Debussy's The Sea La Mer Sparknotes

Debussy’s the sea (La Mer) is the first piece we hear in the video. Bernstein explains music as a means of communication to explain a description of something, in this case the sea. Impressionism began with painters. A realistic painter wants thing exact, whereas impressionist painters wanted people to see light and color reflecting off the image. These lights and colors can change depending on time of day or year. Impressionist harmonies sound more like suggestions, with ‘fuzzy little whisps of melody.’ The first movement of La Mer represents the stillness of ocean just before dawn. What is different about this piece in comparison to other pieces I’ve listened to is that I can envision what Bernstein was describing very vividly, and I would
This conducting style changes again soon after, similarly to how the sea’s waves are always moving and flowing. It is interesting that the clarinet part around 7:40 was mirrored in the cello as the middle to lower voices began to increase. Debussy ‘painted’ new sounds, new to the ears that were accustomed to Beethoven. The explanation of half tones and whole tones was helpful for the explanation of whole tone scales that help create the new impression of dreams and colors. It is interesting that Debussy altered existing chords just slightly to create the effect that he was after. These ‘new’ blurry colors create some very interesting pictures, reminiscent of Monet’s painting. Bitonality is a very interesting concept, in that there are two separate voices building off of each other. Writing the music of faraway places is a very interesting concept, especially since nationality was a very recent concept. Again with the explanation of the second movement, I have no trouble visually imagining the tune better than I have with some of the previous
However, the music gets a little violent and forceful, as the ocean is known to be on occasion. The same theme on the clarinet, I believe, keeps bringing back the playful feeling from the beginning of the tune, despite the chaos going on around it. There is a sense of drama and building up of something as the tune continues, but the end of the tune does finish restfully. The title of the piece again helps give the listening an understanding of what Debussy was trying to convey without completely spelling it out for them. It is easy to hear the building and falling of phrases, much like the waves of the sea. It reminds me a little bit of a Harry Potter movie score. The brass sound around 4:00 definitely helps with the change in mood. The high voice around 5:00 leads the the orchestra into a repetition of the phrase that the high voice began with. It definitely easy to hear the ‘blurry’ colors in the music. It does not sound like any music I’ve heard in a time period previous to