The piano sonority of Claude Debussy

Abstract

This study discusses only those elements in Claude Debussy's work that are directly associated with the qualities of a particular instrument and what they inspire. The piano music that Debussy composed evolved in part from his own particular performance, attested to by numerous individuals. He experimented at the keyboard as a painter would explore his palette. Though he never realized his first goal of being a concert artist, Debussy knew all the technical possibilities available to a skilled pianist. In the early work he often used the piano in traditional patterns. Until the very end, Debussy remembered the many roles of his instrument and wrote exquisite melodies, scintillating toccatas and sweeping cadenzas. However, in his full development, he uniquely employed the piano's sonorous resources and painted atmospheric scenes evoking the plucking of a guitar, the dissonance of cathedral bells, a goldfish in bright waters or a toccata of raindrops. The piano inspired the pursuit of myriad sonorities. Ultimately, the musician himself was the poet of tone. This volume explores early, mature and late work, including the Preludes and the twelve Etudes, examining forms, harmonies, rhythms, touch, pitches, sustained sounds, and compositions.