Music

MUSIC OF THE 20TH CENTURY
The start of the 20th century saw the rise of distinct musical styles that reflected a
move away from the conventions of earlier classical music. These new styles were:
impressionism, expressionism, neo-classicism, avant garde music, and modern
nationalism.
The distinct musical styles of the 20th century would not have developed
if not for the musical genius of individual composers such as Claude
Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Arnold Schoenberg, Bela Bartok, Igor
Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofieff, and George Gershwin stand out as the
moving forces behind the innovative and experimental styles mentioned
above.
Coming from different nations—France,Austria, Hungary,Russia, and the
United States—these composers clearly reflected the growing
globalization of musical styles in the 20th century.
IMPRESSIONISM
One of the earlier but concrete forms declaring the entry of 20th century music
was known as impressionism. It is a French movement in the late 19th and early
20th century. The sentimental melodies and dramatic emotionalism of the preceding
Romantic Period (their themes and melody are easy to recognize and enjoy) were
being replaced in favor of moods and impressions. There is an extensive use of
colors and effects, vague melodies, and innovative chords and progressions leading
to mild dissonances.
Impressionism was an attempt not to depict reality, but merely to
suggest it. It was meant to create an emotional mood rather than
a specific picture. In terms of imagery, impressionistic forms
were translucent and hazy, as if trying to see through a rain-
drenched window.
CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862–1918)
One of the most important and
influential of the 20th century
composers was Claude Debussy. He
was the primary exponent of the
impressionist movement and the focal
point for other impressionist
composers. He changed the course of
musical development by dissolving
traditional rules and conventions into a
new language of possibilities in
harmony, rhythm, form, texture, and
color.
Debussy was born in St. Germain-en-Laye in France on August 22, 1862.
His early musical talents were channeled into piano lessons. He entered
the Paris Conservatory in 1873. He gained a reputation as an erratic
pianist and a rebel in theory and harmony. He added other systems of
musical composition because of his musical training.
In 1884, he won the top prize at the Prix de Rome competition with his
composition L’Enfant Prodigue (The Prodigal Son). This enabled him to
study for two years in Rome, where he got exposed to the music of
Richard Wagner, specifically his opera Tristan und Isolde, although he
did not share the latter’s grandiose style.
Debussy’s mature creative period was represented by the following works:
 Ariettes Oubliees
 Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
 String Quartet
 Pelleas et Melisande (1895)—his famous operatic work that drew mixed
extreme reactions for its innovative harmonies and textural treatments.

 La Mer (1905)—a highly imaginative and atmospheric symphonic work
for orchestra about the sea

 Images, Suite Bergamasque, and Estampes—his most popular piano
compositions; a set of lightly textured pieces containing his signature work

Claire de Lune (Moonlight)
His musical compositions total more or less 227 which
include orchestral music, chamber music, piano music, operas,
ballets, songs, and other vocal music.
Debussy spent the remaining years of his life as a critic,

composer, and performer. He died in Paris on March 25, 1918
of cancer at the height of the first world war.
He was known as the “Father of the Modern School of

Composition.”
Clair de Lune is a French poem written by Paul Verlaine in 1869. It is
the inspiration for the third and most famous movement of Debussy's
1890 Suite bergamasque of the same name.
"Clair De Lune" is heard widely in movies, TV shows and

adverts. Its use in films include being a key part of the
soundtrack to James Dean's final motion picture, Giant, the
scene outside the Bellagio's fountains in Ocean's Eleven, and
Edward and Bella listening to the song in his room in Twilight.
Clair de Lune (poem)
Paul Verlaine’s collection of poems “Fetes Galantes”
-a mixture of Romance and Impressionism
Your soul is a delicate landscape

Where roam charming masks and
bergamasques
Playing the lute and dancing and seeming
almost
Sad under their whimsical disguises.
While singing in a minor key
Of victorious love and easy life
They don't seem to believe in their happiness
And their song mingles with the moonlight,
With the sad and beautiful moonlight,
Which makes the birds in the trees dream
And sob with ecstasy the water streams,
The great slim water streams among the
marbles.

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MUSIC OF THE 20TH CENTURY

 Pelleas et Melisande (1895)—his famous operatic work that drew mixed

extreme reactions for its innovative harmonies and textural treatments.

for orchestra about the sea

compositions; a set of lightly textured pieces containing his signature work

Debussy spent the remaining years of his life as a critic,

He was known as the “Father of the Modern School of

"Clair De Lune" is heard widely in movies, TV shows and

Your soul is a delicate landscape

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