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The influence of the Javanese gamelan on selected piano works of Claude-Achille Debussy

With rare exceptions, all the biographers of Claude Debussy mention the influence on the composer of the Javanese gamelan which appeared at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889. Strangely, however, none of these historians discourse on the extent of this influence, nor on the way in which it i...

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Main Author: Bird, Catherine
Other Authors: Tuffin, Michael
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: College of Music 2015
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access_status_str Open Access
author Bird, Catherine
author2 Tuffin, Michael
author_browse Bird, Catherine
Tuffin, Michael
author_facet Tuffin, Michael
Bird, Catherine
author_sort Bird, Catherine
collection Thesis
description With rare exceptions, all the biographers of Claude Debussy mention the influence on the composer of the Javanese gamelan which appeared at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889. Strangely, however, none of these historians discourse on the extent of this influence, nor on the way in which it is manifested in the works of Debussy. It is for this reason that this study was undertaken. ... This dissertation will examine the extent of the influence of just one of these elements: Oriental music, and the Javanese gamelan in particular. It will trace the influx into Europe of Eastern art forms and show how these affected the artistic state of Europe at the time: no study of Debussy is complete without taking into account the cultural milieu in which he moved, for he, more than any composer before him, was truly a product of his time. The Javanese game1ans which performed at the 1889 and 1900 Universal Exhibitions will be described here. Finally, with reference to selected piano works by Claude Debussy, the appearance and evolution of elements typical of the Javanese gamelan will be considered and an evaluation made of their role in the musical development of the composer, for as Rollo Myers remarks after his description of the Javanese music which Debussy heard, "... the experience thus gained undoubtedly tended to influence his musical thinking in the years to come ".
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:47:30.954Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2015
publishDateRange 2015
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publisher College of Music
publisherStr College of Music
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source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/15670 The influence of the Javanese gamelan on selected piano works of Claude-Achille Debussy Bird, Catherine Tuffin, Michael Music With rare exceptions, all the biographers of Claude Debussy mention the influence on the composer of the Javanese gamelan which appeared at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889. Strangely, however, none of these historians discourse on the extent of this influence, nor on the way in which it is manifested in the works of Debussy. It is for this reason that this study was undertaken. ... This dissertation will examine the extent of the influence of just one of these elements: Oriental music, and the Javanese gamelan in particular. It will trace the influx into Europe of Eastern art forms and show how these affected the artistic state of Europe at the time: no study of Debussy is complete without taking into account the cultural milieu in which he moved, for he, more than any composer before him, was truly a product of his time. The Javanese game1ans which performed at the 1889 and 1900 Universal Exhibitions will be described here. Finally, with reference to selected piano works by Claude Debussy, the appearance and evolution of elements typical of the Javanese gamelan will be considered and an evaluation made of their role in the musical development of the composer, for as Rollo Myers remarks after his description of the Javanese music which Debussy heard, "... the experience thus gained undoubtedly tended to influence his musical thinking in the years to come ". 2015-12-08T06:58:42Z 2015-12-08T06:58:42Z 1982 Master Thesis Masters MMus http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15670 eng application/pdf College of Music Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Music
Bird, Catherine
The influence of the Javanese gamelan on selected piano works of Claude-Achille Debussy
thesis_degree_str Master's
title The influence of the Javanese gamelan on selected piano works of Claude-Achille Debussy
title_full The influence of the Javanese gamelan on selected piano works of Claude-Achille Debussy
title_fullStr The influence of the Javanese gamelan on selected piano works of Claude-Achille Debussy
title_full_unstemmed The influence of the Javanese gamelan on selected piano works of Claude-Achille Debussy
title_short The influence of the Javanese gamelan on selected piano works of Claude-Achille Debussy
title_sort influence of the javanese gamelan on selected piano works of claude achille debussy
topic Music
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15670
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