Claude Debussy's Clair De Lune: Piano Music

This composition consists of three movements of which we will further examine movement II, Adagio Cantabile. This movement is placed in high contrast with the other two, particularly in tempo.

f. The song starts forte with an immediate crescendo/ decrescendo, followed by an accent mark on beat 1 mm 5. Mm 9 begins another crescendo/ decrescendo again followed by another accent. The following page brings us all the way down to a Piano, followed by a crescendo/ decrescendo and then immediately after, another crescendo/ decrescendo. Bringing us to mm 25, we are nearing the end of the piece with a forte followed by 2 decrescendos in succession to each other. There is then a fermata which allows for dramatic effect. The post fermata measure then shows a fermata and the word broaden which slows down the piece and leads you to a second fermata holding out a note forteissimo and then going back into time and ending the

The lowest note of the fanfare at 0:32 indicates the ending of the instrumental verse and helps transition into a new section of the song, which would be the addition of choral voices (0:38). The melody continues at a lento pace, or very slow, and step-wise. The verses follows the pattern of AABA; the second A sounds at 0:53, and the B and last A parts begin at 1:09 and 1:24, respectively. At 1:42, the instruments interrupt the chorus and proceed into an instrumental verse, which mimics but slightly alters final A part of the verse, playing in flat and sharp notes to indicate suspense and prepare the listener for the key change of the next and final choral verse (2:02). At 2:36, the loudest

04:00 There is just something in the music that informs the listener that the end of the piece is near.

The piece makes use of an allegro tempo (‘moderately fast’), setting the foundations for the relentlessly aggressive nature of the piece. This is supported by the irregular aforementioned 5/4 time signature, which when combined with the allegro tempo, creates an intense, uneasy, and unnatural mood. A 5/4 time signature will almost always ‘place the listener on edge’, as it is an irregular time signature, due to the odd number of beats (5) in each bar. This manipulation of tempo and time signature was an ingenious decision by Holst, as it establishes the foundation of the piece through his portrayal of the unnatural, uneasy atmosphere of war. However, the addition of a time signature change to 4/4 in bars 68-92 (C1 – see figure 2.1) would be extremely effective in assisting the sections’ ‘military’ atmosphere (as the act of military marching is typically rigid, regular, and constant), further supporting Holsts’ theme of unpredictability. The strings ostinato at the opening of the piece is coloured by a mechanical timbre, achieved through the use of ‘col legno battuto’ (Italian for ‘hit with the wood’). ‘Col legno’ is a technique which involves striking the strings with the wood of a bow, as opposed to drawing the hair of the bow across. The obvious manipulation of this technique results in an extremely effective mechanically percussive

Firstly, I will discuss the methods used in order to analyse the Form and Structure of the piece. The emphasis in analysis was often given to the form and structure of the piece, especially during the nineteenth century as this allows performers to gain knowledge more directly regarding the overall style of the piece. The sonata is composed in Sonata form and is separated into three movements, firstly the Grave- Allegro di molto e con brio movement, followed by the Adagio Cantabile middle movement and finally the Rondo Allegro movement. There are different meanings to the word structure in music, the first is to do with locating the different movements or the different sections of the piece and the second is to look at how the piece has been put

The piece written at a slow tempo and has a meter of 4/4 throughout. It has a soft and small dynamic range, moving between pianissimo and piano, and a light texture. The piece is written with three staves in order to clarify and neaten Debussy’s notation. The piece has a B-flat in the key signature, suggesting D minor. The piece mainly centers around the pitch D.

The abundance of harmonies never loses the thread to his audience. Furthermore, the opening of the slow movement inspires the imagination and attention of its listeners. All these elements make this piece one of the most successful concertos in the musical history.

0:31- Tempo pick ups and the melody changes. There are more beats per minute at this part of

The dynamic increases to fortissimo at mm. 73 as the texture thins and harmony becomes very clear for a brief section. In this second closing theme G major, G augmented, and E minor7 in the bass are strongly arpeggiated before four octaves of C, D and G quickly reaffirm the key of G. This cadential crash is followed by some of the softest and lightest material of the whole movement, which due to the surrounding measures is proved to still be part of the second closing theme.

The poem doesn’t necessarily use a specific rhythm or any kind of measures. In fact the poem is written in free verse, which can sometimes mean that the poem has a strange rhythm. However, in this poem the rhythm is set by the repetition of the word singing. Most lines in the poem open up with someone with a specific occupation, then the word singing, and then the person doing

The poem contains six quatrains, and does not follow any consistent rhyme scheme. Every line starts with a strong beat and ends up with a weak beat. The first and third lines in each stanza have iambic tetrameter, but the second and fourth lines do not contain any consistent meter. The feet generate a rhythm

It is a form that the Classical time period established. This piece is fast because it is movement I. It is also in duple meter. It uses a rocket theme and also contains a string orchestra. It has sudden dynamic changes and a homophonic texture.

Trio Sonata also uses engaging rhythms and harmonies, for example, the 7-6 suspension in bar 9 and the hemiola before the perfect cadence in bar 28. Corelli also uses an inverted tonic pedal in bar 15 to create a sense of strength and anticipation before the start of the B section. “Unity of mood in Baroque is first conveyed by the continuity of rhythm.”3 This quote shows the importance of rhythm in the Baroque era, particularly lively, driving

The piece has a time signature of 4/4 (C=common time) and is primarily in Db Major, modulating to C# Minor (the enharmonic equivalent). The accompaniment (left hand) through section A is based around the tonic and dominant chords- Dᵇ and Aᵇ- with the repeated quavers being Aᵇ - the dominant. In the B section, the repeated quavers played both as singular notes and octaves are on the dominant G#, which is the enharmonic equivalent to Aᵇ and therefore is the repeated quaver as in section A.