Impressionism in Music: A Guide to Impressionism in Music

In the world of classical music, impressionism refers to a style that explores mood and atmosphere through the use of timbre, orchestration, and progressive harmonic concepts. Impressionism spawned from the late Romantic music of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. It is most commonly associated with French composers Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, although neither used the term to describe their own work.

Impressionist music does have some ties to impressionistic visual art. Both movements were centered in France, and emphasized perspective and emotion over traditional forms. Where impressionist painters like Claude Monet, Eduard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Edgar Degas used broad brush strokes and hazy perspective to convey emotion, impressionist composers like Debussy, Ravel, Ottorino Respighi, and Erik Satie used whole tone scales, pentatonic scales, and parallel motion to emphasize atmosphere and musical symbolism. Ultimately, however, both visual and musical impressionism were more the notions of critics than the actual artists.

The impressionist era began around the late 1800s. During this time, Maurice Ravel (born 1875) was a music student at the Paris Conservatoire and Claude Debussy (born 1862) was embarking on a career as a professional composer.

Debussy, who notably despised the term "impressionism," was the first to shock audiences with his 1894 symphonic poem Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the afternoon of a faun). The short piece used multiple motifs, in the style of tone poems by Berlioz and leitmotifs by Richard Wagner. Debussy also made notable use of chromatic scales, another technique he admired in Wagner's music. This chromaticism, along with whole tone scales and unusual timbres, helped set Debussy's prelude apart from other music at the time. Debussy’s other prominent orchestral pieces, such as La mer (1905), eschewed the standard symphony format that was still being practiced by contemporaries like Gustav Mahler and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Maurice Ravel was more faithful to classical forms than Debussy, but he was nonetheless considered too radical for the conservatively minded Paris Conservatoire. Ravel originally made his name via piano music, including Pavane pour une infante défunte in 1899 and Gaspard de la nuit in 1908, and his 1905 string quartet. He is best known to classical audiences, however, for his orchestral work including Boléro (1928) and his orchestral adaptation of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (1922).

Impressionist music is known for multiple characteristics, including:

1. 1. Rejection of traditional structure: Impressionist composers spent little time mimicking the structural forms laid out by titans like Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms. Debussy in particular focused on interplay between motifs and short vignettes. Ravel showed comparatively greater reverence for formalism, as did his student Ralph Vaughan Williams. Still, none of these composers rigidly adhered to traditional forms.
2. 2. Progressive harmony: Impressionistic music makes use of chromatic scales, pentatonic scales, whole tone scales, and brief flourishes of atonality. These techniques were not completely radical; there was nineteenth century precedent from composers like Chopin, Liszt, and, most of all, Wagner. Still, the full scale embrace of such harmonic concepts was considered a bold step forward.
3. 3. Emphasis on atmosphere and mood: Impressionist composers are known for experimenting with the textural and timbral potential of orchestral instruments, with the purpose of creating emotive moods and atmospheres. Some impressionist pieces are tone poems that tell narratives, but others simply evoke general emotion.

Many impressionist works remain vital parts of the classical music canon.

1. 1. Suite bergamasque by Claude Debussy: An 1890 piano suite that began Debussy's transition into impressionism and is often renowned for a section known as "Clair de lune." Debussy continued revising the suite until 1905.
2. 2. Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune by Debussy: A symphonic poem that used unusual timbre and suspended tonality to establish a mood. This piece showed strong influence from Richard Wagner and Frederic Chopin, yet it established a musical language all its own.
3. 3. Trois poèmes de Mallarmé by Maurice Ravel: A series of art songs based on the poetry of Stéphane Mallarmé. The piece is known for its unusual brevity and interplay between instruments.
4. 4. Daphnis et Chloé by Maurice Ravel: An hourlong ballet that showcased Ravel's mastery of the symphonic orchestra. The timbres, textures, and dynamics he coaxed from his ensemble became a touchpoint for twentieth century orchestration.
5. 5. La Péri by Paul Dukas: Although most famous for his Romantic era tone poem The Sorcerer's Apprentice (the keystone piece in Disney's Fantasia), Paul Dukas explored impressionism late in his career. This 1912 ballet is more programmatic than works of Debussy and Ravel, but it uses similar approaches to timbre and harmony.
6. 6. On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring by Frederick Delius: While impressionism is most closely associated with France, the British Delius enjoyed commercial success with his take on the form. This piece marked the beginning of a long collaboration with conductor Thomas Beecham and Columbia Records.

Become a better musician with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Herbie Hancock, Tom Morello, Sheila E., and more.