This article is about the musical composition. For the fabric, see Voile. For the regatta, see Voiles de Saint-Tropez.
Voiles is a musical composition for solo piano by French composer Claude Debussy that was composed in 1909. It is the second piece in Debussy's first book of préludes, published in 1910. The title may be translated as either veils or sails; both meanings can be connected to the musical structure (see below).
A whole-tone scale in Debussy's "Voiles", mm. 1–4.[2][3]
The composition studies the whole-tone scale intensively, with the exception of a brief six-measure section in the pentatonic scale.[1] The structure of the piece follows a variation on ternary (A–B–A′) form.[4] A begins in bar 1; B begins in bar 42; and A′ begins in bar 48. This three-part form is articulated by the dynamic structure: A and A′ have only soft dynamics (piano or softer), while B has a wider dynamic from piano to forte. The B section is also set apart by a faster tempo and increased density of notes. Finally, the A and A′ sections are characterized by a whole-tone scale, while the B section is characterized by the pentatonic scale.[4] The whole-tone scale and the soft dynamics give the A and A′ sections a mysterious and eerie mood. In the B section, the louder dynamics, the faster passage, and the more consonant and familiar pentatonic scale give the listener a break from the eerie tone, allowing a brief moment of clarity.
Pentatonic scale in Debussy's "Voiles", Préludes, Book I, no. 2, mm. 43–45.[5]
If interpreting the movement in light of "veils", the eerie, mysterious mood of the A section sounds veiled. The clearer, more open sound of the B section generates an impression that the veil is removed, but returns for the A′ section. If one takes "sails" as a possible understanding of the title, that leads to a possible image of a becalmed ship in the A and A′ sections, with the clearer, louder, brighter B section denoting a more open sea and sails full of wind. Generally however, the structure of the piece is difficult to categorise.[4] Some say[who?] that the pentatonic section forms the B part but, in truth, it is not clear enough to state it is definitely A–B–A. Others argue that it follows a rounded binary form more than ternary form due to the fact that there is an A part, B part and then another section at the end, concluding all of his ideas.
This article contains information translated from the corresponding article of the German Wikipedia. A list of contributors can be found there at the History section.
voiles, this, article, about, musical, composition, fabric, voile, regatta, saint, tropez, musical, composition, solo, piano, french, composer, claude, debussy, that, composed, 1909, second, piece, debussy, first, book, préludes, published, 1910, title, transl. This article is about the musical composition For the fabric see Voile For the regatta see Voiles de Saint Tropez Voiles is a musical composition for solo piano by French composer Claude Debussy that was composed in 1909 It is the second piece in Debussy s first book of preludes published in 1910 The title may be translated as either veils or sails both meanings can be connected to the musical structure see below Except for some mild localized chromaticism and a short pentatonic passage the entire piece uses the whole tone scale 1 In their published form the Preludes have their individual titles printed not at the start but at the end and in parentheses Contents 1 Musical analysis 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksMusical analysis edit nbsp source Audio playback is not supported in your browser You can download the audio file A whole tone scale in Debussy s Voiles mm 1 4 2 3 The composition studies the whole tone scale intensively with the exception of a brief six measure section in the pentatonic scale 1 The structure of the piece follows a variation on ternary A B A form 4 A begins in bar 1 B begins in bar 42 and A begins in bar 48 This three part form is articulated by the dynamic structure A and A have only soft dynamics piano or softer while B has a wider dynamic from piano to forte The B section is also set apart by a faster tempo and increased density of notes Finally the A and A sections are characterized by a whole tone scale while the B section is characterized by the pentatonic scale 4 The whole tone scale and the soft dynamics give the A and A sections a mysterious and eerie mood In the B section the louder dynamics the faster passage and the more consonant and familiar pentatonic scale give the listener a break from the eerie tone allowing a brief moment of clarity nbsp Pentatonic scale in Debussy s Voiles Preludes Book I no 2 mm 43 45 5 source source source If interpreting the movement in light of veils the eerie mysterious mood of the A section sounds veiled The clearer more open sound of the B section generates an impression that the veil is removed but returns for the A section If one takes sails as a possible understanding of the title that leads to a possible image of a becalmed ship in the A and A sections with the clearer louder brighter B section denoting a more open sea and sails full of wind Generally however the structure of the piece is difficult to categorise 4 Some say who that the pentatonic section forms the B part but in truth it is not clear enough to state it is definitely A B A Others argue that it follows a rounded binary form more than ternary form due to the fact that there is an A part B part and then another section at the end concluding all of his ideas See also editList of compositions by Claude DebussyReferences edit a b Schmitz Elie Robert 1966 The Piano Works of Claude Debussy foreword by Virgil Thomson Courier Dover Publications pp 133 136 ISBN 0 486 21567 9 Benward Bruce Saker Marilyn 2009 Music in Theory and Practice Volume II Eighth ed McGraw Hill p 246 ISBN 978 0 07 310188 0 Benward amp Saker 2003 Music In Theory and Practice Vol I p 39 Seventh Edition ISBN 978 0 07 294262 0 a b c Claude Debussy Voiles by Todd Tarantino Benward amp Saker 2009 p 245 Attribution This article contains information translated from the corresponding article of the German Wikipedia A list of contributors can be found there at the History section External links editPreludes Livre 1 Debussy Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Notes on Voiles on Klavier noten de Preludes Book 1 No 2 Voiles on YouTube Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Portal nbsp Classical music Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Voiles amp oldid 1221089707, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
