‘Striptease’ as Ideology

Abstract

Vincent d'Indy's Istar (1897), a set of variations for orchestra, commands attention for its unusual ground plan: the variations proceed from complex textures to simple ones. Analysis reveals how certain melodic and harmonic details unfold at larger structural levels. Istar's symmetries and organic construction are set in the context not only of previous variation sets but also of Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, a symphonic poem of similar dimensions that was premiered shortly before d'Indy composed his piece. Resemblances between the two works suggest that d'Indy may have intended Istar as a response to Debussy. Juxtaposition of Debussy and d'Indy provides insight into the different connotations of modernity at the fin de siècle. Istar's programme and compositional strategies reflect d'Indy's firm historicism and commitment to tradition. Yet the work was received as experimental and daring in its day. In its materials Istar paradoxically illustrates a ‘backward progression’: its stylistic allusions move backward in time, yet the tonal direction aims forward towards the concluding tonic. Such idiosyncrasies provide insight into d'Indy's aesthetics and ideology, which sought to conflate commitment to progress with adherence to Faith.