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Debussy in Proportion: A Musical Analysis
This is the first paperback edition of Roy Howat's stimulating and provocative study of Debussy's unorthodox use of musical form. Throught detailed analyses of the piano pieces Reflets dans l'eau and L'isle joyeuse and the symphonic poem La mer, Dr Howat shows how the pieces are built precisely and intricately around the two ratios of Golden Section and bisection so that the music is organised in various geometrical patterns which contribute substantially to its expansive and dramatic impact. The final chapter traces evidence of whether the proportional systems were designed consciously, and if so, where and why Debussy might have learnt such techniques. The evidence includes his involvement in the Symbolist movement and in esotericism.
- GenresMusic
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
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January 9, 2008
Well worth it if CD is your man!
I mean how many pages of proportion can one present and still hold your audience, well he does a fine job of that.
The thing i love about Debussy (and i will not hold back and say he is the one i hold in the highest esteem, is his continued ability to bewilder those who partake of his world.
I cannot think of a composer who i have witnessed so many "explanations" of, as if the expression of taste is not enough.
well one is not dealing with any Schoenberg or even a Stravinsky. No one hid his processes more than Claude and yet he had no interest in producing "ugly" music.
Still the author accents other virtues of the man and shows how if he did think in proportions ( which the argument is quite quite strong) CD did it not like anyone else with the use of spiral reflecting the seashells in La mer.
The book is not the result of shabby thinking. he compares the working drafs showing how his revisions move toward certain proportions more than away. In the end CD wins in the sense that hi art exceeds what science can encompass.
A good place to be when Scientific experiments are presented as art, something those who remember Mr. Wizard would NOT have done. and all power to him!!!
I mean how many pages of proportion can one present and still hold your audience, well he does a fine job of that.
The thing i love about Debussy (and i will not hold back and say he is the one i hold in the highest esteem, is his continued ability to bewilder those who partake of his world.
I cannot think of a composer who i have witnessed so many "explanations" of, as if the expression of taste is not enough.
well one is not dealing with any Schoenberg or even a Stravinsky. No one hid his processes more than Claude and yet he had no interest in producing "ugly" music.
Still the author accents other virtues of the man and shows how if he did think in proportions ( which the argument is quite quite strong) CD did it not like anyone else with the use of spiral reflecting the seashells in La mer.
The book is not the result of shabby thinking. he compares the working drafs showing how his revisions move toward certain proportions more than away. In the end CD wins in the sense that hi art exceeds what science can encompass.
A good place to be when Scientific experiments are presented as art, something those who remember Mr. Wizard would NOT have done. and all power to him!!!
Displaying 1 of 1 review