Like much of Western music of from the twentieth century, Claude Debussy’s compositional style is most definitively marked by its features of innovation. His most significant works, according to Richard Taruskin, are characterized by an abstract use of the whole tone scale to create the illusion of a “break down of structural demarcation” while still maintaining “significant harmonic trajectory” (Taruskin, Music 77). With this in mind, it is interesting to discuss, then, the presence (or absence, for that matter) of these aesthetic traits in Debussy’s later compositions, such as his work in his Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp. Written in 1915 during World War I, (only three years before his death) there are vast similarities and differences between his early and late works. Why, for example, were the bulk of Debussy’s sonatas (three of four) composed from 1915 to 1917? Why, after spending a lifetime defining himself by innovation was one of his final works plainly titled a “Sonata,” as if conceding to the trends of 18th century music? How, if at all, has Debussy taken the instrumentation and harmonic trajectories of his larger works, and portrayed the same qualities of Symbolism within the confines of a three movement, sixteen minute trio? This paper will analyze specific qualities of Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp (with emphasis on the final, third movement of the piece) in addition to its historical influences, and present them as evidence to the evolution of Debussy’s compositional style. I will then proceed to draw conclusions as to the creative intentions of his Sonata, using both the qualities of the piece which are characterized by the 20th century French Symbolist movement as well as those which are not.
First, a discussion of the title which Debussy chose for this piece is necessary, as it is largely pertinent to the nature of the piece as a whole. Taken out of context, the title “Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp” is very much not in the style of the twentieth century, French Symbolist movement. One would expect something similar to the wild poetic abstractions which the titles of Debussy’s compositions are known for. The piece titled Violes, for example, uses the ambiguity of the French language (with duel definitions meaning both “veils” or “sails” in the genderless plural form of the noun), to represent the absence of harmonic progression which he intended to depict through his use of the whole tone scale (Taruskin, Oxford, 78). Furthermore, the title of the piece is revealed only at the very end, preceded by an ellipsis, (as if to indicate that the title is meant to be whispered), leaving the audience to form their own impression of the piece without influence from Debussy’s original intentions (Taruskin, Music 77). This vagueness has a direct correlation to the abstraction of harmonic progression which he was most known for.
The title Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp has none of the same symbolism, yet the musical features of abstraction found in Debussy’s music are still very much apparent. Though the piece is referred to as a “Sonata,” it does not formally follow the classical Sonata Form, but rather is much closer to the Sonata Form of the Baroque Era. As Victor Lederer says in his book, Debussy: The Quiet Revolutionary, “…Each movement is based on a single motif, [and] worked through in decorative fashion… [Debussy] really uses the sonata title in its most basic sense, meaning an abstract sound piece” (Lederer, 138). What Lederer proposes here is that, though Debussy’s trio uses a title which most readily alludes to the Classical Era and the “Sonata-Allegro Form,” the motivic abstraction of the piece as well as its conception of the Sonata Form indicates that the main extra-musical referent of the piece is historical, rather than contemporary and poetic. What we are witnessing in Debussy’s final works, thus, is not a compromise of innovation, but rather more probably an allusion to the qualities of motivic elaboration most characteristic of the French Baroque Era.
Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp, thus, was quite determinedly written in the style of the French Baroque with the intention to realign twentieth century French music with the musical aesthetics of the 1600s. The era, according to him, was the time of “true French clarity,” in which Debussy believed presented the capacity to redefine the tradition of French music in the twentieth century (Myers, 105). Stricken mortally ill by colorectal cancer during WWI, Debussy’s final works are a reflection of his dying patriotic desire for French musical preservation. Interestingly enough, this return to Baroque styled music is also indicative of a precursor to the music which succeeded Debussy’s demise (that is, the Neo-Classical Era.) Such would indicate that the composer’s final works may indeed have had an impact on the future development of twentieth century French music (Myers, 110). Examples throughout Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp, thus, are doubly characteristic of the French Baroque as well as the Neo-Classical Era (although, for the sake of this paper, a detailed discussion of the Neo-Classical Era will be avoided).
Perhaps the most immediately apparent quality of the Baroque Sonata in Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp, thus, is in its close instrumental relation to the Trio Sonata. According to Sandra Mangsen’s article in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the Trio Sonata is characterized as a piece for “two or three melody instruments and continuo…The melodic parts are usually of equal importance, although the bass may be less active” (New Grove, 690). In the “Finale” of Debussy’s Sonata, he presents the melodic line almost exclusively in the flute and viola while the harp moves through a grounding structure of relatively harmonically steady sixteenth notes. Save for a brief moment in measures sixteen through nineteen, the harp part outlines tritones, perfect fifths, and minor thirds for virtually all of the motivic development up until measure thirty-two. The result is the establishment of harmonic structure in the harp while the motivic development of the piece is left to take place almost entirely in the more melodically oriented flute and viola part. Though his choice of instruments are not generally characteristic of the Baroque Era (most obviously, the harp,) the function of the instruments are nevertheless very much in the style of the Trio Sonata.
The overall form of Debussy’s Sonata is additionally more reminiscent of the Baroque Sonata Form than it is of the Classical Era Sonata-Allegro Form. Once again citing Mangsen’s article in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the Baroque Sonata Form is characterized by binary form, a “…musical structure consisting of two mutually dependent sections of roughly equal duration,” where as the Classical Sonata-Allegro Form “…exhibits several contrasting ideas…which develop dramatically into passages of tension and resolution (New Grove, 690).” The variation between these two different musical structures is found in the significant contrast of melodic ideas observed in the Classical Sonata-Allegro form which does not occur in the Baroque Sonata Form. The result is an exhibition of greater thematic variation in the Sonata Form of the Classical Era than that of the Baroque, which, as we will see, features a more broad variation upon a single motivic theme.
Once again observing the “Finale” of Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp, we witness a movement which is distinctively written in binary form. The first thirty-two bars of the piece (discussed earlier) present the motif of the piece in f minor (designated theme A), with brief motion through A major in which the motif is momentarily presented in the harp part. At measure thirty-three, (designated by a key change to Bb minor) Debussy presents a melodic variation of the same theme (designated theme a’) in which essentially the same motif is presented, but with a significant amount of melodic variation. Though the second theme a’ is certainly unique from the first theme A, the two are nevertheless distinctly “mutually dependent,” as they are clearly reminiscent of one another both rhythmically and intervallically.
Most notable about the binary form in Debussy’s Sonata here is the definitive relationship between theme A and theme a’ developed through the use of rhythmic and intervallic relationships. Observe, for example, in measures six through eight (figure 1,) Debussy presents a portion of the motif in the alto clef of the viola part. In this case, the original motif occurs with a leap of a perfect fifth preceded by a whole step in two eighth notes. The figure then proceeds to leap a minor third, followed by a decent of a perfect fourth and a perfect fifth. It then recovers with whole step to complete a triplet figure. The melodic figure is then repeated twice (with the preceding eighth note whole step left out) before descending two major thirds and a tritone to essentially complete the figure.
In contrast, now, Debussy presents a variation of the same motif in measures thirty-five and thirty-six (figure 2), this time sequenced in Bb minor, and in the treble clef of the flute part. Here we observe the same approach of a whole step in eighth notes, followed by a leap of a perfect fifth. An intervallic variation occurs next, where Debussy substitutes the original leap of a minor third seen in the previous sequence with a leap of a perfect fourth, then followed by a decent of two perfect fifths, and recovering upwards with a whole step. Though the intervals vary slightly here, their function is nevertheless the same. By approaching and recovering the leaping intervals with whole steps, Debussy creates two motivic figures which are both mutually dependent upon one another yet intervallically different as well.
Rhythmically, we also observe a very slight variation of the motivic figure, in which the two are approached in the same fashion (with the upward motion of a whole step in eighth notes, followed by a leap of a perfect fifth landing on a quarter note.) However, Debussy then varies the second figure by literally doubling the rhythm of the sequence, using eighth notes and eighth note triplets in the first sequence, and sixteenth notes and sixteenth note triplets in the second sequence (figure 2). By approaching the figure rhythmically in the same fashion as the original viola motif in addition to the reproduction of the same succeeding rhythmic sequence in double time, Debussy produces a motivic relationship between theme A and theme a’ which is very much mutually dependent, yet different enough to convince the listener of a step away from the original theme, producing the definitive appearance of binary form in Debussy’s Sonata.
Although naturally the examples brought to light in this essay are only a portion of the motivic development which Debussy’s Sonata exemplify, they are nonetheless sufficient to support the thesis that his Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp is in fact written in the binary form of the Baroque Trio Sonata as an effort to preserve the French musical aesthetic. Motivically, we have observed the very close relation of Debussy’s theme A and theme a’ as evidence of the binary form (and therein, the Baroque Sonata Form) in his piece. In addition, the specific roles which each instrument fills are also indicative of the Trio Sonata of the Baroque as well. It can be concluded, thus, that although the historical references which Debussy draws in this piece in some ways lack the innovative style which is so characteristic of his earlier works (or for that matter, much of the French Symbolist movement), it is nonetheless quite ahead of its time for its anticipation of the Neo-Classical Era which followed Debussy’s death. As a result, the parallels which are drawn between it and the Baroque Era can largely be attributed to the works of Debussy and the significance which his Sonatas played as a precursor to the oncoming era of music.
Bibliography
DeVoto, Mark. Debussy and the Veil of Tonality : Essays on His Music.
Fulcher, Jane F., ed. Debussy and His World.
Lederer, Victor. Debussy: the Quiet Revolutionary.
Mangsen, Sandra. "Sonata Form." New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd ed. 2001.
Myers, Rollo H. Debussy.
Nichols, Roger, and Claude Debussy. Debussy Remembered.
Nichols, Roger. The Life of Debussy.
Smith, Richard Langham, ed. Debussy Studies.
Taruskin, Richard. "Music 77 History of Western Music: The 20th Century." Music 77 History of Western
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Walker, Deanne E. An Analysis of Debussy's Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp.
Figured Examples
Hi, I'm performing this sonata and writing critical program notes on the piece, and would love to cite some of your ideas. Can you please tell me if this article has been published elsewhere or just this blog?
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