Oriental influences in the piano music of Claude Achille Debussy.

Abstract

This paper explores the influences of Vietnamese and Indonesian music in the piano compositions of Claude Debussy. A brief background of Debussy's formative years and of pertinent social trends in Paris at the turn-of-the-century is provided. This paper then looks at two specific musical events that affected the way Debussy composed for the piano: the Javanese and Annamite exhibits at the Exposition Universelles de 1889 and 1900 in Paris. The musical styles and timbres of these two countries are explored, backed up by accounts of what Debussy actually experienced at the Expositions. Following a look at specific musical effects used by Debussy that reveal the influence of the Orient, this paper surveys an extensive body of his piano music chronologically, focusing on compositional techniques that were learned from the Asian ensembles at the cultural exhibits of the Paris Expositions. This paper reveals the depth of the Oriental influence in Debussy's piano music.