An Outline of The History of Western Music Grout ... - The Reel Score

a) César Franck (1822-1890) - introduced some mildly chromatic innovations in
harmony and systematically applied the cyclical method
b) Vincent d'Indy (1851-1931) - Franck's leading pupil & held faithfully to his ideals
and methods
c) Ernest Chausson (1855-1899) - carried on Franck's exploration of cyclical forms
and adventurous harmonies
3. The French Tradition
a) Essentially Classic
1: regarding music as a sonorous form rather than expression
2: order & restraint are fundamental
b) Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) - a facility in managing Classic forms
c) Jules Massenet (1842-1912) - similar eclectic approach as Saint-Saëns
d) Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
1: founder of the National Society for French Music, president of the Independent
M-usical Society, studied composition with Saint-Saéns
2: Influenced later composers through his pupils Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) and
Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979)
4. The Later Tradition
a) Impressionism
1: first applied to a school of French painting that flourished from about 1880 to the
end of the century - chief representative was Claude Monet (1840-1926)
2: music aimed to evoke moods and sensuous impressions mainly through
harmony and tone color
i- did not seek to express deeply felt emotion or tell a story
ii- rather to evoke a mood, a fleeting sentiment, an atmosphere
iii- each chord was conceived as a sonorous unit in a phrase whose structure
was determined more by melodic shape or color value
3: relied on allusion and understatement - the antithesis of the forthright,
energetic, deep expressions of the Romantics
4: composers for whom impressionism had a more conspicuous or lasting effect
i- Charles Martin Loeffler (1861-1935) - American
ii- Ernes Bloch (1880-1959) - Swiss-American
iii- Charles Griffes (1884-1920) - American
iv- Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) - Polish
v- Arnold Bax (1883-1935) - English
vi- Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) - Italian
vii- Franz Schreker (1878-1934) - Austrian
b) Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
1: one of the most potent influences on the course of 20th century music
2: Impressionism was one aspect of his style - often over emphasised
3: early influences on his style
i- immediate background included Franck, Saint-Saëns, Emmanuel Chabrier
(1841-1894) as well comtemporary French painters and poets who
impacted his thinking