Debussy’s L'Isle Joyeuse-Assignment 5(Norah)

 Debussy’s L'Isle Joyeuse-Assignment 5(Norah)

Norah(Jiaqing Jin)

Context:

   The inspiration for Debussy’s piano work, L'lsle Joyeuse(The Island of Joy), is widely believed to be gained from a painting that Debussy admired during a visit to the Louvre, which means, it’s programmatic music. The painting depicted several noble couples preparing to travel by boat to the island of Cythère, the birthplace of Venus, in search of beautiful love.

L'Em-barquement pour Cythère(The Embarkation for Cythera)
Jean-Antoine Watteau, 1717

During the creation, Debussy was in love with his lover at the time and the two decided to elope to Jersey. Immersed in love and catalyzed by the beautiful scenery, Debussy eventually composed this passionate piano work in 1904. The whole piece is full of energy and vitality, expressing Debussy's desire for beautiful love and his appreciation for nature.

Here is the version played by Hamelin.

How Debussy conceptualized nature:

Unlike the Romantics, who often chose to compose with large events or grand things, Debussy preferred to compose natural scenes in our daily lives. Meanwhile, Instead of expressing conventional emotion to praise the beauty of nature, Debussy depicted nature in terms of the colors and the textures of the sound, together to evoke a sound impression, and considered it the priority of his creation. To be specific, he first created unique sounds in different colors, which may be hazy, dramatic or fantasy, etc., and then formed these sounds with Debussy-style textures.

Color:

1. Structure

    The structure of L'lsle Joyeuse is an unconventional ternary, Debussy did not compose exactly according to the rules of the ternary style. 

   For example, in the middle of the second part(bars 93-102), the sudden insertion of completely new musical material contrasts sharply with the musical color of the previous section. The previous section(bars 67-98) is marked with the musical terms "un peu cédé"(slightly slower), "molto rubato" (very free) and "ondoyant et expressif" (rhythmic and expressive), therefore the music is lyrical and soft in block chords. When it comes to the next section (bar 99), there is a succession of arpeggios, and the tempo returns to the original speed (a Tempo) as well. This strong contrast makes me feel like entering from the calm sea to lively rapids.

2. Harmony

    Debussy’s characteristic harmony is often independent of its traditional tonal function. Instead of conforming to those rules, he aimed to create sounds that would help him to create the impression he wanted. For example, as Debussy was influenced by Russian music, he used a lot of Gregorian modes in his works, making this old tuning appear once again in a new and exotic way. In bars 67-97, the beginning of the second part of the work, the upper melody is arranged in the Lydian mode. Each chord in the right hand is also a Lydian scale in the form of a seventh chord. It creates a completely different acoustic effect from the first part, becoming soft and lyrical. The music makes people feel as if they have finally entered the calm and endless sea, and I guess that’s the charm of this ancient church mode.

3. Dynamics

   Debussy marked a lot of dynamic notations and made the color variations more delicate. Take the introduction part of the piece, for example, those crescendo trills are like the approaching boats, getting closer and closer. And the sudden fortissimo is like a surge on the sea. But soon it comes back to piano again and starts to decrescendo as if the boat is reaching the shore. At last, the final two subito fortissimo and accent notes are like the arrival bells of the boat. Although Debussy did not like to let his music portray stories and simulate nature, these interpretations are literally what I could feel while listening to this piece.

Texture:

   Influenced by the music of Gamelan, Debussy-style textures often consist of three parts. And the reason why I want to illustrate the texture is that I found there are some connections with the painting.

1. Melody: consisted of short melodic motives. What Debussy pursued was an unstable and free music characteristic. And it’s just like the main character in Impressionist paintings, such as a person or a specific object.

2. Fixed accompaniment: repeated in a specific rhythm. Debussy likes to use compound and irregular rhythms to reflect the sense of dance in the music. Compared to the painting, it’s like the background of those trees, grass, and clouds.

3. Sustained bass: although it was already common before Debussy, Debussy's sustained bass was used more frequently and longer than by previous composers. The bass helps to create space in Debussy's music. And to me, it’s like the basic color the painter brushes on the canvas before literally starting to paint something on it.

References:
1. Abbate, Carolyn. “Debussy’s Phantom Sounds.” Cambridge Opera Journal 10, no. 1 (March 1998): 67–96.
2. Klein, Michael. “Debussy’s L’Isle Joyeuse as Territorial Assemblage.” 19th-Century Music 31, no. 1 (July 1, 2007): 028–052.