Claude Debussy's La Mer and
Three Paintings by Claude Monet
Intro To The Works
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Artwork: “Arm of the Seine near Giverny,” “Regatta at
Sainte-Andresse,” and “Rough Seas at Etretat” by
Claude Monet
Musical work: “La Mer” by Claude Debussy
Era = impressionist (musical & visual), late 1800's1900's
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Focused on suggestion & atmosphere more than strong
emotion or the presentation of a story5
Music made use of dissonance and unusual scales5
Artwork focused on lighting effects and capturing the
essence of the subject rather than details4
Claude Monet (1840-1926)1
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Born November 14, 1840 in Paris, later moved to Normandy1
Father wanted him to become a grocer, but he wanted to be an
artist1
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Took drawing lessons from Jacques-Francois Ochard1
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Eugène Boudin taught him to use oil paints1
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Studied under Charles Gleyre in Paris starting 18621
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met Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Frederic Bazille, and Alfred Sisley1
These fellow artists helped shape his style and impressionism as a
whole1
Style= visible brush strokes, emphasis on lighting effects1
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Painted “series” paintings: multiple paintings of one subject
under different weather/light conditions1
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)2
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Born August 22, 1862 in St. Germain-en-Laye, Germany2
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Began studying piano at the age of 92
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At 10 studied with Ernest Guiraud, César Franck and others at
the Paris Conservatoire (1872–84)2
Initially influenced by Wagner2
Developed own style independent of Wagner's romantic &
emotional style in 1880's2
Shorter works, daring harmonic experimentation2
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Whole tone scale, phrygian mode2
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Uses dissonance w/out formal resolution2
Used music to evoke images or impressions of places, ideas, or
occurrences2
La Mer (The Sea)
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Composed 1903-05; Consists of 3 movements3:
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"De l'aube à midi sur la mer" - très lent (si mineur)
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"Jeux de vagues" - allegro (do dièse mineur)
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"Dialogue du vent et de la mer" - animé et tumultueux (do dièse
mineur)
These are usually translated as3:
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"From dawn to midday on the sea" - very slowly (B minor)
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"Play of the waves" or - allegro (C sharp minor)
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"Dialogue of the wind and the sea" - animated and
tumultuous (C sharp minor)
From Dawn to Midday on the Sea
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Initial dynamic building/ whole tone ascension
suggest rising of the sun
Gives way to a calm, ethereal tone, with flowing
style
Light, airy tone, as if floating blissfully in a calm
sea
Ends with majestic buildup and resolution,
which evokes images of the vast expanse of the
sea, with the noon sun shining gloriously down
Arm of the Seine near Giverny
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Still water reflects calm,
blissful tone of the main
section of the movement
Soft colors reiterate calm
Even though this is a
river, it still has the
qualities of water that
Debussy captured in this
movement
Play of the Waves
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This piece imitates the many different types of
waves that can occur:
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Quick, lively runs and trills evoke images of little
ripples or small waves breaking lightly
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Harp and flute create flowing images
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Building crescendos followed by decrescendos
imitates swell of the waves
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Crash symbols imitate crash of waves
Regatta at Sainte-Andresse
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Waves breaking lightly
on the shore
Small, ripple-like waves
Sailboats and cloude
create sense of peace
Green water reflects
intermittent eerie tone of
the song
Dialogue of the wind and the sea
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Dissonance, sudden dynamic changes, and
building/layering of voices create dark, foreboding
tone, suggesting agitation or a storm
Gives way to more calm, consonant sound, but
dissonance and dynamic building are intermittent until
it builds back up to a dissonant climax
Majestic tone at the end evokes images of tall,
powerful swells, while the crash symbols suggest the
wind forcing these waves into collision
Rough Seas at Etretat
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Brownish grey of
water reflects the
dissonance of the
music
Large waves and
crashes as suggested
by movement
General stormy
sky/atmosphere
Conclusion
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Claude Monet and Claude Debussy lived in the
same time period and were both impressionists
Both sought to capture the essence of the subject
matter instead of focusing on the tiny details
Both artists captured the many different
temperaments of the sea, Debussy through his
three contrasting movements of La Mer, and Monet
through countless different paintings of the sea
Works Cited
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_monet
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debussy
3. http://www.answers.com/topic/la-mer
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism
5.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionist_music
6.http://dariogalimberti.interfree.it/htm/mp3eng.ht
m#debussy%20la%20mer