As I continue researching assignment two on Impressionism, to wrap up my research on Debussy I have listened to La Mer.
Claude Debussy – La Mer
La Mer (‘The Sea’) is an orchestral work written in three movements or three symphonic sketches. The work was written between 1903-05 and premièred on October 15th 1905. Some see this as the culmination of Debussy’s impressionist or symbolist period. The opening part ‘De l’aube à midi sur la mer’ is the slowest tempo of the three and opens with a harp motif. I studied the score whilst listening to this work and key changes are significant. The defining feature of the first movement is the doubling of cellos. The second movement ‘Jeux de Vagues’ is the brightest of the three statements, with the lightest orchestration. Percussion plays an important part in this movement, which is a foretaste of the importance Debussy gives percussion in the final segment. The final sketch, ‘Dialogue du vent et de la mer’ is the most progressive part, where dissonance plays a big part in the feeling it conveys. The tempo is quicker in this movement and dynamics also rise. The defining feature is the coda, as percussion, with timpani, cymbals and semi-breve notes played by the strings bring the work to frightening and unforgettable conclusion, which could be an impression of Hokusai’s painting: The Hollow of the Wave of Kanagawa, which adorned the published score of this work.
Hokusai (c. 1829-32).The Great Wave of Kanagawa. [colour woodcut][online image]. Available from: http://www.tcd.ie/Music/JF%20History/debussy.html [Accessed on March 26 2012]