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The Twentieth Century
1901 2000
Part at a Glance
The Twentieth Century
Modernism
Chapter 41 Pierrot lunaire
Chapter 47 Ruth Crawford, Piano Study in Mixed Accents
Chapter 40 Charles Ives, The Unanswered Question
Chapter 48 Germaine Tailleferre, Concertino for Harp and Orchestra
Chapter 58 Tania León, A la Par, second movement (Guaguancó)
Chapter 52 West Side Story
Chapter 49 William Grant Still, Songs of Separation
Chapter 51 Béla Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, second movement
Timeline: The Twentieth Century
Audio Technology
Chapter 59 Star Wars
Chapter 57 Pub
Social Diversity
Chapter 43 Scott Joplin, Maple Leaf Rag
Chapter 44
Chapter 46 Charlie Parker, Ornithology
Chapter 56
Globalization
Part Objectives
After reading the part opener, students should be able to:
6.3 Describe the impact of social diversity on music in this period.
on music composition during the twentieth
century.
MyMusicLab Resource
Timeline: The Twentieth Century
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Chapters at a Glance
Chapter 39 Claude Debussy, Voiles
Chapter 40 Charles Ives, The Unanswered Question
Chapter 41 Pierrot lunaire
Chapter 42 Igor Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring, Part One
Chapter 43 Scott Joplin, Maple Leaf Rag
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47 Ruth Crawford, Piano Study in Mixed Accents
Chapter 48 Germaine Tailleferre, Concertino for Harp and Orchestra, finale
Chapter 49 Songs of Separation
Chapter 50 – Rodeo
Chapter 51 Béla Bartók, Concerto for Orchestra, second movement
Part Summary
Advances in technology caused the pace of life to increase dramatically over the course of the
twentieth century. These changes greatly affected music, and included the advent of sound
recordings, radio, film, television, the computer, and electronic instruments. Composers dealt
with this rapid expansion of available media in different ways. Some desired entirely new modes
of expression; some sought non-Western cultures as a means for inspiration. Others continued
in a manner similar to the previous century. New genres of popular music found audiences of all
ages. Each of these trends contributed to a diverse musical culture in the twentieth century.
Modernism made its mark early in the century. Stravinsky and Schoenberg challenged
traditional views of how music should be organized, albeit in different ways. In reaction to the
unusual sounds of the modernists, some composers embraced a Neoclassical approach that
combined elements of the past with those of the present. Later in the century, postmodernism
also sought to elide past and present, but with different means.
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The influence of technological discoveries on twentieth-century music cannot be
overstated. These range from the ways in which people heard music (film, television, recordings)
to the instruments and sounds available (electric guitars, synthesizers, computers). These types
of delivery meant that composers could exploit new sounds and meanings in the ways in which
music was used.
More than any previous century, the twentieth century saw the incorporation of music
from diverse social and ethnic groups converge. African American culture brought aspects of
Chapter 39
Claude Debussy
Voiles
Chapter at a Glance
Listen to This First
Timbre: A Nonpercussive Sound
Melody: Fragments
Dynamics: Whispering, Hinting
Downbeat?
Profile: Claude Debussy (1862 1918)
Expand Your Playlist: Debussy
Harmony: A Centerless Center
Connect Your Playlist: Dynamics
Form: Nondirectional
Listening Guide: Voiles
Historical Context: Impressionism
Expand Your Playlist: Impressionism
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter and listening to the work, students should be able to:
39.1 Define Impressionism and how it relates to the music of Claude Debussy.
39.2 Describe the ways in which Debussy elicited new timbres from the piano.
Key Concepts
piano timbre, whole-tone scale, pentatonic scale
Chapter Highlight: Impressionism
Impressionist music features many of the hallmarks of musical modernism. Debussy
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and lacks any strong sense of meter or formal design, while the use of whole-tone and
pentatonic scales undermines the sense of a tonal center.
Chapter Summary
Debussy sought new ideas for creating sound. He was influenced by the French symbolist poets
who were trying to create sound with words by avoiding clear syntax and using words as
suggestive symbols. Similarly, a group of French visual artists worked with light, using short
brush strokes to create impressions. All of these artistic areas became known as Impressionism.
Adding to these influences, Debussy was fascinated by a Javanese (Indonesian) gamelan, an
ensemble of drums, gongs, xylophones, and plucked stringed instruments. He heard a gamelan
Listening Guide
Bonds chooses several items for students to focus on when listening to Voiles. The new sounds
of the whole-tone scale should be demonstrated on a piano or through the Animated Notation
example. The form can be distinguished by the change from the whole-tone scale to a pentatonic
scale (available in the Audio Glossary) in the B section, which is also the loudest section.
MyMusicLab Resources
Automated Listening Guide: Claude Debussy: Voiles
Chapter Audio: Chapter 39
Animated Notation: Melody: Fragments; Harmony: A Centerless Center
Profile: Claude Debussy (1862 1918)
Discussion Topics and Critical Thinking Questions
2. What is the difference between whole-tone and diatonic scales? How did Debussy use the
whole-tone scale to avoid a strong sense of tonality?
3.
it sounds when spoken? How does the title reflect the piece itself?
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Activities and Exercises
1. Ask the class to list new music that may not have been accepted when it first emerged. What
music elements were challenged? What made it sound unique and perhaps inaccessible?
2. Invite class members to use the compositional tools of the whole-tone scale, ostinato,
pianissimo, and a light, fluid touch to create their own impression with musical sounds.
Journaling Prompt
Debussy’s music is usually associated with the Impressionist painters, including Monet,
Manet, and Renoir. This painting style remains very popular today you will often find
Impressionist-style art in restaurants, reception areas of offices, and so forth. Why do
you think people like Impressionism so much?