Chromatic Third-Relations and Tonal Structure in the Songs of Debussy

Abstract

Chromatic third-relations, understood not merely as chromatic mediants (and submediants) but as a more comprehensive array of chromatic arpeggiations, constitute an essential element in Debussy's language of chromatic tonality. Such chromatic motions not only elaborate the musical foreground but may also create large-scale tonal designs that encompass entire song compositions, eventually even supplanting the presence of structural dominants. They arise in songs Debussy composed throughout his career, but are employed with increasing subtlety and expressive power around and after the turn of the century, in “La chevelure,” “Le tombeau des naiades,” “Colloque sentimental,” “Soupir,” and “Eventail.”