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Master's In Music Theory

Matthew Schwarz

Tonal Resonance & Set Class Use in Debussy's Sonat

2020

Tonal Resonance & Set Class Use in Debussy's Sonat

Master's

B.S. Rutgers University 1997

Matthew Schwarz

Music Theory

9/28/2020Keith J Waters

Philip Chang 9/29/2020

Abstract

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Claude Debussy’s music is often seen as a departure from the tonal music of the common-practice era. However, the Sonata for

Flute, Viola, and Harp of 1915–one of Debussy’s last works–still exhibits much use of tonality and diatonicism. Background

functional-harmony progressions and cadences are used to delineate form and phrases. Formal areas are also defined by degree of

tonality and diatonicism in the foreground. This paper focuses on the beginning section and its return (the A and A′ sections of a ternary ABA′) of the opening Pastorale

movement of the Sonata. It shows the progression between formal areas defined by set classes and pitch collections which vary in their

levels of diatonicism and common-practice harmonies. It also shows the alteration of set classes and pitch collections from the A

section to the A′ section to form more functional harmonies, in a manner reminiscent of common-practice sonata-form recapitulation

Tonal Resonance & Set Class Use in Debussy's Sonat

Matthew Schwarz

Keith J Waters Keith J Waters

i

TONAL RESONANCE AND SET CLASS USE

IN DEBUSSY’S SONATA FOR FLUTE, VIOLA, AND HARP OF 1915

by

MATTHEW HARDY SCHWARZ

B.S., Rutgers University, 1997

A thesis submitted to the

Faculty of the Graduate School of the

University of Colorado in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Music Theory

Department of Music

2020

Committee Members:

Keith Waters

Philip Chang

Steven Bruns

ii

Schwarz, Matthew Hardy (MM, Music Theory)

Tonal Resonance and Set Class Use in Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp of 1915

Thesis directed by Professor Keith Waters

ABSTRACT

Claude Debussy’s music is often seen as a departure from the tonal music of the

common-practice era. However, the Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp of 1915–one of

Debussy’s last works–still exhibits much use of tonality and diatonicism. Background

functional-harmony progressions and cadences are used to delineate form and phrases. Formal

areas are also defined by degree of tonality and diatonicism in the foreground.

This paper focuses on the beginning section and its return (the A and A′ sections of a

ternary ABA′) of the opening Pastorale movement of the Sonata. It shows the progression

between formal areas defined by set classes and pitch collections which vary in their levels of

diatonicism and common-practice harmonies. It also shows the alteration of set classes and pitch

collections from the A section to the A′ section to form more functional harmonies, in a manner

reminiscent of common-practice sonata-form recapitulation.

iii

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION………………..………….……………….………1

Background……………………...……………………….……….…..3

II. OVERALL TONAL ORGANIZATION IN THE PASTORALE…...12

III. SET CLASS USE…………………………………….………………22

IV. CONCLUSION……………………………………………………….35

BIBLIOGRAPHY…...………………………………………………………37

iv

FIGURES

Figure

1. Debussy, Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp, mvt. I, flute mm. 1-3…………….... .9

2. Large scale harmonic progressions according to Whitman……………………….13

3. Large scale harmonic progression of A section……………………………….…..14

4. Summary of bass and treble movement in harmonic area 1, mm. 1-9……………15

5. Harmonic progressions in Bb major in harmonic area 2, mm. 9-13………………16

6. Harmonic progressions in F major in harmonic area 3, mm. 14-17………...…….18

7. Harmonic progressions in A minor in harmonic area 4, mm. 18-20…………...…19

8. Harmonic area 5, mm. 21-24……………………………………………...………20

9. Harmonic area 6, m. 25……………………………………………………………21

10. Unordered set class motives according to Richard Parks…………………………22

11. Set classes [02458] and [0135] in mm. 1-3 and 4-6, after Parks………………….23

12. Set class [02479] in the flute of m. 7.1-7.2 (after Parks, 1989), with its subsets…25

13. Set classes in A section, using Walker’s themes P1-6……………………………27

14. Appearance of trichord set classes in theme P1, mm. 1-3………………………...28

15. Comparison of theme P1 at m. 1-2 in A section with m. 74-75 in A′ section…….29

16. Return of theme 2 in A′, with alterations changing [036] and [048] to minor

triads…………………………………………………………………………….31

17. Comparison of theme 1 in A and A′, showing move towards diatonicism……….32

18. Themes in A and A′ sections……………………………………………………...34

1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

“There is no theory. You merely have to listen. Pleasure is the law.”1 This is Claude

Debussy’s own explanation for his compositional style. Considered one of the earliest and most

important composers of the post-Romantic era, Debussy wrote music that is often seen as a break

from the tonal procedures and musical forms of common-practice styles. A History of Western

Music states, “Debussy’s mature works are shaped more by contrasts of timbre and texture than

by traditional formal devices or tonal functions.”2 Similarly, in his introduction to The

Cambridge Companion to Debussy, Simon Trezise comments about Debussy: “strict

Schenkerians found his music unanalysable,” and, “new approaches to analysis have been

formulated in recognition of the failure of the old.”3

Other scholars have argued for tonal elements in Debussy’s music. Felix Salzer has even

analyzed the beginning 30 measures of Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune using

Schenkerian techniques, with a background I prolongation that resolves to V at m. 30, and

internal foreground V-I progressions (as well as many neighbor-note diminutions).4 Matthew

Brown offers an even more detailed analysis to the Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, using

Schenkerian analysis and functional Roman numeral analysis, as well as explaining some of the

1 Lockspeiser (1962, 207).

2 Burkholder A History of Western Music (2014, 792).

3 Tresize (2003, 2).

4 Salzer (1962, 208-209 and 218-219).

2

more tonally ambiguous passages via contrapuntal lines and altered dominants.5 Boyd Pomeroy

has noted that Debussy’s music “exhibits a strong sense of tonal centre, expressed through

vividly projected attributes of tonal function both melodically and harmonically” and “always

remained rooted in triadic consonance and the principle of monotonality.”6 It is to this that

Pomeroy attributes Debussy’s accessibility.

On the other hand, Pomeroy also notes that some of Debussy’s works have a less tonal

basis. He points to Voiles, with its whole-tone outer sections, as an example of “Debussy’s

furthest extreme of post-tonal practice.”7 Although his book The Music of Claude Debussy

discusses tonality in Debussy’s music,8 Richard S. Parks looks at Debussy from a primarily post-

tonal perspective: he devotes a large section of his book The Music of Claude Debussy to

analyzing Debussy’s music using set theory.9 He comments on the Sonata for Flute, Viola, and

Harp that its motives are “treated truly as unordered pc sets.”10

Which analytical approach is most useful varies depending upon the particular work by

Debussy being analyzed, but much of his music shows an overlapping mixture of tonal and post-

tonal techniques, which requires a similar mixture of analytical methods. The goal of this paper

is to examine Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp of 1915 and show how both complex

5 Brown (1993).

6 Pomeroy (2003, 155).

7 Pomeroy (2003, 165).

8 “There are, however, a number of structural features whose effect can be characterized as tonal and which recur

across his oeuvre, contributing in large measure to [Debussy’s] idiosyncratic style.” Parks (1980, 3).

9 Parks (1989, 45-160).

10 Parks (1989, 125).

3

tonal structure and careful set-class manipulation contribute to the overall picture. I begin with

some background on the work: its place in Debussy’s oeuvre, its unusual instrumentation, and

Debussy’s use of the traditional titles “sonata” and “Pastorale.” I then address the underlying

tonal and common-practice structures and techniques of harmonic progressions and step-

progressions which give the work direction and comprehensibility to the tonally-oriented

listener. These appear both at the background level and, particularly to delineate phrases via

cadences, at the foreground level. Second, I examine the use of set classes in the surface of the

work (with both diatonic and non-diatonic characteristics), with reference to Parks’s writings and

my own original discussion of smaller set classes. Finally, I consider the intersection of these

two trends, using my own research to show how the amount of diatonicism in set class use serves

to delineate different formal areas of the work, much as tonic and dominant keys are used in

common-practice music.

BACKGROUND

Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp was one of three completed chamber works

from a projected six that the composer was working on in his final years, 1915-1917. The two

other completed chamber sonatas were the Sonata for Violin and Piano and the Sonata for Cello

and Piano, while the projected ones were a Sonata for Oboe, Horn, and Harpsichord, a Sonata

for Trumpet, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Piano, and a final sonata using all the instruments from the

other five sonatas (plus bass) in one large ensemble.11 This late series of chamber sonatas, a

11 Lockspeiser (1965, 214).

4

String Quartet of 1893, and a student Piano Trio of 1880 were the only major (i.e. multi-

movement) chamber works Debussy wrote.12

Like the earlier Quartet, these late chamber sonatas are unusual in Debussy’s oeuvre in

their traditional classical titles (“Sonata”) and non-programmatic, ideal music–although this was

a trend followed by several of his final works (e.g. the piano Ėtudes of 1915). István Kecskeméti

notes that Debussy’s use of earlier forms is a reference to Baroque music, rather than Classical or

Romantic era styles (which Debussy tried to avoid).13 Marianne Wheeldon, in her book on

Debussy’s late style, points out that Debussy was looking to establish himself as part of the

French tradition at the end of his life. He signed his late works “Debussy, Musicien Français”

and requested that his publishers model their cover pages on publications by French composers

such as Jean-Phillipe Rameau and François Couperin rather than adopt a Germanic appearance.14

As part of this French Baroque neoclassicism, Debussy’s sonatas use simple ternary or rondo

forms rather than the Germanic/Classical sonata-form and its associated developmental

practice.15 (This is also a continuation of the composer’s usual style. Other authors have noted

that ternary form was common throughout Debussy’s oeuvre.16)

12 Lesure (2001).

13 Kecskeméti (1962, 119): “in almost all his compositions [Debussy] had expressed an aversion to the classical

sonata and symphony.”

14 Wheeldon (2009, 13).

15 Whitman (1977, 5-6).

16 Pomeroy (2003, 163-164), Parks (1989, 211).

5

In the String Quartet and the later chamber sonatas, Debussy used cyclic form, associated

with French composers such as César Franck17 and Vincent d’Indy. Wheeldon points out that

the late sonatas use cyclicism more sparingly than the earlier String Quartet (modeled after

Franck’s quartet): the Quartet reuses earlier themes extensively in later movements, while the

Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp merely restates the opening movement’s theme once in the

final movement.18 This tendency towards cyclicism is both a sign of Debussy’s desire to align

himself with the French musical tradition and an example of formal musical planning across

movements.

The focus on French cultural identity was the culmination of a whole career that tended

to emphasize French musical style in opposition to German. This was likely due (at least in part)

to his life being sandwiched between two wars that found France and Germany in opposition: the

Franco-Prussian war in his childhood and World War I at the end of his life.

Instrumentation

Although a number of other composers have since used the ensemble, the combination of

flute, viola, and harp was an invention of Debussy’s.19 He originally planned the work for flute,

oboe, and harp, but decided the sound of the viola complemented the flute better.20 Indeed, his

17 Although born in Belgium, Franck’s family moved to Paris when he was 12 and he spent most of the rest of his

life in France - studying, composing, and teaching music in Paris. (Trevitt, 2001). Thus, some authors (e.g.

Wheeldon) consider Franck a “French composer.”

18 Wheeldon (2009, 81-87, 95-96).

19 Walker (1988, 18).

20 Swanson (2014, 30).

6

final orchestration consists of three distinct types of instruments–wind, bowed string, and

plucked string–which helps differentiate the voices. The harp is, in some ways, an alternative to

the ubiquitous piano, since it can play bass and treble parts, covers a wide range (seven octaves),

and can provide bass and chordal accompaniment. Since a harp’s seven octaves of strings

resonate when the instrument is played, its sound is vaguer and more ethereal than the more

common piano, giving this ensemble a lighter, dreamier sound, which complements Debussy’s

aesthetic. The flute is the lightest sounding of the woodwind families and adds to this effect.

The viola, lacking the full bass sound of the cello or the brightness of the violin, finishes off this

ensemble in a similar manner. Ernestine Whitman mentions the “subdued, tender quality [of the

sonata], which is due in part to the delicate instrumentation.”21

Debussy had used the combination of flute and harp a number of times in his orchestral

works, most notably in the Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune.22 Interestingly, the Sonata for

Flute, Viola, and Harp begins with only the flute and harp (mm. 1-3), followed by a passage for

viola solo (mm. 4-6). It is not until m. 12 that an extended passage with all three instruments

begins.

Carl Swanson mentions that Debussy preferred his sonata be played on the pedal harp

rather than the chromatic harp.23 The chromatic harp (“harpe chromatique”) Debussy would

have been familiar with was created by the Pleyel instrument-building firm at the end of the

nineteenth century. It had a string for each chromatic note, with the chromatic strings set at a

21 Whitman (1977, 8).

22 Walker (1988, 18). Walker also notes use of the flute-and-harp pairing in Nocturnes, Images, and La Mer.

23 Swanson (2014, 30). Swanson quotes Debussy’s statement that he wants to hear his Sonata on an “Érard”–the

manufacturer that patented the double-action pedal harp.

7

different angle to the diatonic strings of the C-major scale. This is called a “cross-strung harp.”

The Pleyel harp also had a pillar and neck made out of metal and an aluminum plate underneath

the soundboard.24 Debussy had written a previous harp work for the Pleyel harpe chromatique:

the Danse sacrée et danse profane of 1904. Swanson notes that this work was commissioned for

the harpe chromatique: it was not Debussy’s idea to write for that specific instrument.

The alternative instrument for Debussy was the pedal harp. The double-action pedal harp

was developed by Érard at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It only has 7 strings per

octave, tuned to a C♭-major scale. A pedal for each letter note changes that pitch-class up a

semi-tone to natural or a whole-step to sharp. Thus, all chromatic pitches are available, but the

only way to play a B♭ and B at the same time (or in rapid succession) is to use enharmonics (A♯

and B, or B♭ and C♭ in this case). This gives the harpe chromatique the advantage in highly

chromatic music. The benefit of the pedal harp is that it can be set to play glissandos in one key

(or, with enharmonics, certain chords or pentatonic scales). Also, only the seven notes to which

it is tuned will resonate, whereas the harpe chromatique naturally produced a dissonant aura of

all 12 pitch-classes resonating (which is possibly what Debussy disliked about the instrument).

Debussy’s preference turns out to be the consensus: it is the double-action pedal harp which has

become the standard in classical music since his time.

This use of an unusual ensemble, with the inclusion of the often-neglected harp, shows

Debussy expressing interest in new ensembles. Although he did use traditional ensembles (string

quartet, violin-and-piano, cello-and-piano) for his other completed chamber works, the other

planned sonatas would likewise have had unusual ensembles.

24 DeVale (2001, section V, 7, ii).

8

Characteristics of the Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp

In addition to instrumentation, there are a number of other features that give the Sonata

for Flute, Viola, and Harp its characteristic sound.25

Rather than two or three extended themes, the first movement opens with a series of six

different thematic phrases,26 which come across as a “series of melodic fragments.”27 Most of

these themes are only repeated once each at the end of the movement, and in a different order.

This results in an improvisational, unstructured feel.28

The music has a dreamy, timeless effect. Pedal notes and static harmonies contribute to

this. Frequent meter changes, tempo markings, and expressive markings obscure the beat and do

not always coincide with section changes.29 Arabesques and sustained notes, as well as

syncopations, also obscure the beat. For example, the opening flute theme (mm. 1-3, Figure 1)

hardly has any attacks on the downbeat, simply two eighth notes in m. 3, which are followed by

quintuplet 32nd-note runs, each subtly reinforced by G♭ bass notes in the harp (and these bass

notes are not even on the downbeat in m. 3). Parks refers to a “sense of hesitation–of stopping

25 Debussy’s own appraisal of the sonata is, “It is frightfully mournful and I don’t know whether one should laugh or

cry – perhaps both?” Lockspeiser (1965, 217-218) quoting a letter from Debussy to Robert Godet. Also, Whitman

(1977, 8) describes the Sonata’s “subdued, tender quality.”

26 Walker (1988, 29).

27 Whitman (1977, 11).

28 Parks (1989, 126) describes the return of musical ideas as “suggest[ing] a casual and improvisatory

impulsiveness.”

29 Walker (1988, 28).

9

FIGURE 1. Debussy, Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp, mvt. I, flute mm. 1-3

and starting” caused by the interplay of three levels of syncopated metric accents in the opening

measures of the movement,30 while Whitman points out the themes of the Pastorale have

“element[s] of suspended motion, whether it be a ritard, a silence, or a held note.”31 Debussy’s

use of silence as a timbral device in this work has been noted by several authors. Wheeldon

credits it to contributing an air of “expectation,” while Whitman feels it creates “spaciousness.”32

Debussy’s own words on rhythm seem to apply in particular to this piece: “Rhythms are stifling.

Rhythms cannot be contained within bars.”33

All of these effects contribute to the feeling of an improvised, unstructured work.

However, this paper will show how the themes (with their returns and developments), harmonic

motions, and set-class use of the work show logical patterns and manipulation.

30 Parks (1989, 300-301).

31 Whitman (1977, 15).

32 Wheeldon (2009, 31), Whitman (1977, 15-16).

33 Quoted in Lockspeiser (1962, 206).

10

Movement 1 – Pastorale

Debussy titles the first movement of the Sonata “Pastorale.” The musical pastoral has a

history dating back to the Renaissance, but Debussy’s version of the pastoral differed from

traditional associations of this musical topic with idealized evocations of shepherds and rustics,

yet another example of his backward- and forward-looking style.34 While earlier pastorals

usually used the compound meters of 12/8 or 6/8, Debussy uses a triple compound meter of 9/8–

which also adds to the haunting effect, due to being a less common meter. Earlier composers

tended to evoke the double-piped, double-reed aulos of ancient Greece in their pastoral music.

Debussy, on the other hand, more often references the syrinx (pan-flute), often by writing

arabesques for the flute that evoke a musician running across the pipes of the syrinx. In fact,

these arabesques35 appear already in the second measure of the flute part of the Sonata for Flute,

Viola, and Harp. In contrast to the innocence of previous era’s pastorals, Raymond Monelle

describes Debussy’s pastoral style as “an ancient world, pagan, mysterious, sunlit” and “slightly

colored with risk.”36 This “Pastorale’s” tempo (marked Lento, dolce rubato at the beginning)

and tonal ambiguity help shape this mystique.

Pastorals imitate the ancient syrinx (pan-pipes) and aulos with modern orchestral

instruments. Kecskeméti credits Debussy’s use of the flute in this sonata to the idea that “the

color of its tone stood nearer to that of Pan’s instrument.”37 The oboe (in pairs) is considered the

34 Monelle (2006, 267).

35 These “arabesques” are alternately called “flourishes” (Parks, 1989, 126) and “roulades” (Walker, 1988, 35).

36 Monelle (2006, 268).

37 Kecskeméti (1962, 136) Interestingly, Kecskeméti suggested that Debussy was going to originally use oboe

instead of flute in the sonata; but other authors (e.g. Walker 1988, 17 and Whitman 1977, 8) state that the oboe was

replaced by the viola.

11

closest approximation in the modern orchestra to the ancient Greek aulos (although composers

before Debussy often used paired flutes to evoke the aulos). Monelle sees Debussy’s use of the

oboe’s near-relative–the cor anglais–in such works as La Mer and Nuages as a reference to the

aulos, with the flute representing the syrinx in such works as Prélude à l’après-midi d’un

faune.38 Debussy’s solo flute piece Syrinx directly relates the two instruments (flute and

syrinx/pan-pipe) in his oeuvre.

I shall now focus on two facets that show the careful construction of the opening

“Pastorale” movement of the Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp: a tonal/functional background

and a foreground that mixes elements of tonal practice with tonal and post-tonal set class use.

38 Monelle (2006, 265).

12

CHAPTER II

OVERALL TONAL ORGANIZATION IN THE PASTORALE

As stated in the introduction to this paper, Debussy’s music has been analyzed using both

tonal and non-tonal methods. While the surface of the Sonata contains a mixture of tonal and

non-tonal elements, the background harmonic progressions are more consistently tonal. At the

background level, the first movement Pastorale of the Sonata can be divided into segments

(corresponding to individual themes) that each represent a triadic (or seventh chord) harmonic

area. These harmonic areas progress in a tonally-functional manner that offer a “grounding” for

tonally-oriented listeners. The cues that point towards a particular harmonic reading of each area

include clear cadences (albeit not always in all voices), large-scale step progressions in the

middleground, and pitch collections that indicate a particular harmonic area. In the foreground,

these harmonic areas are far from clear: non-harmonic tones, non-tonally-functional

progressions, non-diatonic set class use, and extended harmonies are some of the techniques that

obscure the harmony. Functional tonality at the background level that is obscured in the

foreground contributes to Debussy’s distinctive style: vaguer and dreamier than common-

practice music, but more accessible than the post-tonal avant-garde.

Figure 2 shows the large-scale harmonic-area progressions in each movement of the

Sonata (according to Whitman).39 All three movements begin and end in F, although the mode

varies between major and minor. (Quotes from Debussy indicate that he considered mode to be

39 Whitman (1977, 9-10).

13

FIGURE 2. Large scale harmonic progressions according to Whitman

Movement I Pastorale II Interlude III Finale

Section A B A′ A B A′ A B A′

Harmony F-C Db→Ab F Fm B Fm Fm C Fm/F

fluid.40) The three sections (A B A′) of the Pastorale end on C, A♭, and F respectively–spelling

out an F-minor triad. The Finale also shows a tonal modulation, to the dominant of C major, for

the B section. Thus, Debussy recalls tonal practice in his large-scale modulations within

movements. Whitman’s key modulations in Figure 2 seem to show that Debussy subverts the

conventional tonal modulations.41 The F-major Pastorale B section ends on the A♭ expected of a

modulation from F minor. The F-minor Finale moves to the C major dominant expected of an F-

major piece, rather than the usual move from F minor to the relative major, A♭. Debussy has

switched the expected B-section keys for these outer movements. This is consistent with

Debussy’s fluidity of mode. It also exhibits how analyzing sections of his music as “major” or

“minor” can be somewhat tenuous: the “F major” that opens the Pastorale begins in the opening

measures with a mixture of minor and major third (A/A♭) and seventh (E/E♭) degrees (Figure 1).

My analysis focuses on the opening Pastorale movement. I have used Deanne Elaine

Walker’s analysis of the form and themes of this movement.42 Her themes correlate well with

the harmonic and cadential analyses I have made on this work. She identifies six themes (P1-

40 “Music is neither major nor minor. Minor thirds and major thirds should be combined . . .” Debussy, quoted in

Lockspeiser (1962, 206).

41 Debussy’s key relations were not a radical departure from Romantic practice, though. Mode mixture and third

relations were already familiar practices from Romantic composers such as Wagner and Schubert.

42 Walker (1988, 28).

14

P6) and a key of F major in the 9/8 meter A section (mm. 1-25).43 The B section (mm. 26-53)

begins with the “Vif et joyeux” marking and a shift to 18/16 and Ab key signature. Walker

describes it as “gradually [shifting] from D♭ to A♭” and based upon one main theme, until a false

recapitulation44 at the end of the section (mm. 48-53).45 The A′ section, preceded by a ritard and

break in all voices, returns to the key, tempo, time-signature, and themes (in a new order) of the

A section.46

Six tonal areas of the A section. Figure 3 shows the harmonic progression of six tonal

areas within the A section of the Pastorale, with modulations to the subdominant and mediant

and a secondary dominant leading to a final cadence on the dominant. These harmonic areas are

defined and delineated by pitch collections, cadences, and the descending diatonic tetrachord

[0135].

FIGURE 3. Large scale harmonic progression of A section

Tonal area 1 2 3 4 5 6

Measure 1-9.1 9.2-13 14-17 18-20 21-23 24-25

Theme P1, P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 Coda

Harmony F Bb F A G C

Roman Numeral I IV I iii V/V V

43 Walker (1988, 28-36). 44 Walker’s “false recapitulation” could also be analyzed as a retransition, due to its dominant harmony to the

upcoming A′ section tonic key.

45 Walker (1988, 38).

46 Walker (1988, 28-42). The A′ section reorders the themes as P2 - P4 - P5 - P3 - P1 and omits P6.

15

Figure 4 shows how a number of elements establish the F-major harmony of tonal area 1

(mm. 1-9). After the initial G♭ bass note (mm. 1-3) resolves to F (m. 7), an octave stepwise

descent drives to the tonic chord at m. 9. (However, the C of this step progression, in m. 8, is

inverted above its seventh). The treble is more active, but the reduction (in Figure 4) reveals a

chromatic ascent from E♭ to F above in this passage. A C4/2-F imperfect authentic cadence in

mm. 8-9 also reinforces this phrase tonally at the surface level.

FIGURE 4. Summary of bass and treble movement in harmonic area 1, mm. 1-9

The opening flute notes of the movement (B♭-D-A-C, m. 1) form the diatonic set class

[0135]. This set class is an important motive in the piece and is frequently used (as a descending

stepwise tetrachord) in phrase endings and cadences. In Figure 4, it forms the m. 7 bass F-E-D

and its (octave displaced) resolution on C in m. 8. [0135] then forms the Bb-A-G-F bass that

leads to the m. 9 root-position F chord.

The B♭ subdominant harmonic area (tonal area 2, mm. 9-13) correlates to Whitman’s

theme P3 (Figure 5). The pitch collection is B♭ major (with added chromaticism in the

16

FIGURE 5. Harmonic progressions in Bb major in harmonic area 2, mm. 9-13

flute arabesques in m. 12). The viola sustains a dominant F drone in open fifths throughout mm.

9-13.1. The harp remains within the Bb-major pitch collection and has a stepwise chordal

progression Dm11-E♭11-F11 (iii11-IV11-V11), joining the viola on the dominant at m. 13.1, before a

fermata. Then the harp reinforces the B♭-major region tonally with a clear ii7-V9-I PAC in m.

13. Again, Debussy reinforces this cadence in m. 13 with a descending [0135] tetrachord–with a

fast B♭-A-G-F in the flute which resolves into the final B♭ chord at the same time as a slower-

moving B♭-A-G-F (harmonized in 6/4 triads) in the right-hand harp. The viola begins this same

B♭-A-G-F [0135] at the B♭ chord, segueing into the next phrase, which begins at m. 14.

It is interesting to note that all three of the [0135] lines mentioned in the previous

paragraph resolve on F (although the harmonized notes in the harp part also form E♭-D-C-B♭ and

G-F-Eb-D, so the entire B♭ triad at 13.3 is reached by three parallel [0135] lines in the harp right-

17

hand). This emphasis on F in a B♭ harmonic area, surrounded by F harmonic areas, points to an

interpretation of mm. 9-13 as a neighbor-note subdominant prolongation of a larger tonic

harmonic area at a deeper structural level.

The third harmonic area (Walker’s P4, mm. 14-17, Figure 6) is in F major. It is underlaid

by two iterations of [0135] in the long notes of the right-hand harp and viola figures. This pair of

two-measure F-E-D-C progressions gives the section direction and cohesion. The antecedent

(mm. 14-15) also ends with a faster F-E-D-C in the flute (m. 15). The consequent (mm. 16-17)

is no longer [0135], but is derived from it by transposing the F-E-D-C up a diatonic step and

skipping down to the lower neighbor of the penultimate note–G-F-C-D; this forms a [0257],

which prefigures the A-D-E-G bass of the following (fourth) harmonic area.

The bass progression under harmonic area three implies a ii-V-I progression in F major.

This is somewhat supported by the harmony. The ii is fleshed out as a Gm9, the I as Fmaj7, while

the bass C is under a Dm7 in the higher voices forming a rich C13 harmony. This reflects a

common characteristic of Debussy’s style, underlying tonal references (such as functional bass

progressions), but with a surface foreground with extended harmonies and dissonance.47

While the first two harmonic areas used non-diatonic pitch collections, the third area is

completely made up of a diatonic F-major pitch collection (one flat). The following harmonic

areas (four, five, and six) shift the pitch collection, but are almost completely diatonic (with one

outlying note each for areas four and five and none in six.) Thus the first half of the A section

(mm. 1-13) is quite chromatic, while the second part (mm. 14-25) is made up of mostly-diatonic

phrases. This shift from chromaticism to diatonicism could be heard by a tonally-oriented

47 Pomeroy (2003, 155) speaks of Debussy’s tonal “resonances.”

18

FIGURE 6. Harmonic progressions in F major in harmonic area 3, mm. 14-17

19

listener as a move from instability to stability–a reverse of the usual shift in classical sonata form

opening.

The fourth harmonic area (Walker’s P5, mm. 18-20, Figure 7) moves into an A natural

minor pitch collection (aside from a C♯ neighbor-note to the D in the bass in m. 20). The phrase

begins on an A minor harmony in all voices and ends with the flute and viola in m. 20 moving

towards an A pitch from opposite directions (but both via [0135]). The flute descends through

the [0135] E-D-C-B at the beginning of m. 20, then resolves to A, while the viola reverses the

[0135] into an ascending form: E-F-G-A. The bassline of mm. 18-19 (A-D-E-G, repeated twice)

is the aforementioned [0257] set class from the flute part in m. 17. However, the one-measure

Am-Dm-Em-G progression that repeats in mm. 18-19 (with varying, additional extended

harmonies) and the G7 harmony in the harp in m. 20 do not form a clear functional pattern in A

minor. Considering Debussy’s opinions about the fluidity of modes (as quoted earlier in

footnote 37), this could be analyzed as i-iv-v-VII: a modal variant of a functional i-iv-V-vii°.

FIGURE 7. Harmonic progressions in A minor in harmonic area 4, mm. 18-20

20

The final G7 does, more obviously, serve as a dominant for the upcoming half-cadence on a C-

major chord at the end of the A section.48

Overall, harmonic area four is transitional. There is no defining cadence or functional

harmony, but it ends on a sustained G7 which anticipates the V/V harmonic function of the next

harmonic area. Its no-sharps-or-flats pitch collection serves as a transition between the one-flat

collection of the previous section and the one-sharp collection of the next.

This next section–harmonic area five (Walker’s P6, mm. 21-24, Figure 8)–begins with a

transition (mm. 21-22) from the previous area. This transition alternates the A-D bass that

begins m. 18 and m. 19, while introducing a new melody and chord pattern and shifting the pitch

collection one sharp. The second half of harmonic area five uses this new G-major pitch

collection to serve as a secondary dominant to the dominant for the half-cadence that closes

FIGURE 8. Harmonic area 5, mm. 21-24

48 Walker (1988, 32) refers this G7 and the following Am7 in m. 21 as a deceptive cadence.

21

out the A section. Although largely in a one-sharp pitch collection, there is some mode mixture

of F♮ and F♯ in m. 23, which serves to alternate D major chords (V/G) and D minor chords

(ii/C). The DM/Dm in m. 23 proceeds to a G at the end of the measure, which (after wavering

between Am and Dm neighbor chords in m. 24.1) cadences into C at m. 24.2. Although the

falling [0135] motive does not appear in this cadence, there is a repeated rising [025] motive in

all voices in mm. 23-24–first as A-C-D, then as G-A-C. This rising [025] may be heard as a

subset of the falling [0135].

The A section ends on a I-V half-cadence into C, with an F-E-D-C [0135] in the bass

connecting the harmonies, while the [025] from the previous section is stated as G-A-C in the

right-hand harp (m. 25, harmonic area 6, Figure 9).

FIGURE 9. Harmonic area 6, m. 25

22

CHAPTER III

SET CLASS USE

This chapter focuses on Debussy’s use of set classes in the Sonata for Flute, Viola, and

Harp. Set theory is generally associated with post-tonal music analysis. Richard Parks and

others have used it to study atonal and chromatic aspects of Debussy’s music, including the

Sonata. The ornate surface of Debuss’s Pastorale may at times obscure the underlying tonal

structure. Yet the surface details are also important, as set theory helps to reveal. Set-class

nomenclature provides a convenient way to describe figures that emerge as motivic (as has been

shown with the [0135] diatonic tetrachord).

Richard Parks considered three unordered set classes to be the main motives of the

Pastorale (Figure 10).49 These will be addressed first, with attention then given to the

increasingly diatonic/tonal surface as the A section progresses. Next, the smaller trichordal

subsets of Parks’s sets are considered, which follow the same trend. Finally, I discuss the

alteration of set classes between the A and A′ sections, noting that they too show a movement

towards clearer tonal/diatonic usage as the Pastorale progresses.

FIGURE 10. Unordered set class motives according to Richard Parks

Parks’s Motive Forte Name Set Class Subsets Notes

Motive X 5-26 [02458] [025] [036] [048] [0135] superset of Motive Y

Motive Y 4-11 [0135] diatonic fragment

Motive Z 5-35 [02479] [025] [027] [0257] pentatonic scale

49 Parks (1989, 125-128). Parks largely concerns himself here with the appearances and overlap of these set-class

motives, with a short mention of transformations from the “8-17/18/19 complex” to the diatonic “by means of

stepwise voice leading” on p. 128.

23

The first three measures of the Pastorale (Figure 11) make up Walker’s Phrase 1 (P1).50

The opening harp flourish (B♭-C-D-E♭-G♭, m. 1) constitutes Parks’s Motive X [02458]. The

notes of mm. 2-3 (A♭-G♭-E-E♭-C) represent another [02458], and the connecting mm. 1.2-1.3

(D- C-B♭-A-G♭) a third [02458]. Theme P2 (mm. 4-6, Figure 11 bottom system) also consists

entirely of a [02458] set: C-D-E-F-A♭. Motive X is an inherently less-diatonic set, due to the

internal semitone followed by a tone-and-a-half, and so adds a post-tonal, chromatic surface to

phrases P1 and P2. The melodic minor mode, in ascending form, does include [02458] as sol-

FIGURE 11. Set classes [02458] and [0135] in mm. 1-3 and 4-6, after Parks (1989)

50 Walker (1988, 29).

24

la-ti-do-me, however. Thus, as is true of much of this Sonata, Debussy here exhibits an extended

tonal practice that explores the boundary between diatonic and chromatic music and eludes a

clear tonal analysis in the foreground. 51

The flute connecting the two Motive X iterations at mm. 1.2-1.3 states B♭-D-A-C, which

make up Parks’s Motive Y: [0135] (Figure 11).52 Set class [0135] (often as the descending

scalar tetrachord fa-mi-re-do) has already been discussed as an important motive in the previous

section on tonal organization, and contributes a diatonic, tonal surface element. It is also a

subset of Motive X.

Parks’s third motive, Motive Z, is [02479]–the major pentatonic collection.53 This is a

superset containing [025], [027], and [0257]. Figure 12 shows the first appearance of superset

[02479], as A-G-F-D-C, in the flute phrase at m. 7.1-7.2 (following Walker's theme P2), with its

subsets. Also, the underlying harp chord at the beginning of this combines with the flute D to

make a different [02479] of D-C-B♭-G-F. Motive Z contributes a somewhat tonal quality, as it is

a subset of the diatonic collection but may also be used to form chords “as foreign to the

harmonic vocabularies of Debussy’s predecessors as they are common to his,” as Parks puts it.54

51 I am basing my usage of “diatonic” on the definition from Grove Music Online: “A seven-note scale is said to

be diatonic when its octave span is filled by five tones and two semitones, with the semitones maximally separated,

for example the major scale (T–T–S–T–T–T–S)” (Drabkin, 2001). In my usage, a natural minor scale would be

diatonic, but an ascending melodic minor less so (particularly if this ascending scale is used for descending

passages).

52 Parks (1989, 125-127).

53 Parks (1989, 126) simply refers to it as a subset of the diatonic scale.

54 Parks (1989, 142).

25

FIGURE 12. Set class [02479] in the flute of m. 7.1-7.2 (after Parks, 1989), with its

subsets. [025] stems point up, [027] stems point down

Motive Z also features prominently in theme P3 (mm. 9.3-13, see Figure 5, p. 16),

forming the opening chord F-G-A-C-D at m. 9.3 and the E♭-F-G-B♭-C harmony at m. 12.3,

using the E♭-F-G-B♭-C again for the flute flourish in m. 13. Themes P4 and P5 (Figures 6 and

7, pp. 18-19) both feature subsets of Motive Z: C-D-E-A in mm. 15 and 17 make up the R.H.

harp/viola part, while A-G-E-D is in the bass of mm. 18-19. Theme P5 also is largely in a

diatonic A minor pitch collection, as mentioned previously.

With theme P6 (Figure 8, p. 20) focusing on a diatonic one-sharp pitch collection, the A

section transitions from the chromatic Motive X collection in P1 and P2 through the pentatonic

Motive Z in P3-P4 to the diatonic collections of P5-P6. Thus, the strategic use of set classes and

26

pitch collections in the A section shows movement from a chromatic, non-tonal surface to a more

diatonic/tonal foreground.

Smaller set class use in themes. The same progression from ambiguous chromaticism

toward greater diatonicism and tonal focus can be found in Debussy’s use of the smaller

trichordal subsets ([025], [048], [036]), the [0135] motive, and the diatonic collection

([013568T]). These three trichords and the motivic tetrachord are all subsets of Motive X. As

the A section unfolds, emphasis of the diminished [036] and augmented [048] trichords gives

way to the diatonic collection and its tetrachord subset [0135]. Set class [025] appears

throughout the A section. Set classes will be considered as discrete entities, apart from the

overall harmony, unless otherwise stated.

Figure 13 shows the saturation of these set classes in the A section.55 The “outliers”

column shows notes from these themes that are not accounted for by the three set classes in each

section of the figure. I have organized Walker’s themes into three thematic pairs; these pairs

correlate to the different key areas of classical sonata form, due to the different set classes

stressed in each thematic pair.

55 I continue to use Walker (1988, 28-36) as the source for the themes and sections.

27

FIGURE 13. Set classes in A section, using Walker’s themes P1-6 (Walker 1988, 29-

30). Note that the set classes listed change by thematic pair. Pitches are ordered to

match normal order of set class numbers

Thematic

Pair

Theme Measure [025] [048] [036] Outliers

TP1 P1 1.1 B♭ C E♭ G♭ D B♭ C E♭ G♭

TP1 P1 1.2 D C A G♭ D B♭ G♭ A C

TP1 P1 1.3 D C A G♭ D B♭ C E♭ G♭

TP1 P1 2-3 A♭ G♭ E♭ C E A♭ C E♭ G♭

TP1 P2 4-6 C D F C E A♭ D F A♭

[025]

[0135]

[036]

Outliers

TP2 P3 9.1-11 CDF GAC partial[013] none A-E, LH

harp

TP2 P3 12

(12.3)

CDF GAC

FE♭C FGB♭

B♭CE♭

(+CB♭G)

partial[013] F♯E♭C

E♭CA

none

TP2 P3 13 FE♭C CB♭G E♭DCB♭

B♭AGF

none none

TP2 P4 14-15 DCA CB♭G AB♭CD

FEDC

none none

TP2 P4 16-17 +CDF GFD AB♭CD

FEDC

none none

[025]

[0135]

Diatonic

Outliers

TP3 P5 18-20 AEG DEG

EDB

BCDE

EFGA

C Major one C♯

TP3 P6 21-22 none BCDE

F♯GAB

G Major none

TP3 P6 23 DCA DFG none G Major one F

TP3 P6 24 GAC none G Major none

cadence 25 GAC FEDC F Major none

28

For an example of these set classes, Figure 14 shows how the three trichordal set classes

of Parks’s Motive X–[025], [036], and [048]–combine to make up the notes of theme P1 (mm. 1-

3). I have tried to remain sensitive to prominent details in my segmentation of the musical

surface into smaller set classes. P1 has a sustained Gb throughout in the harp bass, over which

the flute states pairs of notes. The first two notes in the flute (Bb-D) combine with the G♭ to

form [048], while the second two notes in the flute (A-C) combine with the G♭ to form [036].

Meanwhile, the three notes that make up the second beat of m. 1 (flute and harp in

FIGURE 14. Appearance of trichord set classes in theme P1, mm. 1-3. [025] stems

point up, [048] stems point down.

29

unison) form a [025] of D-A-C. Thus, the opening measure emphasizes these three trichords (as

well as [0135] with all four flute notes, as has been mentioned before).

The first thematic pair focuses on three trichords other than the major/minor triad [037]

typical of tonal music. [025] is neither a tonal triad nor a diatonic scale segment (although it is a

subset of the diatonic collection). One possible tonal analysis would be a minor seventh chord

with a missing fifth, although this is not a strong tonal harmony: in m. 1.1, for example, a Cm7

would be a v7 in the key of F major.56 However, when this chord reappears at m. 75 in the A′

section, it is altered (by shifting the E♭ to E) to form a C7 (C-E-B♭)–the dominant V7 in F major

(Figure 15). Thus the [025] can be seen as an altered and disguised dominant-seventh harmony.

FIGURE 15. Comparison of theme P1 at m. 1-2 in A section with m. 74-75 in A′

section

The diminished triad [036] is a more common diatonic/tonal harmony, although only one

of the seven diatonic scale degrees forms a diminished triad (vii°). While this is a dominant

56 The Cm7 is formed by the [025] of Bb-C-Eb found within the opening flourish. Including the Gb and D in the

flourish would, of course, produce another chord – a Cø9.

30

chord in functional harmony, the c° made by the C-E♭-G♭ in P1 (mm. 1-3) would usually resolve

into D♭ if it were a dominant vii°, which does not happen here. When Debussy transforms the

[036] in P1 of the A′ section, he shifts two notes to turn the C-E♭-G♭ of mm. 1-3 into C-E-G at

m. 75, a V in F major (Figure 15).57 This combines with the altered [025] in m. 75 to form a full

C-E-G-B♭ dominant V7 in F major. So, while the original vii° was already a dominant chord,

Debussy transforms it into a stronger dominant (in the right key) for the A′ section, thereby

increasing the feeling of tonality.

The third trichord featured in thematic pair 1 is the augmented triad, [048]. This trichord

is rare in tonal music and cannot be formed from a diatonic pitch collection. However, shifting

any one of the notes of the augmented triad by a semitone forms [037]–the major/minor triad

central to tonal music. In the A′ section, the G♭-B♭-D [048] of m. 1 sees such a shift to a G-B♭-

D [037]–a G-minor triad–at m. 75 (Figure 15).58

Alteration of the set classes in the A′ section. The A′ section also uses diatonicism in a

way reminiscent of tonal key areas. The less-tonal set classes of the opening thematic pair in the

A section are altered to form tonal harmonies, as just discussed. The Pastorale from Debussy’s

Sonata restates the opening thematic pair with the chromatic notes from the A section altered to

57 This shift of a common-tone diminished seventh to a second-inversion dominant-seventh is not uncommon in

Debussy. The C-E♭-G♭ [036] in m. 1, with the addition of A at m. 1.2, forms a common-tone diminished seventh

that resolves into the A♭4/2 at m. 2, but resolves into a V4/3 (C4/3) in the A’ section at mm. 72-75.

58 The overall harmony at m. 75.1 can be analyzed as a V4/3 to the tonic F, as described in the previous paragraph,

this paragraph merely discusses the transition of the embedded [048] set class from m. 1.

31

fit into a diatonic pitch collection.59 This is a parallel to common-practice sonata form, where

the secondary key themes are altered into the tonic key for the recapitulation.

The transition into the A′ section begins at m. 50 (two measures after rehearsal mark 4),

with the return of theme P2–stated with the same pitches as in mm. 1-6, but now in flute rather

than viola.60 At m. 54, however, it states P2 again with the A♭s changed to As, thus altering the

FIGURE 16. Return of theme 2 in A′, with alterations changing [036] and [048]

(stems down) to minor triads. [025] (stems up) remains the same

59 Parks (1989, 128) notes how “the opening gesture from the 8-17/18/19-complex genus [transforms] to the diatonic

genus by ‘resolving’ F♯ to G and E♭ to E (mm. 72.-75).”

60 Walker (1988, 28) considers mm. 50-51 a “false recapitulation.”

32

theme into a diatonic F major (Figure 16).61 P2 was originally an unaccompanied melody in

mm. 4-6. It departed from the F-major of the key signature by using an F-melodic minor

ascending pitch collection. In mm. 54-56 the viola double-stops form a C4/2-F harmonic

progression, forming V4/2-I6 cadences to reinforce a tonal F-major. While the original C-D-F

[025] remains unchanged, the switch from A♭ to A shifts the C-E-A [048] and D-F-A♭ [036] of

mm. 4-6 into Am and Dm [037] chords in mm. 54-56.

At m. 72, theme 1 returns with some alterations (Figure 17). The bass G♭ has been

enharmonically changed to an F♯, and the flute is offset by about a beat (with the first two notes

augmented from the 16th notes of m. 1 to 8th notes in m. 72). The second measure of the phrase

sees the harp arabesque from m. 1 (and m. 72) repeated, but now with a G♮ in the bass, while the

FIGURE 17. Comparison of theme 1 in A and A′, showing move towards

diatonicism. For clarity, in this figure some voices have been shifted an octave and

some octave doublings have been removed.

61 Tymoczco (2004, 247-250) discusses this sort of semitone alteration to shift between pitch collections in

Debussy’s piano prelude “Les collines d’Anacapri.”

33

flute part from m. 2 now stays in the diatonic key of F Major (C-A-E instead of the C-A♭-E♭ of

m. 2). This two-bar phrase is repeated in mm. 74-75.1, with the viola now joining the flute in an

octave doubling, and the harp arabesque in m. 75 altered to remove the chromatic E♭. Thus, like

the recapitulatory P2 in mm. 54-55, the recapitulatory P1 is now largely shifted into a diatonic F

Major. As the trichords from the A section shifted into more familiar tonally-functional chords,

the chromatic pitch collection has been altered into a more diatonic collection.

Looking at the Figure 17 transformations from a larger set-class perspective (by including

the B♭ in the analysis), it can be seen to follow a common-tone diminished seventh progression

into the dominant seventh. The opening m 1.1 harp flourish of G♭-C-E♭-B♭-D resolves the B♭-D

down to A-C at m. 1.2. When this is restated in mm. 72 and 74 (with the chord resolving down

in the third beat), the G♭ enharmonically spelled as F♯, forming a diminished F♯-C-E♭-A. This

resolves in mm. 73.1 and 75.1 into a dominant C4/3 of G-C-E-B♭ (actually, a ninth chord with the

additional D). Thus, Debussy’s transformation of a chromatic passage in the A section into a

more diatonic passage in the A′ section is founded on a common-practice progression, although

one that takes most of the movement to resolve.

While the two themes from the first thematic pair see alterations into a more diatonic

form, the second and third thematic pairs–already more diatonic in the A section–do not see this

sort of alteration in the A′ section. One could compare this to the primary theme in sonata form,

which stays in the same tonic key in both the exposition and recapitulation. Rather than repeat

the themes in the same order as in the A section, Debussy reorders them for the A′ section

(Figure 18). Debussy begins the A′ section by restating only one theme from each thematic pair,

34

FIGURE 18. Themes in A and A′ sections

Section A A′

Theme P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P2 P4 P5 P3 P1

Measure 1-3 4-6 9-13 14-17 18-20 21-24 54-56 57-60 63-65 66-69 72-75

Thematic

Pair

TP1 TP2 TP3 TP1 TP2 TP3 TP2 TP1

in order. Then he goes backwards through the pairs, with P5 serving for the third thematic pair

by itself, in the center of this arc.

The alteration in the A′ section of the two themes from Thematic Pair 1 follows an

interesting parallel with tonal sonata form. Considering diatonicism in Debussy’s Sonata as

correlating to the home key of a sonata form P-zone, the more diatonic themes (Thematic Pairs 2

and 3) reflect the P-themes of sonata form by retaining their original pitches from the A section

to the A′ section. The more chromatic set classes of Thematic Pair 1, correlating to the S-zone of

sonata form, were altered into a more diatonic form for the A′ section, just as S-themes in sonata

recapitulations are transposed to the tonic key.

35

CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

Although Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp may be heard as a departure from

common-practice tonal music, there are many elements of tonality at work in the piece. The

contrasts between larger formal sections resemble the use of key relations in traditional tonal

practice. Themes and musical sections are delineated by cadences and underlaid by tonal

harmonic progressions.

Other scholars have noted the improvisatory quality of this Sonata’s often elaborate

surface. Using set theory to clarify motivic details, I have shown that the foreground details are

also influenced by earlier tonal practices. Chromatic passages and harmonies in the opening

themes of the Pastorale’s A section are transformed into more diatonic forms for the A′ section.

This draws a parallel with common-practice sonata form. In a classical sonata, the exposition

usually has theme groups in contrasting keys (e.g., tonic and dominant, tonic and relative major,

etc.); in the recapitulation, both theme groups are restated in the tonic key. In an analogous way,

Debussy has used the contrast between “diatonic” and “chromatic” to differentiate themes at the

beginning of the movement and reconcile them at the end.

Debussy’s use of tonal references in the “Pastorale” movement of this Sonata invites

further study of classical techniques in all three of his late sonatas. In what other ways does

Debussy reflect his use of neoclassical titles (e.g. “sonata”) with references to Baroque and

Classical forms? Did he use diatonicism and chromaticism as substitutes for traditional tonal

contrasts in other movements? Are tonal influences equally strong in the cello and violin

sonatas, or is the Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp an exception, just as Pomeroy considered

36

Voiles to be at the post-tonal extreme of Debussy’s works?62 (Robert Moevs shows Debussy’s

Cello Sonata to have a more post-tonal basis.63) Among the questions still to be explored: what

part do linear progressions and semitonal voice leading play in these works?

My analysis of the “Pastorale” of Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, & Harp has shown

that his music is not so much a “break” from common-practice techniques as a bridge between

that era and the post-tonal era that followed. Both traditional tonal analytic techniques and

techniques developed for post-tonal music offer insight to his music. Thus, it seems that a hybrid

analytic approach is the most comprehensive method for understanding the complexities of

Debussy’s style.

62 Pomeroy (2003, 165)

63 Moevs (1969)

37

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New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2014.

Carpenter, Patricia. “Grundgestalt as Tonal Function.” Music Theory Spectrum. 5 (Spring,

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