Debussy, Bergson and the Music of 'la duree'

Charles Frederick Frantz

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English

Routledge
21 October 2024

Theory of music & musicology; Romantic music (c 1830 to c 1900); 20th century & contemporary classical music

Charles Frederick Frantz provides a quantitative and qualitative analysis of Debussy’s music through the lens of Bergson’s philosophical perspective of durée, revealing his ""revolution"" in musical time.

In fin-de-siècle Paris, Debussy was revolutionizing musical time while Bergson was establishing a metaphysics that challenged the notion of measured or spatialized time. Bergson argued that real time or durée could be grasped only through intuition as opposed to analysis. Debussy eschewed analysis of music, declaring that separating it into parts was better left to engineers. Debussy’s music and Bergson’s durée were conceived and imagined in the environs of nature. The cycle of seasons, the gracefulness of a blooming flower, or a gentle breeze all suggest continuity, flow, and uninterrupted rhythm. The time of nature is the time of Debussy’s music and Bergson’s durée. Debussy’s use of open forms and Golden Sections create a time world of an expanded present, never ceasing. Bergson’s perception of real time is ever-changing, bringing the past into the present and open to unforeseen novelty.

This book is intended primarily for scholars in the disciplines of musicology, music theory, and philosophy and can be used as a text for upper-level undergraduate or graduate courses in musicology or music theory.

By: Charles Frederick Frantz
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780367479114
ISBN 10: 0367479117
Pages: 166
Publication Date: 21 October 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Introduction Chapter I: Enigmas Chapter II: A Bergson Perspective for the Analysis of Debussy’s Music Chapter III: Debussy and Bergson in Paris: Perspectives on Spiritualism, Materialism, Science and Nature Chapter IV: Bergson, Proust and Debussy: Correspondences and Distinctions Chapter V: La Durée: Nature and Fluidity Chapter VI: ‘The Perception of Change’: An Indivisible Reality Chapter VII: Ondine: The Apparent Paradox of Changeability and Indivisibility Chapter VIII: Evoking Ancient Memories Chapter IX: Humor and the Living Chapter X: Debussy’s Egypt: Stasis and Mobility in Canope Chapter XI: Debussy’s Music, Bergson’s La Durée: The Act of Creation in Painting Conclusion Bibliography Index

Charles Frederick Frantz is a guitarist, pianist, and educator. He has over 30 years of teaching experience in music history, theory, piano, and guitar along with a breadth of performance experience that includes concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Philadelphia Academy of Music. He leads the New Jersey Jazz Quartet on guitar and regularly performs as a soloist in piano concerts.