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| Claude Debussy |
Culture
Achille-Claude Debussy (also known as Debussy) was born in 22 August
1862, he also was a French composer. He also was associated with impressionist
music. Debussy is the eldest among five children.
Debussy is one of the 20th century composer who continued to
work in forms and musical language that derived from the 19th
century. Debussy also experimented with forms, tonality, and orchestration.
There are several sections that made up Pagodes. Which is labeled
letters A through C.
Gamelan
Gamelan is a traditional musical ensemble from Indonesia, especially
gamelan from the island of Java and Bali, featuring variety of instruments such
as metallophones, gong, kendang, xylophones, bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked
strings, and also a vocalist may be included in gamelan. So gamelan is set of
variety instruments which played and tuned stay together.
The word “gamelan” referring to instruments. The instruments itself developed
during the Majapahit Empire. Gamelan music is began as an oral tradition and
not notated. However during the 19th century
Balinese gamelan are different than Javanese gamelan. Javanese gamelan
tempo plays much
slower rather than Balinese gamelan. Some instruments are the
same both in Javanese gamelan and Balinese gamelan.
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| Topeng Tua |
The gamelan that I’ll be analyzing would be Balinese
gamelan and using the Reong notation. For the reong, the letters L and R mean the left-
and right-hand player of a seven-gong reong, respectively. In a
twelve-gong, four-player reong and counting from the lowest to the highest
notes, the players number 1 and 3 are the left-hand players, players number 2
and 4 the right-hand ones.
In reong notation, p stands for pinggir - rim.
The left-hand player plays the rim of gong 5, using the wooden ends of his
mallets. The right-hand player does the same on gong 2. At the | sign, the
player plays two gongs simultaneously. The left-hand player plays gongs 3 and
6, the right-hand player plays gongs 1 and 3.
Gamelan play a complex polyphony and counterpoint of
texture.
The structure of the pagodes on section A which
strectches from bar one to bar thirty two, the B section
The melodic traits of Debussy “Pagodes” and Gamelan
“Topeng Tua” both has similar polytonality, and some improvisation.
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The rhythemic patterns on the Debussy “Pagodes” on the 11th-12th
bar have the same rhythemic pattern with Gamelan both instruments of kendang l
and kendang w
as we can see from the first row which the pamugal and gangsas
instruments both played with a short range note between 5 and 6. It’s the same
with the bottom row of the Pagodes which also have a very short range note
between C and D.
so actually both of the music piece have a very large scale repetition
and built around ostinato techniques with formal structures, also including
some forms which are built on circular or symmetrical patterns. Mostly consist
of the use of non-diatonic scales such as pentatonic, whole tone, etc. Which
suggest slendro and pelog (gamelan instruments) tunning used
in gamelan music, or at least the scale and tunnings which are different from
the major and minor system.
The tone colors and the timbres evocative of the gamelan. The sound of
the piano which is soft pedaled, staccato notes, soft seconds, high and fast,
low fifth held in the pedal. Ostinato type figures all of are the aspects of
the gamelan timbres.
For the gamelan characteristic texture which almost similar which is
low, and sustained gong sound over time, faster moving figures in the upper
range of the piano and overlaid by a moderately moving melody in the middle
range of the piano.
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| bar 3 of pagodes |
Its pentatonic scales and reminiscent of the gamelan slendro tuning is more thoroughgoing
rather than any other Debussy’s piano music composition. The introduction of fourteen bars illustrate
this: measure one introduces the gong
ageng gamelan instrument on the low B. During bar three it begin a
pentatonic motive which is on the sixteenth notes and also the timbre of
metallophone.
Then it follows by the cengkok
gamelan pattern that moves between the notes and around the notes that proceeds
by conjunct motion. Then at the bar seven the melody enters which may
functioning as the balungan (which is
called as the “core melody” of gamelan composition).
The contour which is kind of wavelike which produced smooth and quiet
sound indirectly evoke the bowed string timbre of rebab instrument. Starting from bar eleven a melody enter which is
almost the same as bar seven, but now in quarter notes and positioned higher in
the pentatonic scale. Then along it appears another cengkok pattern but only now it plays in eight notes and not in
sixteenth notes.
The effect of stratified still keeps going on. On bar twenty-three
there’s also occur cengkok pattern in
which straggered entrances over a recurring gong. On bar twenty-seven occurs
another pentatonic scale which uses in triple eight notes. Then in coda another
pentatonic scale appear and have the fastest motion, which is thirty-second
notes.
By differing the dynamics level which Debussy does, for example: the
introduction of the song uses pianissimo dynamic then the change to piano in
bar eleven
There is also a change of tempo
in "Pagodes", in the introduction section, it indicates a slow
movement in bar seven, five, and nine just before each arrival of the low gong.
Then starting bar nineteen until bar thirty-three there have been a gradual
change of tempo that shows the guide of gamelan from one irama to another.
Conclusion
The gamelan "Topeng
Tua" music is play in entirely polyphonic rhythm instead of chordal,
but Debussy "Pagodes" play in chordal. so Debussy trying to
express and show to the audience the sensitivity of both musical piece gamelan
timbre and western functionality.
The analysis shows that there are a lot of similarities between the gamelan "Topeng Tua" and the Debussy "Pagodes". it may seems that Debussy uses a lot of gamelan techniques, but it's not just a mere imitation of gamelan music but rather making the ideas of music and sound and making the music of his own and expressing through his musical pieces.
References
References
