Debussy's String Quartet in g minor: reiteration and formal procedures

• Grant number: 12/16761-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: November 01, 2012
• End date: September 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Music
• Principal Investigator: Paulo de Tarso Camargo Cambraia Salles
• Grantee: Juliano Taques Bittencourt Abramovay
• Host Institution: Escola de Comunicações e Artes (ECA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Claude Debussy's String quartet in G minor is a work characterized by important dichotomies. Written in 1893, the piece is permeated by harmonic and formal elements attached to the tonal tradition and to the end of the 19th century, and specially to the composer César Franck. At the same time, the Quartet uses procedures observed only in Debussy's mature works, in which the presence of tonalism is weak, and analyses that rely exclusively on tonal elements are proven to have little efficiency regarding this piece. The relation between tradition and innovation is examined in this research, which focuses on two related characteristics: the way in which Debussy uses repeated elements in this piece, a matter also examined by Sylveline Bourion, and aspects related to the kinetic form described by Richard Parks. A comparison between the Quartet and the Sonata for flute, viola and harp, composed at the end of Debussy's career, is useful for observing similar formal elements applied in different contexts.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

ABRAMOVAY, Juliano Taques Bittencourt. Quarteto de cordas em sol menor de Claude Debussy: reiterações e aspectos formais. 2014. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola de Comunicações e Artes (ECA/SBD) São Paulo.