Travel Music: The Soft Light of Southeast Asia [Refining Sensibilities by Listening to Classical Piano]
Hello! This is yuki.
Today is the seventh installment of the
“Refining Sensibilities by Listening to Classical Piano”
series.
I am writing this so that even those who are not familiar with classical music can enjoy it easily!
The theme this time is
once again, "Travel Music."
Last time, I introduced Indonesian folk music known as
Gamelan.
Since it fits perfectly, I would like to introduce
one more piece related to Gamelan.
It is a wonderful piece overflowing with Oriental atmosphere. I hope you enjoy it!
Pagodas
Let's listen to the piece right away!
It is
"Pagodes" from the suite "Estampes" composed by Debussy.
From the very beginning,
you are whisked away to the world of Asia!
Soft light, shadows appearing now and then...
It is so beautiful that it makes you sigh.
...If you listen closely,
you can hear various timbres.
The sound of small bells chiming,
the deep gong of a large bell,
and the wooden clacking sound like a temple block.
It feels like you could let your imagination run wild forever.
Now, the title "Pagoda" is a word that means
"Buddhist pagoda."
It is also called a "stupa."
(This is the etymological origin of the Japanese word 'sotoba'.)
For an image,
think of something like the photo below.
I have never been there,
but the pagodas in Myanmar might be closer to the image.
Debussy aimed to
“express a worldview (atmosphere) through sound.”
This piece feels like it is truly packed with the atmosphere of Asia.
I love it so much that I have lost count of how many times I have listened to it, haha.
When I play it myself, I feel enveloped in the atmosphere of Southeast Asia and can fully immerse myself in the travel mood.
Debussy's imagination is incredible!
As I touched upon briefly in a previous article, Debussy did not travel much and spent most of his life in France.
There is no record of him ever going to Asia.
“Then how could he write such an oriental piece?!”
You might think that, but his wonderful imagination covered for it.
Debussy became interested in Eastern culture at the 1889
Paris Exposition.
He was shocked when he heard a Gamelan performance from Indonesia there.
“Why was there a Gamelan at such an old Paris Exposition?”
That is how it feels, right?
At that time, Indonesia was a Dutch colony.
And it seems they invited a Gamelan performance troupe to introduce the culture of the colony.
(I will also post a recording of authentic Gamelan music here!)
This is a slightly niche topic, but in Gamelan, the tuning of each instrument is slightly off.
To put it simply, it is like when several people are singing and everyone is just slightly off-pitch.
When that happens, it creates a sound that is not quite in harmony, or a
wavy, shimmering resonance.
Debussy was
completely captivated
by that mysterious gamelan.
Fourteen years after the Paris Exposition, he
released "Pagodes," which I introduced here.
During that time, he likely
continued his study of the Orient
while remaining in Europe.
"Pagodes" is not just superficially Oriental; I also feel that the
spiritualitydrifting in the backgroundis close to that of the East.
Such incredible imagination and sense...
After releasing "Pagodes," Debussy
went on to release even more Oriental-inspired works.
An easy-to-understand example is
"La lune descend sur le temple qui fut",which is said to be a scene of Angkor Wat at night.
It has quite an "artistic feel" to it,
so it might sound unfamiliar.
I'd guess the drop-off rate after one minute is about 75% haha.
The most beautiful part comes after that, so
please try listening for about three minutes! lol
Even as silence dominates,
startlingly beautiful melodies emerge.
It is a work that embodies Eastern aesthetic sensibilities,
such as "impermanence" and the "sound of silence."
And pushing that "artistic feel" even further is
"Étude No. 3".
This piece isdefinitely not for everyonelol
It would be tough unless you are a huge Debussy fan.
(The drop-off rate after one minute might be around 95%)
It is a work in the same vein as "Pagodes,"
incorporating gamelan acoustics in various places.
When listening to authentic gamelan,
"Étude No. 3,
it's just straight-up imitating gamelan!"
is how it can feel sometimes.
The Oriental aesthetic sensibility that Debussy possessed
appears in various places in his other works as well.
Many Japanese people are fans of Debussybut perhaps that is because they feel
a deep sense of empathy on that level.
Thank you very much
for reading until the end!
Well then, have a great day today!
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