Conclusion

Finally, we have reached the end! Although Udan Mas and Pagodes have many similarities, it is undeniable that the two pieces are different in many ways as well. Considering they are two completely different genres, this is not entirely surprising. While listening to both pieces they sound entirely different, Pagodes offers a more serene, calm fluidity provided by the pedal and the use of a piano, while Udan Mas does not provide the same effect due to the use of idiophones in the Gamelan. Pagodes is also a much more complex piece in terms of variations and sections while Udan Mas is much simpler yet more repetitive. The differences between the two pieces are truly endless.  In the end, although very different in most aspects,there are undeniable musical links between the two pieces; structurally, in texture and melodically. This goes to show how two very different genres. can truly be very similar indeed. I hope you learned as much as I did investigating these two pieces! 

Link: Texture

Let’s talk about texture! The instruments in a gamelan ensemble are divided into three groups; punctuating instruments, main melody instruments (balungan), and elaborating instruments. In Pagodes, through the way the melodic voices are layered into 3 sections, a similar grouping is created. The equivalents are compared in the charted below:

The way gamelan music is layered, some instruments create counter-melodies at higher registers such as the bonang and gambang, while some at lower registers. Some instruments simply play at different rhythmic paces/ tempos such as the kendhang, to create variations in texture. Pagodes has a similar use of layers, with all of the melodic voices at different registers, and many at different ‘tempos’ created through the use of different note values. In the picture below you will understand how the layers have been imitated in Pagodes.

Link: Melody- Structure and Scales

Within the first couple bars, Debussy’s use of the pentatonic scale was noticed.

(Pentatonic Scale: C#, D#, F#, G#, A#)

Ostinatos and/or motifs in both Pagodes and Udan Mas are used quite similarly and repetitively. In Udan Mas, the main melody is repeated multiple times, however they are slightly variated, which is a common occurrence in gamelan music. The main melody is provided through a group of metallophones while the other instruments create soft and loud variations. The gong announces the start and the end of each melodic pattern. In Pagodes, the motif reciprocates the resonance of the gamelan through the use of pedal, various changes in dynamics and the sense of flow present in the melody. Did you notice while listening to Pagodes that the bass notes even sound very similar to the gong in Udan Mas? Maybe Debussy was trying to evoke that kind of an effect!

Link: Counter- point

Gamelan music features an abundance of layering of instruments, resulting in the presence of counter- melodies. The main melody in Udan Mas is accompanied by several background or secondary melodies. The bonang, gambang, gender are the instruments that provide counter-melodic variations within Udan Mas. Each melodic cycle or section (gongan) is separated by the a gong on the first beat. In Pagodes, a similar type of layering is used, creating a polyphonic texture within the piece. In several parts of the piece, a motif played in the treble clef, is countered by a melody in the bass clef. The multiple ‘voices’ created through the layering and overlapping of notes in Pagodes, creates the illusion and the effect of having several instruments, mimicking the effect of a gamelan ensemble, rather than just a single piano. Below is an example in Pagodes of where a counter- melody is present. (mm. 13-14)

Link: Structure

Now that for the past couple posts I have provided you with information about the two pieces, now it’s time for me to show you, over several posts why these two pieces are similar! Upon listening to Pagodes and Udan Mas a multitude of times, they seem to have structures that are quite similar in terms of cycles/ sections, as seen in the chart below. Pagodes does happen to have a much more complex structure, with more different ‘sub-sections’, however they do exhibit very similar traits.Both pieces employ the use of variations on the ostinatos and motifs in the repeats of sections. In Udan Mas, the elaborating instruments (to be explained in future posts), create variation through slight changes in rhythm in the gongnan repeats, while in Pagodes, counter melodies are added when the theme is repeated. Both pieces also included the presence of 2 different codas.

Udan Mas

Udan Mas in modern indonesian translates to “Golden Rain” in english. Take a listen! 

( Udan Mas, Gongan - Gamelan Uprising, 2011)

Udan Mas is a Javanese composition, and as a bubaran piece, is played during the audiences departure. However, it is often played as an encore in western style concerts. Pretty much the entire Gamelan ensemble is used in Udan Mas.

Pagodes (Pagodas)- Claude Debussy:

Take a listen to Pagodes.

(Estampes 1, Pagodes, Alex Wesseinberg, 1986 Deutsche Grammophon)

In 1889, at the Exposition Universelle, Debussy was first exposed to the genre of Javanese Gamelan music. From then on, his work quite often featured notable influences from Gamelan music, most evident in Pagodes, the first movement of three in his solo piano composition, Estampes (1903) (Lederer 2007, 21).  Pagodes evokes images of East Asia, through the use of pentatonic scales (B major, C#, D#, F#, G#, A#). You might even notice that some motifs within the compositional score, outlines the shape of pagodas (mostly religious east asian tiered towers), such as in the first couple bars  (D. Vanderburg).

(Pagoda: http://www.hotelclub.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Sakayamuni-pagoda.jpg)

(First two measures of Pagodes)

Gamelan Music

(Gamelan: http://www.weltrekordreise.ch/bilder%20id/040-P1090109.jpg)

What do you know about Gamelan music? Probably not too much. Don’t fret, I’m going to give you an overview. A Gamelan is a type of traditional music ensemble that holds large importance in Indonesian culture; generally from the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali (Javenese and Balinese Gamelan, both of which are slightly different). A gamelan ensemble generally consists of a variety of instruments, mostly percussion, such as gongs, kendangs, metallophones, and xylophones, but also includes some non-percussion instruments such as bamboo flutes, and bowed and plucked strings. The term gamelan originates from the Javanese word gamel, a type of hammer hence the use of percussion. Javanese gamelans mainly use two tuning systems (laras); sléndro and pélog, such as in Udan Mas. The sléndro system has five evenly spaced notes per diapason (octave), similar to a pentatonic scale, and the pélog system has seven notes at uneven intervals per diapason.  Three sets of five pitch positions are used in the pélog system, although it uses seven notes per octave. Other laras in Gamelan Music include the likes of degung and madenda. Traditionally, Gamelan music is taught and passed down through generations orally. However, types of notation have come into use in more modern times, mainly for the use of those studying Gamelan music and foreigners.  The modern notations and their approximate Western-pitch equivalents are charted below ( Samarsam 2002):

Impressionism

So did you know that impressionist music was influenced by French impressionist painters, in the late 19th to mid 20th century? This movement in western art music was influenced and led by the likes of artists such as Joseph Turner, Claude Monet, and poets such as Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, and Stéphane Mallarmé. Impressionists strived to “suggest rather than depict; to mirror not the object but the emotional reaction to the object; to interpret a fugitive impression rather than to seize upon and fix the permanent reality” (Thompson 1940, 21) In music, impressionism commonly featured the use of whole-tone and pentatonic scales, parallel motions, escaped chords and included many modal influences. Along with Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Darius Milhaud were prominent impressionist composers.(Cheilek, 1999) I personally think it’d be pretty cool to go back in time and live in that period of time.

(Claude Monet, Impression Soleil Levant, 1872)

Welcome! Introduction!

Welcome to my blog! I am here to provide little pieces of insight on 2 very different musical genres and my comparison of the two. Each day I will post a little bit of information on these two genres and why I believe they can be musically linked. From the title, you can probably already guess which genres I have decided to investigate, Impressionism in music and Gamelan music. 

Javanese Gamelan music originates in Indonesia, while impressionism originates in Europe. So what can these two completely unrelated genres possibly have in common? Surprisingly the two can have a fair bit in common. After comparing the two contrasting pieces, Debussy’s Pagodes with one of the most famous Javanese Gamelan pieces, Udan Mas, we take notice of how many similar features that exist in between the two pieces.Through careful investigation there is evidence of musical links in terms of melody, structure, texture and use of counterpoint. 

(http://arifsreportersnotebook.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/welcome-to-my-wordpress/)

Bibliography

Lederer, Victor, and Claude Debussy. Debussy: the quiet revolutionary. New York: Amadeus Press, 2007.

Thompson, Oscar. Debussy, man and artist. New York: Tudor publishing company, 1940.

D. Vanderburg, Kyle. 2008 "Compositional Ideas, Techniques and Images in Debussy¶s Pagodes ." Compositional Ideas, Techniques and Images in Debussy's Pagodes . http://www.scribd.com/doc/56752626/Compositional-Ideas-Techniques-and-Images-in-Debussy’s-Pagodes (accessed February 14, 2013).

Sumarsam. 2002 "INTRODUCTION TO JAVANESE GAMELAN." INTRODUCTION TO JA V ANESE GAMELAN. http://sumarsam.web.wesleyan.edu/Intro.gamelan.pdf (accessed February 4, 2013).

Palmer, Christopher. Impressionism in music. London: Hutchinson, 1973.

Cheilek, Hazel. 1999 "The Music Chamber - Impressionism." ThinkQuest : Library. http://library.thinkquest.org/27110/noframes/periods/impressionism.html (accessed January 21, 2013).

WORD COUNT: 1828