Debussy Violin Sonata
BACKGROUND
Debussy wrote his solitary Violin Sonata in his closing days of life, in the context of a historically turbulent time of World World War War I. Added onto the distress from the war, Debussy had problems of financial difficulties and health problem of a terminal cancer, which slowed his composition progresses, as evident in the long period of completion of the Violin sonata. In the summer !", he too# his family to a sea $the channel coast at %ourville& and drafted a pro'ect, intended to be named as Six sonates pour instruments divers, par Claude Debussy, musician francais (Six sonatas for various instruments, by )laude Debussy, *rench musician.+ Dedicated to his wife mma, the Violin Sonata was the third and the last (as Debussy never got to the rest of the three sonatas before his death,+ in the set, completed in !-, following the completion of the Sonatas for arp, *lute, and Viola (originally for arp, *lute, and /boe,+ and for )ello and %iano, written in !". 0he first performance too# place on 1ay " th, !- with Debussy at the piano, along with violinist 2aston %oulet. 0his was Debussy3s last public appearance before his death on 1arch 45th of the year. It was also during these last years with the ongoing war and his existing disli#e of the 2ermans, that Debussy exhibited elevated spirit of nationalism in his music. Specifically, in his late wor#s, he composed to differentiate from everything 2erman (especially the music of 6ichard Wagner,+ and rather reflected national pride by loo#ing bac# at forms and values of the old *rench masters, such as )ouperin, 7eclair, and 6ameau. 0he Violin Sonata is an example example of such compositio compositional nal intention, intention, in that, although although entitled as a 8Sonata,9 8Sonata,9 it deviates deviates from the established 2erman traditional sonata form, but rather portrays a new conception of the forms and characteristics of the - th, :th) *rench composers. 4 *urthermore *urthermore,, Debussy Debussy made made obvi obviou ouss of such such incre increase ased d patr patrio iotis tism m in his his fina finall year years, s, alway alwayss sign signin ing g hims himsel elf f 8musician musician Francais Francais99 or 8*renc 8*rench h musici musician9 an9 and citing citing his country country3s 3s illust illustrio rious us musical musical heritage. e even re;uested Durand, the publisher, to engrave the title page of the collection in an archaic style reminiscent of the decorated editions of the wor#s of 6ameau.
Despite the emphasis on *rench traditions in Debussy3s late wor#s, there were influences from other cultures and nations, mostly from Spanish and Asian music, and parts of the Violin Sonata exhibit Spanish flare and gypsy character. 0he gypsy influence originated from Debussy3s meeting with a gypsy violinist in
)ritics found the sonata3s musical content to be less imaginative, and disli#ed its form, which is a blend of sonata with the cyclical form Debussy had employed in the String ?uartet. @ ven the composer himself once dismissed the as having only documentary interest and labeled it as merely 8an example of what a sic# man can write during a war9" evertheless, the Violin Sonata has gained reverence over the years, a wor# considered highly in artistic and compositional features, becoming a standard in chamber music. ANALYSIS
Debussy is credited as the leader of *rench musical impressionism (or symbolism, as Debussy preferred to term,+ and his Violin Sonata is stated to be a minor example where 8*rench chamber music finds its perfect counterpart to the paintings of 1onet, who laid emphasis on the shifting play of light rather than on actual ob'ects.9 5 In the sonata, such impressionistic concept is suggested in its expressions of ambiguous, yet innovative and variant sonority and form, and conflicting atmospheres and characteristics, both aesthetically and compositionally. *rom an overall aesthetic perspective, DebussyBs Violin Sonata is a wor# instilled with melancholy color that nevertheless also captures contradicting ;ualities such as 'oy and silliness. )ompositionally, although he had named the wor# as a sonata, the wor# does not strictly follow the norms of CsonataC in the formal sense of a sonata form, (the first movement does loosely, but with much deviations,+ but perhaps rather reflects the archaic meaning 8to sound,9 and adheres more to
ambiguousness and ambivalence in form, sound, and character all attribute to Debussy3s innovative language of musical impressionism. 0he Violin Sonata is in three movementsE Allegro vivo, Intermede, and Finale. 0he first movement, as mentioned before, is in a rough sonata form, but it has many inconsistencies that lead to a few different interpretations of the structure. /ne interpretation can be summaried as the followingE Exposition3s st theme in 2 minor, is characteried by the smooth dolce espressivo violin line setting a subdued atmosphere of nostalgia and sadness, over the serene and slow 8oscillation9 of the piano chords. 0ransition section is labeled En serrant, and 4nd theme is set with a 2 pedal in the violin and the contrasting and livelier ascending marque pentatonic scale in the piano. )losing section is mar#ed Appassionato, which brings bac# the motives from the transition after the st theme ( En serrant segment,+ and the texture and gesture of opening motive to end the xposition. Developent begins with a pairing of sur la touc! violin line over piano arpeggio and chordal melody in piano under violin harmonics, first in 1a'or and then in ) 1a'or, and is followed by a transition over an b pedal and another new melody in the violin, revisited later in the movement. Re!apitulation brings bac# the st theme melody in 2 minor, stated twice, first in the piano and then in the violin. Fnli#e in the xposition, the piano chordal melody of the Development section is inserted before the revisit of En serrant , which is truncated. 0he entire 4nd theme is omitted and the closing Appassionato is also truncated and modified, followed by the revisit of the sttheme, coupled with the closing violin melody of the Development, stated twice, first in the piano part then in the violin. Co"a closes the movement with exploration of bits of En serrant motives and again, the closing melody of the Development section, transformed into a character with Spanish flare. In summary, although the movement can be analyed as a sonata form, there are deviations such as aberrant #ey scheme of 4nd theme, the absence of the 4nd theme in the 6ecapitulation, and revisits, insertions, and combinations of different motives in untraditional places, that blur the strict criterion of sonata form. 0he movement is more of an example of cyclical structure and neoclassic four&bar phrase construction with conspicuous irregularities, and shows that even his conservative formal scheme of sonata form in late wor#s such as the Violin Sonata, reflects his increasingly multi&dimensional approach to form. : Along with the multi&dimensional character of the form of the first movement, few other factors contribute to its ambiguous ;uality. 0he movement is in G meter, but the triple
feel is obscured by use of hemiolas and une;ual subdivisions within a measure. *or example, the opening falling melody is in duple grouping over the almost dormant piano chords, which is grouped in three beats. *urther obscurity is exhibited in these opening bars, as the melody in the violin outlines a 2 Aeolian, but the piano chords with the altered natural in the subdominant chord suggests 2 Dorian mode.! In contrast to the external ambiguousness described thus far, Debussy uses pitch class pairing for structure in the first movement. 0he opening for example shows the usage of several complement pairs of pitch class setsE m&! forms -&45 (=>@"-!+ and m! has "& 45(=4@":+ the complement, as the sum of chord and the line. 1&@ is :&4- (=4@"-:0+ and although @&4- (=4":+ is inconspicuous in those bars (embedded in the V! of m=&4 as the overlapping upper and lower tetrachords+, it is the first harmony in m". 1&- forms set !&(=4>@"-:0+, whose trichordal complement is prominent in the accompaniment3s upper line in m.=&@, as 4@-, which is (=4"+ >&-. = 0he second movement is described as Fantasque et leger , which means 8light and fantastic.9 )ontrast to the first movement, this movement is more extroverted and playful in spirit and has more of e;ual roles between the piano and the violin than in the first movement. Its overall character and compositional gestures strongly remind the corresponding movement in the cello sonata, where, 'ust as in the cello sonata, which was originally to be titled 8 "ierrot f#c! avec la luneC (%ierrot angry with the moon,+ the images of a sad, love&sic# clown with white face and floppy clothes are painted. owever, unli#e the cello sonata whose overall mood is sad and ironic, the movement is lighter, sillier, and less gloomy in character. 0he movement is a combination of capricious and 'umpy motives with a hint of co;uettishness and contrasting themes of more melodious and sensuous features. Different sections of these contrasting themes are 'uxtaposed in a scheme that does not adhere to any established form. 0he subsections of opening 'er#y and abrupt theme and the middle languid and linear theme are loosely stated twice in the movement, giving a vague two&part structure, and are placed in an order seemingly lac#ing deliberateness or interrelatedness. owever, all these subsections, clearly delineated with different character or tempo mar#ings, are all unified with the repetition of single notes, either rapid and restless or indolent and indulgent. 0he framewor# of the movement can be summaried as the followingE *irst section $ A.
section& D.
4nd Scherando, E.
1eno
mosso, B. au
$ouvt, E.
1eno
mosso, D (4nd Scherando+ without specific mar#ing, with the falling violin gesture (reminiscent of the end of the opening violin motive+ that ends the movement.
0he artistic challenge for the Violin Sonata is the collaboration of senses and spirit that is uni;ue to Debussy3s late wor#s. Fnli#e sonatas from ear lier periods, the two instruments do not accompany each other but rather, one instrument leads with a pulling energy against the counter melody or motif of the other. Fltimately, this creates a different #ind of interaction and sound, as the two instruments challenge one another, but their arguments ultimately bringing each other closer together .> 0here are also several ensemble issues, as each movement has many sections with tempo and character variances that re;uire a great
communication and unity of interpretation between the performers. 0echnically, the violin part is more challenging, although, the third movement calls for much control and dexterit y in the piano part as well, as the main bul# of the finale is a showcase of agility in both parts. In particular, Debussy uses the maximum pitch range available on the violin, going from the open 2 (lowest possible note of the instrument+ to a )&sharp at three octaves and a half&step above the middle ). In conclusion, with the understanding of the bac#ground, compositionalaesthetic scheme and spirit Debussy3s composition, the performance of the Violin Sonata can be very powerful. It is certainly a wor# with considerable artistic values, compositional ingenuity, and performance effectiveness, begotten despite the dismal circumstances of both the composer3s life and uropean history.
