Introduction

Considered one of the most important 20th century composers of modern music, Claude Debussy has often been applauded for his originality and style in his abilities towards impressionistic techniques - one of which is his imaginative incorporation of ethnic influences.

One such piece that demonstrates this is his famous String Quartet in G minor, composed 4 years after he first heard gamelan music during the Exposition Universelle (1889) in Paris. Although it has been said that there are no concrete, cited examples of such ethnic influences in his music, today we shall investigate and compare the second movement (‘Assez vif et bien rythme’) of String Quartet in G minor and Balinese music of Indonesia, Hudan Mas (Golden Rain). This particular form of Balinese music models a contemporary style of gamelan ensembles, known as the Gamelan Gong Kebyar. Below is a full length clip of the String Quartet in G minor , Assez vif et bien rythme (04:00 minutes). Take a moment to listen to the clip before continuing.





We will be exploring the similarities and differences in the components of musical compositions - harmony, timbre, tone colour, melody, form, rhythm and texture, and from there form a coherent analysis of Balinese music as an influence on Debussy’s works.