Kopp - Organization in Two Piano Pieces of Debussy

7/24/2019 Kopp - Organization in Two Piano Pieces of Debussy

1/28

Yale University Department of Music

Pentatonic Organization in Two Piano Pieces of DebussyAuthor(s): David KoppReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of Music Theory, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Autumn, 1997), pp. 261-287Published by: Duke University Presson behalf of the Yale University Department of MusicStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/843960.

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PENTATONIC ORGANIZATION IN

TWO

PIANO PIECES

OF

DEBUSSY

David

Kopp

I

The

innovative

aspects

of

Debussy's

harmonic

practice

have

been com-

monly

attributed o his

use of nontraditional

cales

and

of familiar onal

material n

unfamiliar uccessions.

In

this

view,

the characteristic esult

is an exotic and

order-independent

armonic

vocabulary

best

describable

as color.

This definition

hinges

on an

implicit

distinction between

di-

rected,colorless

tonality

on one hand,andstatic,colorfulsuccessions of

in-the-moment

harmonies

drawing

what

coherence

they

display largely

from

immediatecontext

on the other.

Harmonic unction and

harmonic

color

are

pictured

as

mutually

exclusive,

fundamentallyopposed

quali-

ties. Thus Arnold

Schoenberg

wrote of

Debussy's

non-functionalhar-

monies,

operating

without

reference to a

single

tonic;

these,

without

constructive

meaning,

often served

the colouristic

purpose

of

expressing

moods

and

pictures

Schoenberg

1984,

216).

Debussy

himself wrote of

the need to transcend he strictures f formand the limits of conventional

harmonic

progression

in

order

to

create

music based

more

directly

on

color and

beauty

of

sound.I

But of

course

there are colors to

the

familiar tonal

progressions

as

well.

It is

just

that we

are so

inuredto

them that

we tend

to

perceive

and

261


3/28

think of them as

black

and

white.

Debussy's

colors

may

be

lush,

but

it

may

well

be their

complex

and unusual

aspect along

with an

attenuated

sense of

goal-directedness,

rather han

any

ultimate ack

of

ordered

co-

herence,

that

prompts

he conclusion that

they

act withoutreference

o

a

harmonicsystem. Systems may exist in which at least some of these

sonoritiescan be

understood

o

relate

n

coherent,

meaningfulways.

Per-

haps

the

usage

of

the term color

merely signifies

the absence of

names

and

concepts by

which to

differentiate hese

processes

of

change,

or

a

tendency

not to ascribe

coherence where familiar

teleological qualities

are not

easily

felt.

Schoenbergmay

relate the diminished

perception

of

conventional

onic-centeredness o a lack of

constructive

meaning,

but

the

latter need not

necessarily

follow

from the former.As Arthur

Wenk

has

observed,

Debussy

sought

to

revitalize

tonality

rather han to

aban-

don it (Wenk1983,68).

Earlier studies of

Debussy's

use

of

the common

alternativescales

(whole

tone,

octatonic,

pentatonic),

epitomizedby

Constantin

Brailoiu's

exhaustive

treatmentof

Debussy's

pentatonic

music

(Brailoiu

1958),

focused on

purely

melodic

aspects

of

pitch organization.2

More

recent

work

speculates

on

harmonic

aspects.

Philippe

Charru,

drawing

on

theo-

ries of

Claude

Ballif,

has

traced he

interaction f the

different ource

col-

lections in

Debussy's

Preludes

by

meansof

analysespredicated

n

invari-

ant

three-note

motives

which, actingmelodicallyandas harmonic ocal

points,

underlie

disparate

urface

manifestations f

key

and

mode

(Charm

1988,

Ballif

1968).3

Wenk

1983)

has

summarized everal

acknowledged

aspects

of

Debussy's

harmonic

practice

beyond

the

use of

alternative

scales and

modes: his

replacement

f

harmonic

progression

by

elabo-

ration

of

static

harmonies;

his

utilization of

tritone

relationships

along

with

fifth

relationships;

his

predilection

for

nonfunctional

parallel

har-

monies

and

dissonant

uxtapositions

of

semitone-related

hords.4

Richard

Mueller has

traced

nteractionsof

whole-tone

and

pentatonic

collections

in Debussy'sJavanese-influencedmusic (Mueller1986, 157-85).

Analyses

based

on

set

theory

have

more

formally

modeled

ways

in

which

the

collections

defined

by

these

scales

may

each serve as

sources

for a

complex

of

related

subsets.

The smaller

sets,

acting

melodically

and

harmonically,

may

conversely

be

understood o

invoke

their

source

col-

lections,

deriving

contextual

sense

through

their

relation to

controlling

harmonic

ntities and

their

characteristic

ounds.

Thus

a

type

of

harmonic

coherence s

demonstrated

without

explicit

reference o

tonal

process.

The

teleological

aspect

associated

with

tonal

relationships

is

not

strongly

evokedby this approach,n accordancewiththe

widely-recognized

ack

of

goal-directedness

n

much of

Debussy's

music.

This

is

not

to

say

that

set

relationships

are

presumed

always

to

operate

ndependently

of

tonal-

ity.

Familiar

onal

relationships

onsistently

coexist

with

alternative

har-

mony

n

Debussy,

and

t is

common

knowledge

hat

he

regularly

mployed

262


4/28

common

subsets to mediate

transitions

between

different

scale

types.

Beyond

this,

though,

analysis

may

show

how the

large

degree

of

overlap

of subsets

among

differentscalarsource

sets facilitatesthe

simultaneous

presence

of

multiple

modes of harmonic

organization.

RichardParks

has

providedthe technical basis for this approach o Debussy's music in a

wide-rangingstudy

(Parks

1989),

identifying

four

genera

of

high-level

organization:

iatonic,

whole-tone,chromatic,

and octatonic.Another

re-

cent

study

identifies music

in

Debussy

whose

foreground

s

ostensibly

diatonic but whose

backgroundorganization,

ts fundamental

evel,

is

clearly

octatonic

(Forte

1991,

138).

I

propose

hatan

analogous

situationobtains

n

Debussy's

Les

collines

d'Anacapri

The

Hills of

Anacapri),

he fifthof

the

Prdludes,

book

I,

writ-

ten in

1909. While Les

collines

outwardly

remains in

diatonic

B

major

from

beginning

to end, thereis considerableaudibleharmonic

variety

n

the

piece.

Two kinds of

pitch

organization

n

this

prelude

are

readily

dis-

cernible:diatonicand

pentatonic.

My

claim is

thattwo different

onal

sys-

tems are

present

n

the

prelude,

both

operating

within

a

seven-note dia-

tonic

context. One

system

is familiar

functional

tonality.

The other is a

system

of

shifting pentatonic

collections

whose medium of

coherence

does not

derivefrom

conventional onal

relationships.

Rather han

chang-

ing

tonalcenters

over its coursefor

the sake

of harmonic

variety

and

nter-

est, Les collines alternatesbetween these two systems of organization

while

preserving

ts

tonal center.5

The

standardmodel

for

pentatonic

music

operating

within a

diatonic

framework ntails

a

single

anhemitonic

pentatonic

scale

overlaying

dia-

tonic

scale

degrees

1,

2, 3, 5,

and

6.6

This

collection is

used as the basis

for

melody,

while the

remaining

diatonic

pitches

are

supplied by

sub-

sidiary

lines or

chords,

facilitating

ull-fledged presence

of the

common

tonal

functions.

Familiar

instances of this

technique

underlying

entire

pieces

are

Chopin's

black

key

etude

(op.

10,

no.

5)

and

Debussy's pre-

lude,Lafille auxcheveuxde lin.Theseso-called pentatonic workstake

place

within

a

relatively

conventional

onal context.7

In

Les

collines,

however,

pentatonic

organization

s

complex

and fun-

damental,

encompassing

he bulk

of the

piece

and

involving

all

three of

the

pentatonic

collections

which

are

naturally

mbedded n

any

particu-

lar

diatonic

set.8

The

relationship

of

these collections

to the

key

and

to

each

other s

displayed

n

Figure

1,

in

which

the

members

of the

diatonic

set are

arranged

by

fifth.

The

pentatonic

collection

may

be

thought

of not

just

as a

scalar

grouping,

but also as

the

set of

pitches

generated

by

an

end-to-endseries of five fifths.9Three such series,

starting

a fifthfrom

each

other,

yield

three

pentachords

whose

collective

pitch

content

is

the

major-mode

diatonic

set.

In

addition,

the

diatonic

and

pentatonic

collections

are

complemen-

tary

with

respect

to

the

total

chromatic,

nformally

obvious

through

he

263


5/28

I

IL,

m

'

T

I-I

T I

B

C

Figure

1.

Derivationof the three diatonic

pentachords

A:

Soft

B:Middle

C:Hard

A:

Soft B:

Middle

C:

Hard

Figure

2.

The three

pentachords

f

Les

collines

d'Anacapri

sets'

identities as the

white-key

and

black-key

collections on

the

key-

board.

While it is

true that

Debussy

exploits

this

complementation

ela-

tionship

in

other

works,

the

embedding

property,

n which different

sys-

tems

of

organizationoverlay

the

same harmonic

ocus,

takes

precedence

in

Les

collines,

as this

study

will

demonstrate.'0

The three

groups

as an

embedded

system

form

a

familiar

configura-

tion.

In

additionto

the

customarilyexploited

pentatonic

collection situ-

ated

at the

tonic,

another s

found a fifth

below

the

tonic,

while a third

ies

a fifth abovethe tonic. Since the termstonic, dominant,andsubdomi-

nant are

tonally suggestive,

I

name the

three

pentachords

n

homage

to

the

ancient

hexachords.

They

are soft

(on

diatonic

4),

middle

(on

diatonic

1),

and hard

(on

diatonic

5).

I

avoid

using

the

archaicterm

natural or

the

middle

pentachord

o

guard

against

he

assumption

hat n

this

system

it is

necessarily

more

natural

han

the

others,

or that it

is

inherently

he

harmonic

ocus.

In

Les

collines,

for

example,

harmonicmotion

is

largely

a

matterof

patterns

of

directed

shifts between

the

three

pentachords

n

which the

middle

pentachords often an intermediate

lement.12

The anhemitonic

pentachord

an

be

understood

as a

subset

of the

dia-

tonic

set,

overlaying

scale

degrees

1,

2, 3,

5,

and

6

(Figure

3).

This

subset

lacks scale

steps

4

and

7,

the two

pitches

forming

the

tritone,

identified

with

the

dominant

seventh

chord,

which

motivates

onward

harmonic

motion

to the

tonic. Within

a

single pentachord,

his

results

in

a

signifi-

cant

restrictionof the

characteristic

onal

interplay

between

melody

and

functional

harmony.13

The

absence of

scale

degree

4

further

means that

the

root of

the

subdominant s

lacking.

This

absence of

essential

features

of bothdominantandsubdominant oes notpreclude nternal onal activ-

ity

among

membersof

the

pentachord,

but it

does

considerably

constrain

its

harmonic

range.

Thus

the

[1,

2, 3, 5,

6]

overlay

is

a

significantly

ess

dynamic

entity

than the

diatonic

set,

moreoverwith

characteristics

dif-

ferent

from

the

other

possible

pentatonic

major-scale

overlay,

[1, 2,

4

, 5,

264


6/28

6].14

The

other

three

orderings

of the anhemitonic

pentachord

nvoke

dif-

ferent diatonic scales or

modes,

as shown

in

Table

1,

which

lists

and

names the

orderings

and the scale

overlays

associated

with

each.'5

In

accordance

with this

table,

I will

refer to the two

major-scale

overlays

describedabove as PT1 and

PT2.16

Figure

3

clarifies

this

point by showing

the extent to which the notes

comprising

he three

primary

riads

are contained

n the PT

1

overlay.

The

tonic

triad

is

complete.

Dominant and

subdominant,

hough,

are

repre-

sented

only

by

dyads lacking

the

important

unctionalelements

ust

men-

tioned. As

a

result, PT1

is

a

highly

stable,

even static

entity,

reflected n

a

strong

onic

component,

and in less

strong,

ess differentiated

ominant

components

than

normally

encountered n

diatonic music.

Furthermore,

absence

of

the

[4,7] dyad

also

vitiates somewhat he usual tonal

weight-

ing

to the

sharp

side.17

Each of the three

PT1

pentachords

mbedded

n

the diatonic set thus

defines a

relatively

stable

harmonicarea

n

which tension

created

by

dis-

sonance

is

largely

attenuated.

Accordingly,

harmonic

activity

in

this

sys-

tem does

not come

largely

from

contrapuntal

endencies

inherent

n

the

pentatonic

collection

itself which

give

rise

to motion from one

subgroup

to another.

Harmonicmotion in this

system

more

naturally

akes

place

on

a

higher

level,

as shifts from

one

pentatonicgroup

to

another,

all

taking

place withinthe same diatoniccollection, as the threeembeddedpenta-

chordsdefine

similar

harmonic

areas

yet overlay

different

cale

degrees.'s

In

the

embedded

pentatonic

system, along

with

the five

nondiatonic

pitches,

certain

membersof

the diatonic

set itself

have the

potential

o be

treated

as

nonharmonic

ones. These

pitches

may

takeon a

dissonantchar-

acterwhen

heard

n

contexts

involving pentachords

which do

not include

them. For

example,

in

the

B

major

PT 1

pentatonic

system,

the soft

pen-

tachord

contains

the

pitches

E,

F#,

G#, B,

and

C#.

The

pitch

A#,

although

diatonic

in

B

major,

s

not a

memberof the

pentachord

n

E.

In

a context

in which the soft

pentachord

s

active,

A#

may

thereforesoundout of

place,

as if it

were

a

nonharmonic

one

(Figure

4).

Likewise,

E and

B

may

1 23

5

Figure

3.

Representation

f the

primary

unctions

in

the

PT1

pentachord

ordering:

T:

1,3,5

S:

6,

1

(third

and

fifth)

D:

5,

2

(root

and

fifth)

265


7/28

Name Interval

content

Mode invoked

Scale

degree overlay

PT1

2-2-3-2

[0,

2,

4,

7,

9] 1 Major

1, 2, 3,

5,

6

PT2

2-3-2-2

[0,

2, 5, 7,

9] Major

1, 2,

4,

5,

6

PT3 2-3-2-3 [0, 2, 5, 7, 10] Dorian

I

1,2,

4,,

,

PT4

3-2-2-3

[0,

3,

5, 7,

10]

Natural minor

1,3,4, ,

PT5

3-2-3-2

[0,

3, 5, 8,

10]

Nat. minor /

Phrygian

1,

34,

6, ,

Table

1. The

five

orderings

of the

anhemitonic

pentachord

and

their

associated

scale

overlays

sound out

of

place

when

heard

against

the

hard

pentachord.

Melodic

diminution

and motion

between

pentachords

may

also,

of

course,

impli-

cate

pitches

from

outside the

diatonic

collection. But it is

not

necessary

to

introduce

chromaticism n

order

o

supply

non-harmonic

ound:there

will

always

be

two diatonic

pitches

foreign

to

each

pentachord.

By

the same

token,

the soft and

hard

pentachords

ach contain

exactly

one

pitch

which

is

foreign

to both

of the

other two

pentachords.

These

tones

can

assume the

role of

identitypitches,

distinguishing

he relevant

pentachord

rom

the others

(Figure

4).

For

example,

in B

major,

he

pitch

A#is foundonly in the hardpentachord.A#maythuscome to exemplify

the

hard

ound.

Likewise,

the

pitch

E,

found

only

in

the soft

penta-

chord,

may

exemplify

the

soft

sound.

This

property

s

evident

in

Les

collines.

Conversely,

here

are

threetones

which

are

common to

all three

pentatonic

groups.

These are

the

diatonic

pitches

locatedon

scale

degrees

2, 5,

and

6.

This

collection

has the

potential

o

work as a

sortof tonal

glue,

associating

the

three

pentachords

ogether

ndependently

of

the tonic. In

Les

collines,

these

common

pitches

( glue

tones

G#-C#-F#

n B

major;

Figure

5)

do

indeed act in

this

way.

II

These

are

some

of the

properties

of an

integrated

pentatonic-diatonic

system.

Over

Les

collines'

three

equally

long

sections,

this

type

of

pen-

tatonic

organization

pervades

nearly

every

note of the first

and third

sec-

tions,

and

forms

an

important

econdary

element

of

the middle

section.

Pentatonic

organization

also

determines,

n an

important

and

dynamic

way,

the

harmonic

structure

of

phrases, sections,

and

the

piece

as a

whole.

The

following

analysis

will

demonstrate he

substance of

these

claims.

Referencesto

the

first

section

are

included

n

Example

1.

At

the

outset of

Les

collines,

six

successive

notes

delimiting

an an-

hemitonic

pentachord

rise and

linger

as

a

sustained

harmonic

entity.19

While it will

become

clear

that this

pentachord

s

the

soft

pentachord

f

266


8/28

the

B

major

system,

its

identity

at this

point

is

ambiguous.

The fifth

B-F#

which

begins

the

piece

could

signal

B

major;

however,

the

complete

E

major

riad

formed

by

the

last three notes

could constitutean arrival

and

might

itself

imply

a

tonic.

Or the entire

sonority may

define a

single

in-

verted seventh chord (the F# being dissonant)with multiple possible

meanings.

The distribution

f tones

might suggest

either

a

PT2

or a PT

1

ordering.

All

that is

completely

certain is the

suspended

pentatonic

sound.20

A

quicker

descending

gesture

introduces

one of the

piece's principal

melodies.

The

descending

melody

also falls within the soft

pentachord,

with the addition

of what

may

sensibly

be called

a nonharmonic one:

D#,

rhythmicallyvery

weak and of

only

minor

significance

as a

necessary

passing

tone.21

Defining

the contoursof the

melody

are

the notes occur-

ringon strongbeats:F#,C#,andG#.These are the glue tonesin thepen-

tatonic

system

on B.

The

rolled chord

punctuating

his

melody

also derives from the soft

pentachord,

but contains one new nonharmonic

pitch:

A#,

set off

in

the

highest register.

In

part

because

it was the

only

diatonic

pitch

absent

in

the

piece

to

this

point,

and

in

part

because it is

foreign

to the soft

penta-

,r,~,

=.

,,

I Soft

I0w

Medium

i

.;

,H-d

,

,

Hard

Figure4. Diatonicpitcheswhichcanbe locally

nonharmonic

black

notes)

- ;II IL II i,

i

Soft

if

i

ir

e d i u r n

1Hard

_

dp

=_11

1

Hard

Figure

5. The

glue

tones

(between

double

bars)

267


9/28

Vi

(=

)

quitte,

en

laissant rihrrr

soft

-

En

eerrant

Tres

mode6r6

. . __..-

r

I

i

40

14,,

of

I

r-

do 9

I

middle

-

(B

drops out)

aproY

u-ie

z,

el

t

i]

Irr

-r-4Lrr_

App

hard

-

Example

1.

Opening

section

of Les Collines

d'Anacapri,

with

shifting

pitch

collections

indicated

chord,

this

A#

sounds

particularly

solated

and

dissonant.

Normally,

A#

wouldbe the leadingtone,full of tonic-directedness.Herethepitchcon-

veys

a different

sense,

standing

out

as

a

goalless

dissonance

against

what

has

preceded

t.

This treatment

f

A#

begins

to

nullify

a sense

of diatonic

B

major

early

on

in the

prelude,

and

to

strengthen

he

impression

of

pen-

tatonic

harmony

despite

the

completion

of the

diatonic

set.

268


10/28


11/28

E

must

disappear,

while

DO

must take its

place.

And

this is what

occurs:

in

one

voice,

E

moves

through

E#

to become

F#,

while

in another

voice,

C#,

by way

of

Cx,

becomes

DO

(refer

to

Example

1).

Confirming

his

process,

the

descendingmelody

of

mm. 3 and

4

returns,

ransposedup

a

fifth.Thistime,E is the diatonicpitchexcluded fromthemelody.E is the

identitypitch

of the soft

pentachord,

he tone which

belongs

to no

other

collection

in

this

system,

and

its absence

underscores he harmonic

mo-

tion of the last few measures.This

appearance

f

the

descending

melody

is followed not

by

a

dissonant

chord,

but

by

a

repeated

falling-fourth

motive

derived

from the

pitches

occurring

on the

melody's

beats,

all of

which

lie

in

the tonic

pentachord.23

t

this

point

the

opening

music is

clearly

understood

as

other-than-tonic,

aking place

in

the soft

penta-

chord.

This new

pentachord,clearly

based on

B,

confirms PT1 as

the

ordering

active

in Les

collines.

The

achievementof

m.

11

is

short-lived.While the

falling-fourth

music

contributes o the sense of

harmonic

arrival,

t

also initiatesa shift to the

hard

pentachord,

or it lacks a

B,

conserving only

those four notes

(C#,

DO,F#,

GO)

which are

common o the tonic

andhardcollections.The emer-

gent

ostinatoon

D#

and

F#

supports

a

melody,

beginning

n

m.

14,

whose

tune is

new

but whose

rhythm

reiterates

he

pattern

of the

descending

melody.

This new

melody

takes

place

within

the hard

pentachord;

B

here

is nonharmonic,appearingalways in a rhythmicallyweak positionas a

passing

tone,

and

eventuallydisappearing.

A#,

on

the other

hand,

s

quite

prominent,

once

again

less a

leading

tone

than an

independent

quality.

Like

the

earlier

descending

melody,

this one

regularly

outlines fourths.

Toward he end of this

passage,

in mm.

18-20,

the left

hand

begins

to

project

what seems like

diatonic

B

major.

Froma

pentatonic

perspective,

though,

what is

happening

s

motion from

the

hard

pentachord

back to

the soft

pentachord.

For

this to

occur,

E

and

B

must

reappear,

while

A#

and

D#

must

eventually

disappear.

To

achieve a smooth

transition

be-

tweenthe two, Debussyintroduces he E and B first,thenwithdraws he

other

two

pitches.

The

intermediate

tage,

in

which

the

pitches

of both

pentachords

are

present,

involves the

entire

diatonic set. The

harmonic

shift

to

soft is

carried

hrough

n

m.

21,

during

which

the

right

hand

holds

the

ostinato,

now

reduced

o

F#

alone,

while

the

left hand

brings

back

the

opening

melody,

signalling

a

move back

to

the soft

pentachord.

The dis-

appearance

of

AM

onfirmsthe

move

away

from hard

to

soft.

Following

this,

in

m.

22,

is a wash

of

F#

surrounding

he

fourth

G#-C#.

This is

the

sound of

the

glue

tones,

the

common

ground

between the

hard and

soft

pentachords,

and in a

way

the emblem

of

the

pentatonic system

as a

whole.

The

glue

tones

give

a sense

of

melding

(which

the

complete

dia-

tonic

cannot

give)

and

of

arrival,

ince we

are

back

where we

started,

n

the

melodic

territory

f

the

soft

pentachord.

These three

notes

can

also be

270


12/28

thought

of as a

general summing-upgesture,

since

the music is about

to

move

away

from the

pentachordal ystem.

Reviewing

large-scale

harmonicmotion to this

point:

From

the

begin-

ning through

m.

17 there is one extended rise

through

he

pentachords,

fromsoft (m. 1) to middle(m. 10) to hard(m. 14).This is followedby a

move

directly

back from

hard

(m. 17)

to soft

(m. 21).

The

middle

penta-

chord

s

underplayed:

t is

active for

only

two measures

during

he

rising

episode,

and is

bypassed

completely

at the

return o the

soft

pentachord.

Debussy

is

reserving

t;

he has

managed

o be

technically

in B

major

all

this time and

yet

to have

very

little to

do

with

the tonic

in

either

its

pen-

tatonic or

diatonic forms. Since

the overall

harmonic motion in

mm.

1-24

is

from soft back to

soft,

I

consider soft

o be the

governing

har-

mony

of

this first

section.24

Measures24

through

31

instigate

a

transitional

hase

from

primacy

of

the soft

collection to

primacy

of

the

tonic,

and

from

pentatonicism

o dia-

tonicism. The

passage

is

invigorated

by

an

octatonic

left-hand

melody

drawing

ts main

pitches

from the

diminished

seventh

chordbased on

A,

and its

secondary

ones from the

upper neighbors

to

members of

that

chord.25

ts

greater

significance

derives

from mm.

8-10,

which

also in-

volves a move from

soft

to tonic

involving

chromatic

pitches.

In

this

light,

we

can understand

hromaticism

as an

indicatorof

transition,

and

the octatonicism as an expansionof the earlierchromaticmaterial.Its

significance

is

not

only

as

a

collection of

specific

pitches

but also as a

contrasting

ntity

intervening

between

large

areas

having

different

kinds

of

organization.

The

foreign

octatonicsound

sits

uneasily.

It lasts

for a mere

three

mea-

sures,

at which

point

the

music,

as

if

in

reaction,

stops

short in m.

28.

Debussy

makes

the

dominant

seventh

configuration

at

this

point

sound

unusually

dissonant

within the

prevailing

harmonic

context. The

D?,

in

particular,

tands

out

awkwardly

for

the

following

reasons. Within

the

new octatoniccontext two notes appearing n the passage are nonhar-

monic:

B

and D?

(Figure

6).

Since

B

is

the

tonic of the

piece,

its

locally

dissonant

quality

enhances the

foreign

sound

of the

passage.

D?,

on

the

other

hand,

is

dissonant to

everything:

the

tonic

key,

all

three

penta-

chords,

and the

octachord.

It is

also the

only

note in

the

chord

of

m.

28

which

does not

belong

to

the

diminished

seventh

chord

on A.

Moreover,

D?

has a

larger

purpose,

or

it is an

important

hromatic

passing

tone,

the

transition

note

between the

soft

and

middle

pentachords.

Here

it

fulfills

the

identical

function

as the

enharmonically quivalent

Cx in

m.

9,

lead-

ing

to the DO hat

signifies

motionfromthe

soft

collection

to the

middle.

In

fact,

mm.

30 and

31

contain

nothing

but

D#,

concentrating

he evi-

dence of

harmonic

motion in

the bare

essential,

suspending

all

further

activity

until

the

upbeat

o

the next

section.

271


13/28

I

r

IIk+ d

L

ji

I

Figure

6. The octachord

white

notes)

and

locally

nonharmonic

ones

(black notes);

notes in bracketsdo not occur in the octatonic

passage

The interior

ection of the

piece,

mm.

32-65,

is

plainly

and

heartily

n

diatonic

B

major.

The transitionto diatonicism

is

particularly

smooth

because it takes

place by

way

of the tonic

arrival

ust

documented.

The

middle

pentachord

emains

n clear evidence

for

a

while,

underlying

he

melody

of

mm. 32-44. But thereare differencesbetweenthis

melody

and

the

earlier

pentatonic

melodies.

First,

its

profile

is

markedly

different,

withfrequent eapsandchangesof direction.Second,thisleapingmelody

includes a

strong

dose of

A#

as

leading

tone,

while the

D#

ostinato

s

now

saturated

with

E as

upperneighbor.

Thus the sense of this

passage

is one

of

pentatonicity

transformed,

now

operating

wholly

within a diatonic

framework.This

feeling

of

integration

s

heightenedduring

he

repetition

of the

melody

in mm.

40-43,

particularly

n

m.

42,

where the

opening

soft

pentatonic group smoothly

introduces a

dominant-toniccadence

whose

goal

is

explicitly

the

middle

pentachord.

By

m.

49 the

lingeringpentatonicpresence

has

faded. Until the

return

of

the

opening

music

in m.

63,

the

piece

is

dominated

by

diatonic,

scalar

melody

and familiar

functional

progressions.

While this middle

section

of

Les

collines should

be understoodas

strictly

diatonic,

some of

its

music

displays properties

associated

with

the earliersection. One of

the

more obvious

continuities concerns the

unresolved

A#.

While

A#

does

move to

tonic

B

initially

in

the

pentatonic

melody

of

mm.

32-44,

it

comes back

in

contexts

which

begin

to

restore ts

independence

rom B.

In m.

47, A#,

a

clear

leading

tone,

is

left

hanging

at

the end of a

phrase;

the nextphrase,whichstartsanother ection,doesbeginwitha tonic,but

the

A#

is

not resolved in

register.

The

unresolved

A#

persists

into

m.

49,

where

the

pitch

is still

plainly

associated

with the dominant.

Once

again,

though,

at

m.

54,

it is left

hanging,

and once

again,

in

mm.

55-62,

the

musical

context

deposits

A#

in a

register

higher

than the rest

of the

melody,

such that it does

not resolve

directly

to

B

(this

happens

only

in

an

inner

voice).

The

transition

area,

mm.

63-65,

further

reinforces

the

separation

of

A#

from its

leading

tone

role,

suggesting

through

its

modal/plagal

cadences that

AM,

ot

A#,

be

associated

harmonically

with

tonic B.

Measures

63- 65

effect a

transitionback

to the

pentatonic

music of

the

first

section. The

opening gesture

returnswith

a diatonic

cast: it

becomes

the first

element

in

a

plagal progression,

he

soft-to-middle

motion

made

tonally

explicit.

The

lowered

leading

tone

(AM)

n

mm. 63

and 65

rein-

272


14/28

forces the

impression

of an

opening

soft

pentachord

based

on

E,

impart-

ing

an

even

softer

ound.26

The first

of the two

plagal

progressions,

n

mm.

63-64,

looks

behind to the diatonic music

that

preceded

t:

it

ends

on

the

tonic triad. The

second,

in mm.

65-68,

looks

aheadand

breaks

back into pentatonicterritory:t ends on the middlepentachord,which

enters the

picture

n

the

left hand at mm. 66

while the soft

pentachord

s

still

active

above

in

the

right.

This tonic

episode

is even more

short-lived han the

one at

m.

9.

Im-

mediately

after its

appearance

n m.

68,

the middle

pentachord

s

sup-

planted by

the

hard

pentachord,

which revives

the

melody

first

heard

n

m. 14.

The first

section's

gradual

rise

through

the

pentachords

s

re-

counted here at

breakneck

peed.

The

anticipated

move back

to the

soft

area

begins

in

the left hand at mm.

71-72,

with the

additionof

B,

while

E is

approached hromatically

downward

hrough

E#,

and is

arrived

at

in

m.

73.

Measures 73-74 continue

the

condensed

reiterationof

the har-

monic

process

of the first

section. The

soft

pentachord,

s

expected,

reap-

pears

in

the

right

hand.

Simultaneously,

he left

hand

highlights

D?,

a

pitch

which

is

by

now a

familiar,

strong

signal

of

impending

chromatic

motion

and a

probable

move to

diatonic music.

At this

moment

Debussy

checks the

headlong

harmonic

drive. The

hard

melody

returns

n

m. 74

and

persists

all the

way

into m. 80. Mean-

while, the left hand,conservingthe content of the previousmeasures,

alternatesbetween

the

opening

soft

melody

and a

simmering

chro-

matic

potentiality

hat

emerges

with the

upper

hand in

m.

77. This

chro-

matic

line

eventually

traces a

fourth,

moving

from

D?

to

G0.

This is

the

only

appearance

f

the

pitch

G0,

which

in

this

context is

as

highly

disso-

nant as

D?,

in

the entire

piece.

Along

with

the

thickly

chromatic

ine,

the

presence

of

these

two

dissonances

gives

a

heightened

sense of

transition

and

expectation,

abetted

by

the

dramatic even-measure

delay,

leading

to

the

final

expected

step

in

the

transition o

diatonic

music,

arrival

at

D#.

This arrival s truncated nto a

single

octave in the middle of m. 80, at

which

point

the

music

plunges

into the

melody

that

began

the

middle

sec-

tion.

This

spot

is

a

high point

of the

piece

and the

epitome

of

its

dual har-

monic

nature.

While

the

right

hand

plays

a

melody

which,

as in

the

mid-

dle

section,

is

pentatonic

n

content

yet

diatonic

in

context,

the

left

hand

underscores his

dramatically

with a

descending

B

major

scale. This

is

followed

by

the

V-I

cadence

employing pentachords,

irst

heard n m.

42.

It

is a

moment

of

sublime

integration.

The

closing

section

follows, consisting of yet anotherdirectedrise

through

he

three

pentachords.

After

a

last

flirtationwith

diatonicism

n

mm.

84-85,

the

opening

soft

pentachord

melodies

return,

bringing

with

them

the

AM

cquired

n

m.

63,

imparting

a

particularly

ow,

even

softer

sound.

As if

to

directly

portray

he

upward

harmonic

process,

the

music

twice

literally

rises,

then

falls. On

the

third

attempt

t

achieves

the

high

273


15/28

soft

-

middle-hard-

soft

-

middle

-

diatonic

- - - - - - -

- - - - -

--

so

meas.

9 12 20 32

64

I

I

I

I

I

S---------------------------------------

-

CYCLE

---------------------------------------

-----------

a: Three

cycles

of

directed

rise followed

by

diatonicism

cy

soft

-

middle-hard

-

soft

-

middle

*

diatonic-

- - - - - - -

-

- - - -

--

so

meas.

9 12

20

32 64

I

I

I I

I

-----------------A---------------

-------------------------------------B------------------------

---

b:

Alternation

f rises with

pentatonic

and diato

SOFT

-------------

---------------------------

TONIC

(MIDDLE)------------------------------

H

meas.

32

64

I

One

arge-scale

irectedise

c: One

large-scale

directedrise

Figure

7. Three

conceptions

of

harmonicstructure

n

Les

col


16/28

register,

ntensifies

and,

in

m. 94,

is transformed nto

a

brightly

unfold-

ing

middle

pentachord.

At the

very

end,

the

dynamic

climax of the

piece,

the rise is

completed by

three

highly emphasized

pitches

from the

hard

pentachord,

ncluding

ts

identity

pitch,

A#.

Here is the realizationof

the

potential

of the first

A#

in m. 4: this final

A#

is

fully

liberatedfromits

accustomedrole

as

leading

tone. Its

appearance

here,

while

technically

within

the

compass

of

B

major,

is as

a

member

of a harmonic

group

which excludes the

pitch

B.

III

We are now

in

a

position

to look at the harmonic tructure

f the entire

prelude.The foregoingdiscussion suggests

at least three

ways

to con-

ceive it. The

first,

shown

in

Figure

7a,

is a

three-part yclic organization,

in

which each

cycle grows

progressively

shorter.The initial

cycle

lasts

for the firsttwo thirdsof the

piece,

from measures

1

to 64. It

begins

in

the

soft

pentachord

and rises

by way

of chromatic

motion

through

he mid-

dle and into the hard

pentachord.

t then returns o the soft

pentachord

and,

once

again

through

chromatic

motion,

moves

to

the

middle,

this

time subsumed nto

diatonic

B

major.

This series of events

is

repeated

much

more

quickly

in the

second

cycle,

which extends from

measures

65

to 84. Thethirdcycle, from measures84 to 96, is incomplete,consisting

only

of

the

initial rise

through

he three

pentachords.

Another,

associated

view,

displayed

in

Figure

7b,

identifies two dis-

tinct

types

of harmonic

process operating

n

the

piece.

The first

s

the rise

from soft

pentachord

hrough

middle to hard.The

second

is

the

shift

from

pentatonicism

o

diatonicism,

which

happens

as a

move from soft

penta-

chord

through

middle

pentachord

o diatonic

scale.

This

view

produces

a

symmetrical

representation

f Les

collines. If

we call the first

process

A

and the second

process

B,

the form of

the

piece

is

A B A B

A,

with

pen-

tatonicism

framing

diatonicism,and the rises

through

the

pentachords

framing

arrivals o the

tonic.

The

third

conception

of Les

collines' structureworks at

the

deepest

level,

yet

ironically

rames

the

piece

in

the

three

equalparts

t

displays

on

the

surface.

It

is

shown

in

Figure

7c.

Recall

the

conclusion that the first

section of the

piece

is

governed

primarilyby

the soft

pentachord.

The

middle

section,

on

the other

hand,

is

governedby

the

tonic,

since it is

in

diatonic B

major

and

only

the middle

pentachord

ppears.

The final

sec-

tion

can be

seen to be

governed

more

by

the hard

pentachord.The hard

melody

lasts

for a

significant

amount of time

(mm.

68-72 and

74-80);

moreover,

he

hard

pentachord

s

the ultimate

goal

of the

final,

climactic

gesture.

In

this

way

the

harmonic

motion of the

piece

as a

whole can be

seen

to mirror

he

process

which

repeatedlyguides

the

progress

of its

275


17/28

pentatonic

harmony

at the local

level-namely,

the

rise from soft

through

middle

to

hard.

Thus

we have the

fascinating

case of

a tonal

piece

which,

at least

from

one

point

of

view,

is not built

around he

principle

of

departure

rom

and

return o the tonic-in fact, the piece neverreallymodulatesawayfrom

B

major.

Instead,

there is a

system

of

pentachordal

differentiation

per-

ating completely

within the diatonic set. As

a

result,

another

unifying

concept

of harmonicmotion and structure

ppears:

he

pentachordal

ise.

IV

Coexisting

with Les

collines'

pentatonic

understructure

s the

appar-

ent

diatonicity

of its

surface.While

the

outer sections do

not

project

the

straightforward

armonic

relationships

of the interior

section,

they

have

a tonal sound. Conventional

analysis

can

help

to

specify

these different

tonal

characters,and, further,

o show

how tonal and

pentatonicaspects

of this music

may fortify

or undermine

each other.

I

will

treat

only

the

first section.

With the

exception

of m.

9,

the first

twenty-four

measures of Les

collines are

completely

diatonic,

suggesting

a

circumscribed

ange

of

har-

monic

motion.

Harmonic lements are

Debussy-typical

seventhchordsor

largerstacks of thirds,appearing ithercompleteor inpart.Inmm. 1-10,

harmonic

activity

establishesa

plagal

relationship

between

two

pitch

col-

lections:

the

major

seventh/ninth

hordon tonic

B,

and the minor

seventh

chord

on

neighboring

C#.

At the

outset,

the

B

collection is

represented

only by

the

bare

fifth

B-F#

at the

beginnings

of mm.

1

and

5,

while

the

C#

collection is

complete,

controlling

he rest

of the

harmonic

content

up

through

m. 7. The

balance

between the two

shifts over the

course of

mm.

8-10. With

the

B-F#

interval

persisting

n

register

as a

pedal,

the

C#

col-

lection

becomes the

first element in

a

cadential

progression

which

leads

to andestablishes the dominance of the B collection, both throughthe

directednatureof the

cadence,

and

by

providing

t a

D#

for

the first

time.

This tonic

arrival s

prolonged

as a

single

harmony

hrough

mm.

11-17,

although

the

pitch

B

itself

is

relegated

to

passing-tone

status in

the

melodic

line,

leaving

a

D#

minorseventh

chordas

the

controlling

element.

In

mm.

18-20,

the

C#

collection

is

reintroduced,

raming

a

local

oscilla-

tion

between

membersof the two

collections.

This

gives way

to the

C#-

collection

melody

in m.

21,

now

redefined: he

F#,

heardas a

dissonance

in m.

3,

becomes a

pedal

tone to which

C#

s

heard o

resolve

by

descend-

ing

fifth.The

presence

of the

F#

fundamental rom

here

through

m. 24

would seem to

signal

an

arrival

o the

dominant,

which

has

yet

to

figure

in

the

piece.

But a

clear

dominant

perception

s

undermined

by

two

fac-

tors.

First,

the

arrival s a

half

cadence at

best,

since the

C#

minor

seventh

chord can

signify only

ii,

not

V/F#.

Second,

there is

no

third

available o

276


18/28

ground

the

FK,

only

the

open

sound

of the

conjoined

fifths

F#-C#-G#.

What

this

settling

on

F#

does

seem to

signify

is neutral

erritory,

respite

from the

drama

of

the

shifting

dominanceof the B and

C#

collections.

As

the

music

continues,

the dominantsense of

F#

is furtherdiluted

by

its

redefinitionn mm.25-28 aspartof a dead-enddiminishedseventhchord

(briefly

as

thirdof a relateddominant

),

and

by

the reductionof the

tex-

ture to an

isolated

D#.

Only

at the

beginning

of the middle section is the

F#

s

picked

up

in

register

andredefinedas

dominant,

ushering

n a

stretch

of conventional

harmony

which lasts

through

m.

62.

Most of

the elements

of

the

B

and

C#

collections

are

sharedwith

the

pentachords.

The

C#

minor

seventhchord contains four

pitches

from

the

soft

pentachord,

while the B

major

ninthchordcontainsfour

pitches

each

from the

middle

and hard

pentachords.

Thus tonal

analysis may

seem

simply

to

restate some of the observationsof

the

foregoing pentatonic

analysis

in

more familiar terms.

However,

pentatonicanalysis captures

essential

aspects

of the music

which

escape

tonal

analysis.

First,

it

fur-

nishes more

meaningful

specificity, differentiating

wo

differentcollec-

tions

(the

middle and hard

pentachords)

and their

spheres

of

influence,

where

tonal

analysis

can see

only

one

(the

tonic ninth

chord).

Second,

in

doing

so it

allows for the

importantconceptual separation

of

A#

from

the

harmonic field defined

by

the tonic.

Third,

it

neatly explains

the

F#-C#-G# collection as glue tones, whereas tonal analysis lacks the

means to

characterize

he

collection's

non-dominant

quality.

Moreover,

pentatonic

analysis

betteraccounts for more

of the

pitches

in

the music.

And

while both

approaches

contribute

o an

understanding

f

the

per-

ception

of

change

at

the

beginning

of

the middle

section,

tonal

analysis

simply

reveals the

contrast

between the total absence of the

dominant n

the

opening

section and its

preponderance

n

the

middle

section,

which it

initiates

at

m.

32.

Pentatonic

analysis

shows

why, disclosing

the

large-

scale

switchoverbetween

systems

of

harmonic

organization.

V

Since instances of

extended

pentatonic

organization

are rare

in

De-

bussy,

it is

doubtful that

Debussy

used this

system

with

any

regularity.

Charru

has

identified the three

embedded

pentachords

n

another

piano

prelude, Bruyeres,

but their

presence

is

intermittent

and

superficial.27

Another

highly pentatonic

work,

the

piano piece

Pagodes,

from the

1903

collectionEstampes,bookI, does employanorganizedapproacho pen-

tatonic

harmony.

Like Les

collines,

Pagodes

is in B

major,

and it

also

involves

subtle

harmonic

shifts

occasioned

by

individual

pitches.

But

Pagodes

is

considerably

more

static:

a

single

pentachord

based

on

tonic

B

controls

hroughout

he

piece.

Harmonic

variety

and nterest

tems from

progressions

occurring

within

the

pentachord

nd

from other

pitches

sim-

277


19/28

11

TI

n

-100 11

cI

so

TIi

ar

soft

hard

Figure

8.

Generationof the

extra-pentachordal itches

AV/E?

soft)

andA#/E#

hard)

ply

addedto it. These

added notes are almost

exclusively

variants

of

the

two diatonic

pitches

not

included

n

the

pentachord:

AW/#

nd

EW/#.

s

Fig-

ure 8

demonstrates,

hese

pitches

can be

thought

of as extensions

of

the

generating

continuumof

perfect

fifths in

opposite

directions,

rather

han

merely

as

versions of the same

scale

degree.

In

fact,

E? and

AM

o

give

a

distinctly soft or subdominant-leaningound to the tonic pentachord,

while

A#

and

E#

give

a

distinctly

hardor

dominant-leaning

ound.

(The

tonal

implications

of

these

pitches

are

discussed

below.)

Figure

9

tracks

the

presence

of the

tonic

pentachord

and

additional

pitches

through

he

course of the

piece.

It

shows the

pervasiveness

of the

pentachord:

our of

its five

pitches appear

n

every

measureof the

piece,

while

tonic

B

is

pres-

ent

nearly

continuously.

In

this

environment he

impact

of

single

added

pitches

is

quite

palpable.

Lacking

the

fluctuation

between

well-defined

pentachords

which

characterizesLes

collines,

harmonic ffect in

Pagodes

stems from

changes

between

long-held

bass

notes,

and from

the

implica-

tions of

individual

addednotes.

These latter

ollow a

roughly

defined

pat-

tern.

In

the

opening

section,

mm.

1-32,

the

early

additionof

E? and

AM,

superseded

at

m.

15

by

A#,

creates a

sense of

motion from soft to

hard,

counteracted

by

the brief

reappearance

f

E? at m. 20

and the

restoration

of

the

unadulterated

entachord

t m. 21.

The

middle

section,

mm.

33-52,

is

more

static,

fixated

mostly

on

the

basic

pentachord,

while

punctuated

by

the

presence

of

the

occasional

E#.

The

returnof

the

opening

material,

mm. 53-77, replaysthe first section, althoughthe motion toward hard

sound

at mm.

65-68

is

accentuated

by

the

absence

of the

pitch

B,

mak-

ing

for

the

temporary

ascendence of

the hard

(F#)

pentachord.

The final

section,

mm.

78-98,

is

more

fluid.

Its

first half

involves the

presence

of

both soft and

hard

added

pitches,

accentuated

by

a

waveringpresence

of

tonic B.

By

the

end of

the

piece,

though,

the tonic

pentachord

s

again

firmly

established.

While the

added

pitches

at

times

suggest

functional

roles for

their

chords,

Pagodes

clearly

does

not

exhibitnor

does it

attempt

Les

collines'

multifaceted

nteractionsbetween

pentatonic

and

diatonic

organization.NeitherdoesPagodes'onepentachord ct as a melodicsub-

set of

diatonic

harmony

overall,

as

in

La

ille

aux

cheveux

de

lin.

Instead,

Debussy

adapts

tonal

process

in

Pagodes

to

reflect

its more

restricted

palette.

Pagodes'

harmonic

structure

depends

on chords

all or

most of

whose

principal

members ie in

the

tonic

pentachord.

These are

278


20/28

meas.

At

E

B

FO

COt Gt DO A# E

i

comments

S1-4basic

B

6pentachord

5-6

7-10

11-14

15-18

i

chromaticlines

19-26

27-28

tetrachord

29-32

33-36

37-45

46-52

53-54

55-56

57-60

61-64

65-68 hardpentachord

chromaticines

69-77

78-79

i

hard

pentachord

8 0 8 1

82-83

i

tetrachord A

84-85

i

full diatonic

8 6 8 7

88-98

Figure

9.

Subtly

changing pitch

content of

Pagodes

with

near-constant

presenceof the full B pentachord


21/28

x

y

,

,

' z

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

O o Oo

-

*o4--

oil113

Figure

10a.

Motives

generating

melodies

in

Pagodes

I

I

Z

.

..

---

-----------------------------

-

---

--

1...19

7 33

3.

................6

.

6

.........................................

11

19 27 33

37

46

53 61 69

73 80

88

98

Figure

10b.

Occurrences

of

the

principal

melodies in

Pagodes

,

'iJ

,

7

4

X4

53

6v_0_7____0

9

meas.

1 11 27 40 44

53

61

70

75

80 98

Figure

11. Tonic and relativechords as structural

armonies

n

Pagodes

tonic B major (complete triad present), G# minor (complete seventh

chord

present),

and

D#

minor

(root,

third,

and seventh

present).

Thus,

besides

the

tonic,

the relative-modechords are the

most

readily empha-

sized.

B

major

and

G#

minor define the

harmonic

polarity

of

the outer

sections

(mm.

1-32

and

53-98),

while

D#

minor

s

important

n the

inner

section

(mm. 33-52)

and

the

final

section,

as shown in

Figure

11.

The

fifth-related hords lack more

important

lements

(refer

back

to

Figure

3).

Debussy

does

supply

these

missing

tones on

occasion,

but the result

generally

falls

short

of

strong

functional

impact.

Rather,

the

added

pitches providesonorouscontrast,notablytritones,which are absent in

the

pentachord.

These tritonesoften

include the local

fundamental

pitch,

producing

a

Lydian

effect insteadof

a dominantone.

Melody

in

Pagodes

derives

completely

from the

pentachord,

with

none of the

nonharmonic

content of Les

collines. The four

principal

melodies in the

prelude

are

generated

argely

fromtwo

motives,

as shown

in

Figure

10a:

x,

an

ordered

presentation

f

[0,

5,

7],

and

y/y',

an

ordered

presentation

f

[0,

3,

5]

and

its inversion.

Figure

10b traces the

melodies

through

he

piece. Melodyo, appearing

irst n mm.

3-4, spans

an

octave

but excludes the tonic

pitch;

it

begins

with

x,

then

joins

y

to its

top

note.

While

this

is

the

only

appearance

f x as an

important

melodic

motive,

x

goes

on

to

form

the

predominant

lement

of

Pagodes'

background

ex-

ture for

the

remainder

of

the

piece.

All

succeeding

melodies

contain the

complete

pentachord.

The

P

melodies are

wholly generated

rom

y.

P',

280


22/28

appearing

irst

n mm.

11-14,

consists

of

y'

with

a

second

y'joined

below

to

span

a seventh.

32,

appearing

irst in mm.

37-40,

also

begins

with

y',

but adds

y

a

step

above

the first to

span

a full octave.

Melody

y, appear-

ing

first

n

mm.

33-36,

alters one

pitch

of the

pentachordby

a

semitone.

ReplacingF#with E#creates a strikingwhole-tonetetrachord, , which

overlaps

with

y'

below.28

This

slight

alteration

s all that is

necessary

to

set

off

the middle section

aurally

from its

surroundings.

The near-constant

resence

of the

complete

B

pentachord hroughout

the

piece (Figure

9)

requires

hat harmonic

effect come about

largely by

the

revoicing

andrecombination f

essentially

the

same

group

of

pitches,

with the

occasional

additions.

Sixths,

sevenths,

and/orninths adorn

vir-

tually

every significant

chord. This

constancy

of

pitch

content

dampens

the

teleological

effect of

Pagodes'

harmony;

o

does the

primacy

of

dia-

tonic thirdrelations over fifth relations. This is evident from the

start;

while fifth

relations

occupy

the

beginning

of

Pagodes,

the first

mportant

harmonic

motion

is from

B

major

to

G#

minor at

m.

11. A

tonic

pedal

underliesall of the

previous

music,

from the establishment f the tonic

at

m.

5 to the

gentle

tonicization

of the

subdominant t m.

7,

afterwhich

the

added

A#

is

heard

against

E

as

Lydian

ourthrather

hanas

leading

tone.29

Throughout

his

opening passage,

the

omnipresent

motive

x serves

both

to

unify

and

differentiate ts

component

chords.30

At the

beginning,

the

pitchesG#-C#-D#form the third,sixth,and ninth of the tonic harmony.

As the

subdominant

s

tonicized,

they

become

third,

sixth,

and seventh.

When

G#

minor

is

reached,

they

become

root, fourth,

and

fifth,

anchor-

ing

the

entranceof

melody

131.

Thus as the

phrase

unfolds,

the

motive's

pitches

become

gradually

more

integral

to

the

controlling

harmony.

In

the

absence of

strong

cadential

motion,

this

gradual

assimilation

of

the

motive

provides

forward

mpetus

and

a sense of

arrival.

Measures

15-19

contain

chromatic motion

found

nowhere else in

Pagodes.

Against

the

D#

minor

2

chord framed n

the outer

voices,

chro-

matic nner inesproduceanoscillationbetweenalternatehirdsandfifths

which

diffuse

its

dominant

ffect. While

its

foreignpitch-content

uggests

an

analogy

with

the

octatonic

passages

in

Les

collines,

Pagodes'

chro-

matic music

has much

less

rhetorical

effect,

merely giving

way

to the

same

G#

minor it

superseded.

The

bass

line

of mm.

19-23

descends dia-

tonically

from

G#

back

to

B,

while the

melody emphasizes

membersof

the

G#

minor

triad;

dominant

effect

is

dulled

by

the

bass line's

missing

F#,

while the

C#

n

m. 22

projects

a

passing-tone

quality.

Measures23-33

straightforwardlyrolongB,

never

reachingoutsidethepentachord.Thus

large-scale

harmonic

motion in

the

opening

section of

Pagodes

consti-

tutes an

oscillation

between B

major

and

G#

minor,

the

two chords

con-

tained whole

in the

pentachord.

The

middle

section of

the

piece

continues

to

undercut he

role of the

dominant.It

is

suggested

at

the

outset

by

melody

y,

which

traces a

C#

281


23/28

dominant chord.

The

arrival o theentrl

o thecentral

phrase

of the section at

m.

37

follows

through

o an extent.

F#

finally

appears

n the

bass,

while

the

3

melody,

returning ransposed

up

a

fifth,

furthers n effect of

displacement

to the level of thedominant.31

Nonetheless,

F#

supportsonly

an

open

fifth,

failingto give a definitesense of F#major.Variation f the

3

melody, pro-

ducing

12,

leads

away

instead

to the

plagal

arrival

o D# in m. 40.

The

ensuing repetition

of

12

with a new texture

mmediately

adds

A#,

but

the

now-complete

F#

major

chordacts as a

secondaryharmony

on

the

way

to

the arrivalat

D#

in m.

44.32

The

relegation

of

melody y

to the bass

at

mm.

46-52

transforms ts harmoniceffect

into an alternation etween

C#

major

and the full

B

pentachord,

both in root

position,

paving

the

way

for

the dominantlesselided return o the

opening

music at m.

53.33

The remainderof the

piece

revisits and

rearranges

arlier material.

Measures53-72

recapitulate

he

beginning

but halt the bass descent on

the

antepenultimate

ote,

C#.

This low

C#

facilitatesan elision into mm.

73-79,

which

interpolate

the

132

melody

and enhance its arrivalto

D#

minor. Motion

by

another diatonic third at m. 80

introduces the final

passage

of the

piece,

anchored

by

a

gapped descending

bass

line which

spans

the octave

defined

by

B,

expanding

the

major-sixth

descent of

mm.

19-33. As at mm.

46-52,

this

passage begins

with

a

reprise

of

the

opening

music,

exchanging

a

pedal

point

for a

dynamic

bass

line.

The ex-

pectedtonicizationof thesubdominants weakenedby theabsence of the

pitch

B in

mm.

82-83,

in which

context

the added

pitch

AM

n

the

bass

creates

exceptional

dissonance

with the

x motive rather han a

sense of

V2/IV.

Progression

o E

introduces he

full diatonicset and the

tritone

A#

as

the

highest

pitch, promoting

a

sense of

transition

hrough

ts

disso-

nance. This

deftly prepares

a final

elision at

m.

85:

E

as

the subdominant

recalling

m. 7

becomes

E

in a

linear

bass-descent

recalling

m.

20. From

this

point

on the

music is

completely

diatonic,

containing

for

the most

part

he

pure

B

pentachord

with an

occasionaladded

A#.34

The

12

melody,

echoingthrough he middle of the texture,settles in withthe arrivalof B

in

the

bass

yet

never

terminates.This

combination

of

elements from the

principal

sections of

the

piece

reestablishes he

complete

B

majorpenta-

chord with

a

root-position

tonic

triad in

the

lowest

voices,

producing

a

subtle

yet

comprehensive

arrival o

end the

piece.

In

this

way

Debussy

exploits

the more

restricted

harmonic

ange

deriv-

able

from

a

single pentachord.

The

foregoing

analysis

demonstrates

hat

the

strongly

determined

elative-mode

chordsbased

on

G#

and

D#

serve

as

Pagodes'

focal

points

of

harmonic

opposition

to

the

tonic

throughoutthe

piece,

while the less

complete

dominants unction

as

subsidiary

har-

monies. Added

pitches

which

could

strengthen

he

role of

the

dominants

are

used

sparingly

and

often in

neutral

ways.

This

reversal of the

con-

ventional

roles of

diatonic

third

relations and fifth

relations is a direct

282


24/28

resultof

the

pentatonicorganization

f

the

piece,

generating

a

novel har-

monic

space

from the

traditional

diatonic

set.

Despite

their structural

differences,

Les collines and

Pagodes

show

similarities

attributable

o

their

pentatonicism.

Both

pieces

remain n tonic

B major hroughout, eneratingharmonicactivityfrom shifts within the

diatoniccollection.

Both

relegate

the dominant o

secondary

status,

using

otherchords

n

primary

opposition

to the

tonic-plagal

harmonies

n

Les

collines,

relativemodes

in

Pagodes.

But where

Pagodes

modifies he tonal

hierarchy,

Les collines

goes

beyond,

delimiting

a

quintessentially

penta-

tonic

system.

Ultimately,

both

provide thoroughgoing

examples

of De-

bussy's

creative

response

to

pentatonicism,

respecting

its limits while

fully

realizing

its

potentials,

yielding

music

whose

distinctivecolors

re-

sult

from

novel

yet

eminentlyquantifiable

harmonic

relationships.

283


25/28

NOTES

1.

Wenk

(1983;

13,

19)

quoting

from letters

of

Debussy.

2.

Brailoiu's dozens of

examples

invariably

show melodies

and melodic

fragments

quoted without reference to even immediate musical context. He does briefly

describe chords

built from

the

pentatonic

collection,

but true to his melodic

focus

does not discuss

pentatonic harmony

nor

the

relationship

between the

pentatonic

and

diatonic

collections.

3.

Charru borrows Ballif's

term

metatonality

to describe a

harmonic framework

in

which the various scale

systems may freely

interconnect and

alternate.

His

inva

Kopp - Organization in Two Piano Pieces of Debussy

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