University of South Carolina
School of Music

BAIN MUSC 726D
Debussy & Ravel

Summer 2023


MUSC 726D | Blackboard | Listening/Analysis


C O U R S E   M O D U L E S
Triangle icon
Piano Music
2. Ballet Music
3. String Quartets
4. Solo and
Chamber Music
5. Opera, Vocal and
Choral Music
6. Orchestral Music

News

Welcome to MUSC 726D!

This course will be offered: Summer 2023, 3-Week Session III (3S5), June 19 - July 6, MTW: 4:10-7:40 pm

Quotable

Left quote
Music is a mysterious mathematical process whose elements are part of Infinity....
Right quote

– Claude Debussy

Course Description

Analysis of melody, harmony, rhythm, form, style and orchestration in the music of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel

Prerequisite: Undergraduate tonal harmony and voice leading

Course Documents

  1. Syllabus (pdf)
  2. Reading
  3. Bibliography
  4. Listening/Analysis
  5. Digital Anthology
  6. Other

Analysis Projects

  1. Debussy Project
  2. Ravel Project
  3. Final Project

Asynchronous Thursday Activities

  1. Visualizing Debussy & Ravel
  2. Special Topics
  3. Final Presentation Self-Reflection

Online Media Resources

  1. Alvira, Teoria
  2. Barenboim, 5 Minutes on Claude Debussy
  3. Boston Symphony Orchestra, Behind the Music
  4. British Library
  5. Classical Notes
  6. Earsense: Debussy & Ravel
  7. Howat, Fibonacci and the Golden Section {RoyHowat.com} (Howat 1983)
  8. Gjerdingen, Child Composers {YouTube} (Gjerdingen 2020)
  9. Listening In: Video Essays on Music {YouTube Channel}
  10. London Philharmonic
  11. Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel
  12. Music Animation Machine by Stephen Malinowski {Musanim.com}
  13. Musical Times, Portraits of Debussy
  14. Philharmonia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen
  15. Pianist Magazine
  16. Ross
  17. Smith College Museum of Art
  18. Tonebase

Research Tools

  1. FindIt @ UofSC
  2. Dictionaries: Harvard Dictionary | Grove/Oxford
  3. Articles: JSTOR
  4. E-books: Ebook Central | EBSCOhost | Hathi Trust
  5. Scores: IMSLP; Alexander Street; CPDL
  6. Recordings: Naxos | Spotify | YouTube

Works Lists

  1. List of Works by Claude Debussy {WP; IMSLP}
  2. List of Works by Maurice Ravel {WP; IMSLP}

Autograph Manuscripts

  1. Debussy
  2. Ravel

BnF - Bibliothèque nationale de France

Journals

  1. 19th-Century Music {UC Press}
  2. College Music Symposium {CMS}
  3. Engaging Students: Essays in Music Pedagogy {OSU Libraries}
  4. Indiana Theory Review {IU Press}
  5. Intégral {Rochester.edu}
  6. Journal of Music Theory {JMT; JSTOR}
  7. Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy {JMTP}
  8. Journal of New Music Research {Taylor & Francis}
  9. Music Analysis {Wiley; JSTOR}
  10. Music Theory Online {MTO}
  11. Music Theory Spectrum {Oxford; JSTOR}
  12. Perspectives on New Music {Website; JSTOR}

Main References

See also: BAIN MUSC 726D Bibliography

DeVoto. Mark. 2004. Debussy and the Veil of Tonality: Essays on His Music. Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press. {GB}

Parks, Richard S. 1989. The Music of Claude Debussy. New Haven: Yale University Press. {GB}

Howat, Roy. 1983. Debussy in Proportion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {GB}

Kaminsky, Peter, ed. 2011. Unmasking Ravel: New Perspectives on the Music. Rochester: University of Rochester Press. {GB}

Kelly, Barbara L. 2001. "Ravel, (Joseph) Maurice." Oxford Music Online. {Grove}

Lesure, François and Roy Howat. 2001. Debussy, (Achille-) Claude." Oxford Music Online. {Grove}

Zank, Stephen. 2009. Irony and Sound: The Music of Maurice Ravel. Rochester: University of Rochester Press. {GB}



Updated: March 20, 2023

Reginald Bain | University of South Carolina | School of Music
https://reginaldbain.com/vc/musc726d/