Le 29 juin 2017
de 15h00 à 15h30
Le Patio (université de Strasbourg)
22 rue René Descartes, 67000 Strasbourg
amphithéâtre 6
Séance précomposée - Interpreting and Listening to the Music of Debussy
Pré-acte / Acte
Auteur : Lukas Haselböck
The opening section of this paper probes the role of expectancy situations and sound constellations within the framework of a perception-oriented analytical method. In a further step, this is exemplified by an analysis of Debussy’s Nocturnes (1897–99): In this work, Debussy refers to expectancy situations in many ways. Sometimes a kind of ‘emptiness’ is dominating – motives, themes or even musical shapes are missing. In other moments, rhythms, movements, motivic or sound constellations ‘grow’ – however, they often do not reach a final state. In situations like these, the listener is confronted with the psychological state of ‘not yet’ – (s)he is waiting for the completion of movement, melody or sound. Observations like these suggest a critical questioning of the notion of ‘form’. Due to different reports and writings, Debussy was indifferent to form as an abstract criterion. By keeping ‘horizons of expectancy’ alife over a long time-span, he awakes a specific continuity of interest which is fundamental for his psychological conception of form. In this context, one of the crucial factors is the ambivalence of sound which is at the core of his music. This specific sound quality and its relationship to form and listening is investigated by using the software MIRtoolbox. By opening the analytical framework towards aspects of expectancy and sound, the term ‘impressionism’ in its misinterpretation as a kind of ‘static pointillism’ is re-evaluated.
