Written and published on the internet by Shengdar Tsai (http://icarus.reshall.umich.edu/).

Reproduced here with

permission.

"I am trying to do 'something different'- in a way realities- what the imbeciles call
`impressionism' is a term which is as poorly used as possible, particularly by art critics."
- Claude Debussy in a letter of March, 1908

Fig. 1. Impressions: Sunrise. Claude Monet.

The term impressionism was first used by Louis Leroy in the French paper Charivari in
application to the now famous painter Monet in a derogatory way over the vague nature of his
work, Impressions: Sunrise. The aim of impressionists was to "suggest rather than to depict;
to mirror not the object but the emotional reaction to the object; to interpret a fugitive
impression rather than to seize upon and fix the permanent reality." (Thompson 21) It is an art
of abstraction, in which mystery and vagueness are to be desired, and not avoided. There are
no absolutes; impressionism is the antithesis of realism. Impressionism differs greatly from

the expressionism. "Formal concern, intellectuality and concise expression have now been
augmented by sentiment, imagination and effect."
As Romanticism developed as a response to Expressionism, so Impressionism begin as a
movement in the mid-1800's as a reaction to the excesses of emotion and romanticism that
preceded it. Monet's picture painted at Le Havre in 1872 created an "impression" of the
merging of water and sky seamlessly and imperceptibly into each other. An impressionist is
thus one who tries to suggest and evoke meaning rather than flatly describe. In music this is
characterized by tonality, unresolved dissonance, and ambiguities. It's a system of sensation,
in which reality stands and is ultimately conceived in personal perception.
"He [Debussy] is not the slightest bit an impressionist. He is, on the contrary, the musician
who makes use everywhere of symbols. For the landscape worthy of music, worthy of poetry,
worthy of art in short, is a symbol and only a symbol," states Suares. (Thompson 18) E.
Robert Schmitz declares,
"The public, imbued with Wagnerian aesthetics, quickly exchanged study of these works for a
rapid and easy label, which if thoughtfully applied to a limited one percent of Debussy's
works, might have been ingenious, but which poured on indiscriminately, has resulted for
decades in blurred, vague, sloppy, wrongly pedaled, innocuous performances of Debussy's
works." (14)
Debussy himself attempted to distance himself from the term as seen in the primary opening
quotation. Yet at the core of Debussy's art and ideals, is an indubitable basis of
impressionism, heavily influencedby impressionist artists and writers of his time.

Fig. 2. Rain, Steam, and Speed. Joseph Turner.

The impressionist movement first became present in art, specifically in the works of Joseph
Turner. Turner's major work, Rain, Steam, and Speed (see fig. 2),1844, was considered the
forerunner of Impressionist painting. They have a mysterious luminescent quality, with
"vaguely suggested shapes that became the hallmarks of the French painters. Critics called

Turner's work "pictures of nothing," and "tinted steam." Although Turner actually preceded
what are now considered to be pure impressionist painters (Monet, Renoir, Cezanne), his
underlying ideas and style were very similar. The influence of Turner upon Debussy is
unquestionable. In 1891, when Turner was almost unknown in France, he was mentioned
twice in Debussy's letters, once superlatively as the "finest creator of mystery in art."
(Halford 2) Both became drawn to the qualities of illusion and dreams over reality. This
vagueness reflected in the blending of colors, shades, shadows in the works of Turner are
passed onto the trademark tonal ambiguity in Debussy.
Studies of 1895 and 1902 proclaimed parallels between color and sound, reflecting the
development of a valid connection between music and art, especially impressionist music and
impressionist art. Famous critic Camille Mauclair suggests that "light is used in Impressionist
painting in the manner that a theme in music is symphonically developed. He writes, `The
landscapes of Claude Monet are in fact symphonies of luminous waves, and the music of
Monsieur Debussy, based not on a succession of themes but on the relative values of sounds
in themselves, bears a remarkable resemblance to these pictures. It is Impressionism
consisting of sonorous patches." (Lockpeiser 17)
Lockpeiser's landmark work, Debussy: His Life and Mind points out that Impressionist
painting and music closely parallel each other in their choice of subjects. Renoir and Monet's
greatest works are paintings of a dreamy young woman gazing at reflections in water, water's
depths, or the sky. The idea of reflection is very important, as in impressionism, the reflection
is more "real" than the actuality. Two examples of such art works are The Boat (1867) by
Renoir, and Argenteuil-sur-Seine (1868). In each the "Impressionist technique allowed the
state of reverie to be boldly explored." It is no coincidence that one of Debussy's most
popular piano works is entitled Reverie. (Lockpeiser 19,20) One of his earlier works, it shows
the warmth and fluidity of his later styles, although lacking in the harmonic patterns which
would later appear in his mature works. However it is a revealing precursor to the truly
impressionistic style which would appear later on. Debussy also composed several "waterpieces" which mirror the spirit of the aforementioned Impressionist pictures, specifically En
bateau (1889), Sirenes (1899), Reflets dans l'eau (1905), Voiles (1910), and La Cathedrale
engloutie (1910).
Perhaps, next to Turner, Japanese artist Hokusai was the greatest influence upon Debussy's
works. Hokusai experimented with effects of light, patterns, shapes, and silhouettes. The
similarities between Hokusai and Turner were noted by many writers of the day. The
Japanese depiction of rain was through means of bold, parallel lines, contrasting, yet similar
in ways to Turner's version. Debussy's obvious appreciation of Hokusai's work is manifest in
the cover of the score of La Mer, which was a reproduction of Hokusai's print, The Hollow of
the Wave of Kanogawa (see fig. 3), at the composer's request.

Fig. 3. The Great Wave of Kanogawa. Hokusai.

Hokusai's painting shows a wave breaking over into spray, foam, and smaller waves. It is an
image of terror, elegance, and awesome power, simultaneously through Hokusai's usage of
perspective. In a study of Hokusai's work in 1896, Edmond de Goncourt writes,
"The design for The Wave is a deified version of the sea made by a painter who lived in a
religious terror of the overwhelming sea surrounding his country on all sides; it is a design
which is impressive by the sudden anger of its leap into the sky, by the deep blue of the
trnasparent inner side of its curve, by the splitting of its crest which is thus scattered into a
shower of tiny drops having the shape of animals' claws."
This vivid yet suggestive imagery is very well suited to the spirit of Debussy's works. It is
seen in Debussy's view of nature, which is typically vague, dreamy, with a type of
"luminosity." La Mer is an obvious example and will be dealt with further on in the paper.
Drawing from his exposure to Impressionism in painting, Debussy attempted to recreate the
subtle, nuances in shading, light which made this new type of artform unique. Starting with
l'Apres-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) impressionistic imagery and
style becomes characteristic of Debussy's works. This type of imagery can also be found in
the symbolist movement of the time in literature which was also among the major influences
upon Debussy.
As Turner was a precursor to the Impressionist movement in art, so was famous American
writer Edgar Allan Poe a "progenitor of the Symbolist movement." Poe believed in the
"confusion and intermingling of all sense-impressions." (Palmer 16) In his works, many of
which are intensely psychological depictions of dreams or mental actions, Poe attempts to

describe his idea of an ultimate reality, inside a person's thoughts without concreteness. Poe's
dedication of his work Eureka revealing, "to the dreamers and those who put their faith in
dreams as the only realties." Poe stated about music, "I know that indefiniteness is an element
of true music, a suggested indefiniteness bringing about a definiteness of vague and therefore
spiritual effect." It appears that Debussy had attempted to write an opera based on The Fall of
the House of Usher, an excellent story by Poe, which depicts among other things a women
who is buried alive by her own brother! (This work was never completed.) (Dietschy 54)
Statements such as these cannot be presented directly, but rather must be slowly impressed
upon the reader by means of slow development and suggestive handling. To quote Edmund
Wilson, "Poe's work is not so much what he actually says that matters as what he makes the
reader feel, and that he had elements in him that corresponded with the indefiniteness of
music and the exactitude of mathematics." (Palmer 16)
The major representatives of the Symbolist movement affecting Debussy are the French poets
Verlaine and Mallarme. As the name implies, among the primary goals of the symbolist
movement was the usage of symbols, images to represent reality, and to evoke meanings
beyond the material world, falling into the higher realities of the world of illusion, of dreams.
Water suggested calm tranquillity, introspection. Fire was a symbol of passion, rage, etc.
Symbolism is technically considered to be a literary school, popular in Paris in the 1880's and
'90s, gaining attention for its "ambiguity of indirect communication; affiliation with music
and decadent spirit." The symbolist movement in literature truly closely paralleled the
impressionistic aspects in music,
Thus, Mallarme, the symbolist movement's most "characteristic and influential spokesman"
calls for indirect communication, in that naming a object is satisfactory, but "suggesting" it, in
poetry, is ideal. Mallarme is of course the famous author of l'Apres-midi d'un faune which is
now both a literary and musical work of art due to Debussy's great accomplishment. Truly the
first orchestral impressionistic work, this will also be discussed in depth below. Mallarme's
"objectives", as well as those of the entirety of the Symbolist school were those of vagueness
and imprecision, to explore worlds of fantasies and dreams. Verlaine puts this goal into
verse:
"Rien de plus cher que la chanson grise,
Ou lIndecis au Precis se joint."
(Nothing is more precious than that gray song,
Where indecision is joined to precision.)
Thus, themes, progressions in Debussy's music are very often left unresolved, and
incomplete, in order to guide and steer the listener without blatant assertions or statements. It
is interesting to note that, "It was the writers, not the musicians who exercised the strongest
influence on Debussy." (Dukas 37)
It seems that the distinctions made between Symbolism and Impressionism are truly
superfluous. Paul Landormy's comments on this subject seem worth examining. He
questions, very astutely, "Is a certain kind of symbolism very far removed from
impressionism? Think of Verlaine, the most gifted representative of symbolism in France. Are
we not straightway inclined to regard symbolism as simply the impressionism of literature?"
It appears that the terms impressionism in art, symbolism in literature, Debussyism in music
are synonymous with each other.

l'Apres-midi d'un Faun

Perhaps the first of Debussy's works which can formally be considered impressionistic in
nature is l'Apres-midi d'un faune (Prelude to te Afternoon of a Faun). Literature and music
critic Arthur Symons, an authority on the Symbolist movment maintains that Debussy is, "the
Mallarme of music, not because he has set L'Apres-midi d'un faune to sound, but because the
music has all the qualities of the poem and none, for instance, of Verlaine.... Mallarme has a
beauty of his own, calculated, new alluring; and Debussy is not less original, aloof ,
deliberately an artist." (Lockpeiser 120) Written when Debussy was 30 years old, l'apresmidi d'un faune was intended to be a three-movement symphony in free form. The
orchestration of this piece was revolutionary in terms of lines and harmony. It's very opening
is unique, with a beautiful, elegant, yet haunting flute solo. The tonal modulations of of the
opening line shatters the familiar order of traditional tonality. (Harder 125) Debussy exploits
the blend of chromaticism to achieve a unique sound which is intended to sustain, and
intermix, yet almost paradoxically to retain a sense of clarity. This is the classic pitfall in the
performance of Debussy, as related by former student Marguerite Long, namely over
"blurring." Maurice Dumesnil, another student of Debussy emphasized that Debussy's music
should never be dry, and while harmonies are not "blurred" together, they need the effect of
"tonal wamth." (Halford 9)
It is interesting to note Debussy's usage of intervals of three, known as tritones as opposed to
traditional fifths and sixths. The piece has an overall sense of unity, yet entirely different from
the Wagnerian sense. Wagner developed the idea of themes (leitmotifs) which would be
changed and repeated depending on characters, mood, etc. Debussy's changes of theme,
character are set through an "equilibrium of feelings and textures, fluid, transparent, scattered
in multiple nuances, the most delicate blending of light and shade." (Cox 14) Mirroring the
impressionist style of painting, images, themes are blended seamlessly so that the transitions
are as fluid and undetectable as possible. Debussy's use of "instrumental color" has been
likened to the theories on pointillist technique in painting. Note that it is true that the term
impressionism in music, although very useful, can be misinterpreted. While the overall effect
is an aura of vagueness, mystery, suggestion, the actual music is not. One of Debussy's
greatest demands of his students was a strict attention to notations in the score, and making
them follow them faithfully. To quote the words of Verlaine, "In Debussy's piece, imprecision
meets precision."
Pelleas et Mellisande

It would never do to forget Maeterlinck, whose drama was the basis for Debussy's only
completed opera, Pelleas and Melisande, a true scandal in its opening. Music critics at the
time were "almost unanimous in their condemnation" of the work. For many years to come
this would be referred to as the "scandal of Pelleas", the shock, indignation and outrage over
the opera and its unconventional form. Bettina Knapp observes in her book, Maurice
Maeterlinck (1975), "In good symbolist tradition... symbols are the chief vehicles and used in
his dramas to arouse sensations, to breath life into the ephemeral essences which people
Maeterlincks's stage." Pelleas was truly a turning point in Debussy's career.

Pelleas et Melisande, with its imagery, and powers of suggestion was truly a fitting work for
Debussy's first operatic work. "Images... continually suggest further meanings and nuances in
the plot and characters..." (Spaeth 13) Maeterlinck's "drama" is truly interesting. It had no
well-defined themes or action. The plot is vague, and without clear direction. (Ketting 27)
Yet, these among other things contribute to the impressionist nature of the work. Pelleas
cannot be taken as a series of directed events, isolated interests. Rather one must. form an
"impression" of the work as a whole. A revolutionary step in Pelleas was Debussy's break
with the traditional diatonic system. Rather than making clear, closed statements with tonic
cadences, Debussy avoids them. The usage of whole-tone scale is markedly increased. With
whole-tone chord modulation, Debussy manipulates harmony to reflect subtle changes in
emotion, and character. Pelleas is a transition between Debussy's earlier genius of l'Apresmidi, to conscious and mature development of rhythm, tonality, melody in La Mer. (Nichols
45) Elements of impressionistic grow progressively with each work.
La Mer

Finally, perhaps the greatest symphonic impressionist work of all time is Debussy's La Mer.
Cox in fact claims it is the "best symphony ever written by a Frenchman." La Mer is great for
its unity in form, with all important structural elements of a symphonic work (melody,
harmony, rhythm, etc.) In La Mer, all of the greatest influences of Debussy's life are manifest.
As a child, the son of a sailor, he was told wondrous stories of his father's
expeditions. Later on, Turner's sea pictures would also inspire Debussy, with their powers of
suggestion. Debussy most likely saw Turner's pictures in Paris or at London's National
Gallery in his travels of 1902 and 1903, around the time when he began composing La Mer.
The resulting symphonic work is one of Debussy's greatest, a landmark work. It manages to
be suggestive, yet with technical precision and clarity, a true masterpiece. The three
movements are entitled "De l'aube a midi sur la mer" (From dawn to midday at sea), "Jeu de
vagues" (Play of the waves), and "Dialogue du vent et de la mer" (Dialogue of the wind and
the sea.). (Cox 26) The indelible mark of impressionism upon Debussy is evident in this
remark which he made concerning his life away from the see. "But I have an endless store of
memories, and to my mind, they are worth more than the reality, whose beauty often deadens
thought." (Romanticism)
Like most of Debussy's works, La Mer stirred up great controversy at its onset. Debussy's
was revolutionary in that he took a radical approach to harmony, melody, rhythm, and form.
His music had a lyricality, a fluidity which was to transfigure 20th century music. In La Mer,
Debussy began the so-called "impressionist" use of harmonies, which according to critic
Arnold Schoenberg, "served the colouristic purpose of expressing moods and pictures." In La
Mer, chord modulations, and progressions become more fluid, more subtle than ever before.
Debussy's extended tonality enabled rapid shifting and movement, while retaining precise
musical and technical basis. Rhythm patterns were irregular, giving way to almost free-form
measures, losing the feeling of a strict barline. Use of a sharp fourth and flat seventh brought
out interesting modulations and fluid changes of key. (Cox 33)
The influence of Hokusai upon Debussy in the last movement is particularly obvious. The
chromatic opening begins with an interesting harmonic pattern, very mysterious of tension.
The power and terror of Hokusai's work is reflected in the last movement, a dialogue. While

the first movements are more gentle, and are a display of Debussy's subtle and skillful
interweaving of harmonies, the third is ominous and dark, rising in what could almost be
considered waves of sound. It climaxes at the end in a awesome burst of sound, which lingers
long after the sound itself has died away.
Debussy's revolutionary new harmonies marked the beginning of true "impressionism" in
music, which is preferably known as Debussyism, the terms being essentially equivalent. It is
the "apotheosis of sensation." It is music considered sole for the sake of sensation, and none
other. It is a "kind of music free from themes and motives, or formed on a single continuos
theme, which nothing interrupts, and which never returns upon itself...." (Thompson 103)
Debussy had created a music which would define the basis of French musical style for years
to come. He had revolutionized harmony, freeing music from the formal rules always so
carefully observed. In fact Thompson argues that, "Debussy has been the determining factor
in the music of the 20th century because of the doors he opened and the restraints he cast
aside." Myers reminds us of "how much contemporary western music owes to this pioneer
who undoubtedly laid the foundations of that new harmonic language, which, with variations,
is universally spoken today."
After careful study of the major impressionist/symbolist influences in Debussy's life, it seems
obvious that those who denied the proper place of the term impressionism in application to
Debussy's music were unequivocally mistaken. For, when Debussy responded to the original
critic with those famous words, "what those imbeciles call 'impressionism' ," he was reacting
to the idea of inherent negative imprecise, vague, and sloppy connotations of the word. A
more suitable term for Debussy is symbolism as this seemed to be the greatest defining
influence on his work. Even better, is the term Debussyism, as Debussy himself embodied all
the qualities which are representative of impressionism in music. This fact is neatly illustrated
in all of his mature works, most notably l'Apres-midi, Pelleas et Mellisande, and La Mer.
Debussy's revolutionary usage of tonal ambiguity, the usage of pedal point, unresolved
chords, dissonance, chromaticism all support the idea that the whole of Debussy's works truly
were, without a doubt, impressionist in nature. In the redefined sense of the word, Debussy
would have been pleased.
Works Cited
Cox, David Vassall. Debussy orchestral music. Seattle : University of Washington Press,
1975.
Dietschy, Marcel. A Portrait of Claude Debussy. New York : Oxford University Press, 1990.
Halford Margery. Debussy: An Introduction to His Piano Music. New York: Alfred
Publishing Co., Inc., 1984.
Harder, Paul O. Bridge to 20th Century Music; A Programed Course. Boston: Allyn and
Bacon, 1973.
Ketting, Piet. Claude-Achille Debussy. Stockholm: The Continental Book Company A.B.
Lockspeiser, Edward. Debussy; His Life and Mind. London: Cassell, 1962.

Nichols, Roger. Debussy. London: Oxford University Press, 1973.

Palmer, Christopher. Impressionism in music. London, Hutchinson, 1973.
Pasler, Jann. "Pelleas and power: forces behind the reception of Debussy's opera." 19th
Century Music 10:243-64 Spring '87
Romanticism. http://www.webcom.com/~music/rep/defs/rom.html
Thompson, Oscar. Debussy, Man and Artist New York, Dodd, Mead & company, 1937.
Schmitz, E. Robert, 1889-1949. The piano works of Claude Debussy. New York, Duell, Sloan
and Pearce, 1950.
Spaeth, Jeanne. "Sounding symbols." Opera News 52:12-14 Jan 30 '88