Pentatonicism from the Eighteenth Century to Debussy (Eastman Studies in Music) (Eastman Studies in Music) (Eastman Studies in Music)

A generously illustrated examination of pentatonic ("black-key scale") techniques in the context of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Western art-music. Pentatonicism from the Eighteenth Century to Debussy offers the first comprehensive account of a widely recognized aspect of music history: the increasing use of pentatonic ("black-key scale") techniques in nineteenth-century Western art-music. Pentatonicism in nineteenth-century music encompasses hundreds of instances, many of which predate by decades the more famous examples of Debussy and Dvorák. This book weaves together historical commentary with music theory and analysis in order to explain the sources and significance of an important, but hitherto only casually understood, phenomenon. The book introduces several distinct categories of pentatonicpractice -- pastoral, primitive, exotic, religious, and coloristic -- and examines pentatonicism in relationship to changes in the melodic and harmonic sensibility of the time. The text concludes with an additional appendix of over 400 examples, an unprecedented resource demonstrating the individual artistry with which virtually every major nineteenth-century composer (from Schubert, Chopin, and Berlioz to Liszt, Wagner, and Mahler) handled theseemingly "simple" materials of pentatonicism. Jeremy Day-O'Connell is assistant professor of music at Knox College. "Pentatonicism from the Eighteenth Century to Debussy offers the first comprehensive account of a widely recognized aspect of music history: the increasing use of pentatonic ("black-key scale") techniques in nineteenth-century Western art-music." "A more extensive and complex trend than has been acknowledged, pentatonicism in nineteenth-century music encompasses hundreds of instances, many of which predate by decades the more famous examples of Debussy and Dvorak. Pentatonicism from the Eighteenth Century to Debussy weaves together historical commentary with music theory and analysis in order to explain the sources and significance of this important, but hitherto only casually understood, phenomenon." "Central to the books interest and arguments are the discussions of excerpts from repertoire both familiar and forgotten. The illustrated text concludes with an appendix of over 400 examples, a resource that demonstrates the individual artistry with which virtually every major nineteenth-century composer (from Schubert, Chopin and Berlioz to Liszt, Wagner, and Mahler) handled the seemingly "simple" materials of pentatonicism."--BOOK JACKET Scale. The Rise Of 6̂ In The Nineteenth Century -- Signification. The Pastoral-exotic Pentatonic ; The Religious Pentatonic -- Beyond Signification. The Pentatonic Glissando ; Debussy And The Pentatonic Tradition. Jeremy Day-o'connell. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [499]-514) And Index.