Debussy as an Impressionist
Peter Godbolt
I write as a music student at the Guildhall School of Music in London -
As I prepare to write a dissertation, this is one of the subjects I am
particularly interested in - not only in the impressionistic nature of
Debussy's music, but in ways that different art forms can learn from
each other through study, for example a greater understanding of the
Prelude to An Afternoon of a Faun would be better understood through an
analysis of the poem my Mallarme.
Is anyone out there actually an artist (as in paints etc.!) with a keen
interest in music, or possible a poet, or actor. I would also love to
hear from musicians who feel that they have been enriched through the
study or simple appreciation of other art forms.
...'pleasure is the only law' - debussy.
Renee Coulombe
For a really well thought-out essay on impressionism (art) and music, you
might contact Jann Pasler at the University of California, San Diego, who has
been working on the "Impressionism" entry for the next edition of Sadie's
New Grove, which is being prepared for publication. As this is a central
theme in your dissertation, you might find a preview copy invaluable.
Also, might I suggest that you contact Charles Batson, who last I knew was a
graduate student in French at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
He gave an excellent paper at the Feminist Theory in Music II Conference at
Rochester, New York several years back called "Erotics of/or Violence: The
Fauns of Debussy and Mallarme". I recall that the paper was excellent, and the
musical analysis (he is a competant musical analyst as well as French scholar)
extended directly to the text of the Mallarme poem. I wish I could give you
better info on where he is now, but I'm really not sure. I would bet that if you
call the alumni office of that institution, they could at least direct you in your
search.
Both seem like they would be right up your "street" so to speak. Good luck on
the dissertation -- mine's an opera that has, at the moment, completely worn
me out! They can be a real pain in the $#@&!
Renee Coulombe