its opposing nature. I have

referred already to the exposed nature of this preludes opening, the lack of accompaniment

focuses our entire attention on the melody, and its whole tone descent prevents the performer

from any significant use of the pedal, coupling this with the direct attack I referred to in

section 3.1 and we are presented with a crystal clear view of each and every note. But even

amid this unblemished opening Debussy still directs our focus with a crescendo to our

gesture (see fig 3.13), further emphasising its importance and conditioning our perception.

If one considers the gesture’s connotations in Voiles to be merely allusion then its use

as the main motif in Le vent dans la plaine leaves the listener in no doubt as to its function.

The gesture appears as early as bar 3 and in this prelude, provides a perfect example of

definition nine from table 1.1: ‘Certain motive-length gestures may be marked as thematic

for a movement, hence foregrounded and amenable to development, variation, or ongoing

74

Claude Debussy, Préludes 1er

et 2e livres, ed. by Roy Howat and Claude Helffer (Italy: Durand, 2007), p.iv.

75 Roy Howat, ‘The Art of French Piano Music’, p.334.

45

evolution by means of developing variation’76

. One such variation occurs as early as bars 5

and 6 where the demisemiquaver is replaced with an embellishment to the d’♭, shown in

figure 3.10 below from the Peter’s edition.

Fig 3.14- Bars 5-6 of Le vent dans la plaine

In contrast, Durand’s 2007 edition has made the addition of an alternative reading based

upon the Welte piano rolls which Debussy himself recorded in 1913, fig 3.15 below. Note

that it is the stave below the upper two which is the alternate reading.

Fig 3.15- Exceprt from bars 5-6 of Le vent dans la plaine from Durand 2007 edition.

76

Robert Hatten, Interpreting musical gestures, topics, and tropes : Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert , pp. 93-95.

46

Interestingly we can see here how Debussy himself often played the embellishment as a

single acciaccatura which would have been melodically similar to the effect and duration of

the demisemiquaver of bars 3-4.

As the prelude travels through different keys and colours the gesture follows and

undergoes further developments such as its inversion in bar 17.

Fig 3.16- Bar 17- gestural development in Le vent dans la plaine

Much like the gesture’s function in Voiles its utilisation here also creates a sense of changing

movement in the wind. The rapid sextuplets in Le vent create an unnerving and rapidly

moving foundation, much like a brisk wind and not unlike the rising arpeggios at the climax

of Voiles. Our wind gesture then serves to portray a strategically rhetorical function that is a

foreground stage, giving the piece dramatic character and marking a change in the musical

flow77

.

The opening bars of Ce qu’a vu le vent d’Oeust are curiously similar to that of Le

vent, as I mentioned earlier the rumbling arpeggios develop an ominous tone, not unlike the

effect of the sextuplets in Le vent. Similarly, the first melodic gesture we observe in Ce qu’a

vu is remarkably similar to the developed form of the opening gesture we discussed in the

previous paragraphs. Both these gestures are highlighted below in fig 3.17.

77

Robert Hatten, Interpreting musical gestures, topics, and tropes : Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert , p. 136.

47

1- Developed gesture in Le vent

2- Opening melody of Ce qu’a vu

Fig 3.17- Gesturally similar openings to preludes III and VII.

As we can observe, these gestures are almost identical save the metrical displacement of one

beat in Ce qu’a vu. This is just the first evidence that preludes III and VII are gesturally

linked.

Further evidence can be seen in the gestures I illustrated in fig 3.13. In each case

preludes II, III and VII, and their respective gestures, portray some degree of wind, from its

quiet and calm beginnings playing with the sails in Voiles to more excitable and strong gusts

in Le Vent, to full on gale force conditions in Ce qu’a vu. This gesture and rhythm (fig 3.13)

is central to these effects and becomes progressively more prominent and aggressive in line

with the increasing tension and force of the wind across these three pieces. In the case of Ce

qu’a vu Debussy uses this rhythm along with the forces of musical gravity and magnetism to

48

build tension as the piece moves to its climax. If we examine bars 15 and 16 we can observe

three utterances of the gesture, numbered 1,2 and 3 below.

Fig 3.18- Bars 15-16 of Ce qu’a vu.

These two bars consist of a pedal f# note which is pulled up, as if by wind, by the chromatic

movement of the other two voices; only to be snapped back to earth rather abruptly by our

gesture. We can observe here both gravity and magnetism at work, however, with each

successive utterance of the gesture the interval between the two notes of this rhythm

increases. From a minor 2nd to a major 3rd and finally a perfect 5th, hence we can think of

the magnetic pull of our gesture, exerted by these intervals, gradually losing its grip each

time. This gives the passage a feeling of being swept away by the wind and the waves which

only gains momentum in the next few bars leading to the piece’s climax.

On a brief side note, bars 15 and 16 shown in fig 3.18 present a perfect example of

definitions seven and eight from table 1.1. On a micro level, that of the perceptual present

49

we can actually observe three gestures at work here: the wind gesture that we have been

discussing, the upper level chromatic voice of the left hand and the chromatically rising

triplet figure in the right hand. We can analyse each of these gestures individually for their

semiotic meanings etc. but together they also ‘generalise gesture to temporal dimensions

greater than the perceptual present’78

by binding together and creating the overall phrase, i.e.

the melodic contour, whose effect is worth more than simply the sum of its parts.

Thus I have shown how the gestures shown in fig 3.13 are all semantically similar

and through their stylistic use and development throughout preludes II, III and VII they

provide a linking force between these preludes that I believe is often overlooked, especially

considering the prevailing opinion that the first book of preludes is an eclectic mix of largely

unrelated pieces.

78

Robert Hatten, Interpreting musical gestures, topics, and tropes : Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert , p. 94.

50

Conclusion

In conclusion I have given an introduction to the ever growing field of music and gesture. I

have given some background to its beginnings in philosophy and language and have traced

its evolution up to the work of Robert Hatten and its definitions and applications today. I

have shown also the work on musical forces by Steve Larson and how these theories are

understood and applied to music.

I then gave example of how these men apply their theories before laying out

justification for a combination of these two approaches with regard analysis. I have shown

how these theories of musical gesture and force can be used to deepen our understanding of

the work of Claude Debussy. While previous forms of analysis have found it difficult to

identify small and large scale forms for his works I believe I have shown promising evidence

that gestural analysis can be used to understand the inner workings of singular pieces and

larger scale development across an entire collection.

I have also shown that Debussy’s first book of preludes is perhaps not the disparate

collection of individual pieces that some believe. While I am not claiming that the book is a

deeply connected collection I have shown that there are gestural connections and

developments between preludes that suggest a more cohesive structure than previously

thought.

51

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