Impressionism, Rhythm and Pitch

Debussy - Jeux

I enjoyed this piece, it is interesting to note that it is described as a poème dansé - a poem to be danced to - as it is reminiscent of tone poems I have previously heard, and seems to tell a story. This story-telling fits well with its original purpose as ballet music.
There is a very slow, mysterious opening tempo, which brightens approximately two minutes into the work. It is clear to hear Debussy's use of short motifs, imitated between instruments, instead of longer melodies.

There are many shifts of tempo during this work, which create interest. I found there was very effective use of percussion, especially cymbals to keep a sense of pulse. I sometimes found it hard to pick out individual instruments, but noticed the score calls for harp, celesta and English horn along with the more usual instruments. I attempted to follow the score along with the music which would be very easy for me with piano music, but which I found very difficult with this orchestral score, and I lost my place often. The piece ends in a similar fashion to the beginning.

Stravinsky - The Rite Of Spring

This was my favourite work of the three focused on in this exercise. There is plenty of contrast between movements, and I particularly enjoyed the bold use of the large percussion, namely timpani, bass drum and tam-tam.

There is frequent use of ostinato in this work, with accents spaced in unpredictable ways. The time signature is changed often, which made it hard for me to keep a sense of pulse, but also created interest. There was some unusual use of instrumentation in this piece, a well-known example being the bassoon used in the extreme of its upper register, at the very beginning of the work, a part that would ordinarily have probably been played by an instrument such as the English horn.

From listening to the work (and a little help from the programme notes) I noticed that lots of the auxiliary counterparts of the standard orchestral instruments were used here, such as the bass clarinet, contrabassoon, high trumpet. and bass trumpet.

The unusual instrumentation and rhythmic unbalance maintained excitement and interest throughout the work.

Schoenberg - Pierrot Lunaire

I struggled with this piece, as it is a combination of atonality, which I'm still not adjusted to, and Sprechstimme style which I was previously unfamiliar with.

This work was scored for a much smaller ensemble than the other two, with only five instrumentalists and solo voice. The instruments used are all standard orchestral type, made up of piano, flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, viola and cello. Only in certain movements were all utilized at the same time, giving a much thinner texture for the most part than the previous two pieces. Even though the instruments here were standard, the lack of tonality and narrative style produces a sound that is far removed from either the Debussy or the Stravinsky.

As I was listening to this work, I followed an English translation and I realised the strange atonal sound fit the often macabre words of the poem well and played a good supporting role.

Comparing The Three Works

These three works, composed within a year of each other are markedly different in their approach. Both Debussy and Stravinsky used some less common instruments in their scores, and also some auxiliary relatives of standard instruments. Stravinsky in particular also strove to utilize certain instruments in unusual ways, such as the high-pitched bassoon in the opening to The Rite Of Spring.

Schoenberg on the other hand makes use of standard orchestral instrumentation, and in a much smaller ensemble. His work however is the most different of the three, taking a mostly atonal approach with a very unique and distinctive singing style. From what I could tell, Pierrot Lunaire keeps a fairly steady rhythm, which is in stark contrast to the Stravinsky piece, which emphasizes off-beat and uneven accents. While Jeux is steadier with its pulse, its very frequent changes of tempo presents anticipation for the listener. All three pieces I found atmospheric in their own way, Schoenberg's atonal harmony creating unease, the loud, bold and brash presentation in The Rite Of Spring, and the mysterious/playful mood contrasts found within Debussy's Jeux.