Art & Music - Impressionism...3/4

A reaction to romanticism 

When Monet and the other French impressionists were painting, the world of classical music was ruled by Wagner.

His style epitomized romanticism, and the belief that all musical expression was born of a deep emotional response.

By comparison, Debussy’s music emerged onto the scene as a breath of fresh air.

Musical elements combined

Some of the musical elements often termed ‘impressionistic’, and indeed utilized by Debussy, include an emphasis on instrumental timbres that create a shimmering interplay of “colours”, melodies that lack directed motion (there aren’t hummable “tunes”), and an avoidance of traditional musical form.  Tonal colour and mood are emphasized, rather than the formal structures of sonata or symphony and the resulting music is episodic and freely composed. 

Impressionist painters show us what was “there”; impressionist composers wrote music that draws us into the scene.  Both sought to evoke the experiences of the moment – not an emotional expression of the human experience but what it is like to simply “be there”.

A sublime example of this new style of composition, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the afternoon of a faun) turned the world of classical music on its ear.  Its harmonies were languorous and voluptuous; its patterns precise and self-referencing. It was a new kind of tone poem that evoked mood and atmosphere in a natural setting - not a human emotional rollercoaster ride – and, despite its revolutionary character, the audience loved it.

Misunderstood art

The enthusiastic reaction of Debussy´s audience contrasted sharply with the response the impressionist painters received; their art dismissed and neutralized by derision.  What precipitated such a different reaction? 

The plein-air paintings of Monet and Sisley are beautiful interpretations of moments.  An observer can marvel at Monet’s rendering of light and the passage of time, or contemplate the nature and qualities of fog depicted in his Rouen Cathedral series.  The paintings are, certainly by our modern sense of aesthetic, very pleasant.  They may not evoke great emotional reactions in us, but possibly the artists would claim that a dramatic emotional reaction is beside the point.

A modern interpretation

150 years ago audiences clamoured for impressionistic music but were unmoved by impressionistic art.  How have our tastes developed and why?

(This is the next in a series created for the Fuschia Tree's art magazine, Artitude, exploring the inter-relatedness of art and music.)