a comparative analysis of louis durey and francis poulenc's settings ...

36
Le Dromadaire—Durey
Durey’s use of the Dorian scale gives this piece an Arabic feel, which, along with
the text and the woodcut, further reveals the location of the Don Pedro and his
dromedaries’ journey. The piece starts out at a lively pace in F Dorian and the middle-
Eastern tonality is emphasized when the right hand plays the scale up a fifth and back
down in measures 3-5. The scale is again played in measure 10-12, in octaves, before the
interlude that introduces Eb tonality. In measure 13, the key seems to shift and the left
hand begins playing E-flats in octaves for the duration of the piece—a pedal point, of
sorts.
Fig. 3 “Le Dromadaire,” mm. 3-5
The vocalist acts as an enthusiastic storyteller in imparting information “with
spirit” about Don Pedro and his caravan. The voice emulates the five-note F Dorian scale
previously introduced in the accompaniment. To the same effect, the rhythm and melody
of the vocal line in measures 6-13 complement the sense of grandiloquence conveyed in
the text. Conversely, the change of character in measures 16-24 conveys a sense of
humility. The accompaniment and voice are both given a piano dynamic and the vocal
line becomes a bit more fluid; the note values are longer and less percussive. The
accompaniment has a similar sound to the “A” section, however the chords in the right
hand are played in a higher range. The change in character comes with the poet’s, and in