Concerning the Question of Debussy’s Method of Quotation on the Example of the Ballet “La Boite a Joujoux”
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The article examines the overlaps of the plot of Stravinsky’s ballet “Petrushka” with that of Claude Debussy’s ballet “La boite a joujoux” in the aspect of artistic polemics between the two composers. The focal point of the research is revealing the musical quotations placed into Debussy’s ballet and the method of his work with derived musical material. In “La boite a joujoux” Debussy makes use of three varieties of quotations. These are the composer’s favorite children’s songs, which symbolize for him the world of childhood, naïveté and purity. Then there are melodies from well-known classical compositions, as well as quotations from his own oeuvres. The composer feels the importance of the semantics of “alien” themes. He brings in these quotations in a covert manner, applying a separate segment of the melody, artfully implementing it into the style of his own musical language, not aspiring towards the recognizability of the quoted motives. A self-sufficient semantic level in the ballet is formed by a number of themes which carry out the functions of leitmotifs. Their development and meaning are close to Wagner’s understanding of the purpose of leitmotifs as independently active musical “protagonists” called upon to disclose the implications of the plot and the emotional mood of the main characters and various situations. The applied classification of quotations presents the possibility of coming up with the following conclusions: Debussy’s “alien” quotations play a depictive and illustrative role, while his self-quotation acquires the tint of parody.
Keywords: Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky, ballet, “La Boite a Joujoux,” musical quotation.
Article Details
Copyright
The rights on the results of intellectual activity and equated means of individualization are protected in accordance with Part IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The authorship, author's name, executor’s name, inviolability of the work and result of execution are protected by the rules of Part IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation of the author or executor, regardless of providing legal protection of such results of intellectual activity at the time of their forming.
Copyright laws regulate the civil legal relations for using works of science, literature and art. Such relationships are formed as the result of the author’s writing his or her texts. In this case the author can rightfully claim copyright of the work.
The author has certain rights to reuse the work (see: “Ethical Aspects in Terms of Multifold Publications).
Licenses
All copyrights on the articles belong to their authors. The author transfers the rights on using the article the publisher.
PDF versions of scholarly articles of the journal PMN are published by using the license Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives cc by-nc-nd, allowing loading and distributing works on the assumption of indicating the authorship. The works may not be changed in any way or used for commercial interests.
Criteria for Authorship, Co-authorship
The term “author” refers to all persons (co-authors) who have made a substantial contribution to conducting the research and creation of the manuscript and responsible for its content. The person (author) who has submitted the manuscript to the editorial board shall bear responsibility for the complete list of the group of authors and the changes made to the manuscript in accordance with the results of the peer reviewing and editing.
1. Authorship is based on the following criteria:
1) The author made a substantial contribution to the research activity and development of concept, collected the data, made analysis and interpretation of the data.
2) The author carried out the writing of the text of draft articles and edited it attentively and substantially.
3) The author approved the final version of the article prior to its submission.
4) The author bears responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript.
2. The authors shall guarantee that the submitted manuscript is the original work.
3. Scholarly reviews for some issue or other should be objective, present material in a wide range and at the same time take into account the views of the author of the review.
4. The authorship of scholarly publications is obligated to reflect accurately the contribution of individuals to the research activity, with specific information about the authors.
5. The authors may not mislead the readers by publishing acknowledgements of gratitude to people who were not actually involved in writing the work. Other persons who made contribution to the work, but are nevertheless not the authors, may be listed in the rubric of “Acknowledgements,” with indications of the type and extent of their activities.
6. Authors are obligated to provide a description of their contribution to the publication.
7. The order of authorship must be a joint resolution of co-authors. The authors should be ready to explain the order of their enumeration and listing.
8. The authors shall be entirely responsible for the correct definition of authorship acting in accordance with the rules adopted in their institution.
9. Investigators must ensure that only those persons who meet the criteria for authorship (that made a significant contribution to the work), shall be considered the authors, and the researchers who do not merit authorship will be excluded from the list of authors.
References
2. Debyussi K. Igry [Debussy, Claude. Jeux]. Stat'i. Retsenzii. Besedy [Articles. Reviews. Conversations]. Leningrad, 1964, pp. 198–200.
3. Debyussi K. Ot «Pelleasa» k «Galantnym prazdnestvam». Klod Debyussi govorit o svoikh teatral'nykh zamyslakh: beseda s zhurnalistom Morisom Montabre (Comoedia, 1 fevralya 1914) [Debussy Claude. From “Pelleas” to “Fêtes Gallantes.” Claude Debussy Speaks about His Theatrical Conceptions. Conversation with Journalist Maurice Montaubre (Comoedia, February 1, 1914)]. Stat'i. Retsenzii. Besedy [Articles. Reviews. Conversations]. Leningrad, 1964, pp. 235–237.
4. Debyussi K. Yashchik s igrushkami: balet dlya fortepiano [Debussy, Claude. Boîte à joujoux: Ballet for Piano]. Moscow: Muzyka, 1965. 52 p.
5. Kazantseva L. P. Tonality: the Semantic Aspect. Problemy muzykal'noj nauki/Music Scholarship. 2017. No. 4, pp. 78–83. DOI: 10.17674/1997-0854.2017.4.078-083.
6. Krivitskaya E. D. «Bol'she v les my ne poydem». K voprosu o skrytoy simvolike v sochineniyakh K. Debyussi [“We will Not Go to the Forest Any More.” Concerning the Question of Hidden Symbolism in the Works of Claude Debussy]. Aktual'nyye problemy vysshego muzykal'nogo obrazovaniya [Topical Issues of Higher Musical Education]. Nizhny Novgorod, 2017. No. 3 (45), pp. 13–25.
7. Krivitskaya E. D. “Sonata, chego ty khochesh' ot menya?” Dialog epokh v pozdnem tvorchestve Debyussi [“Sonata, What do You Want from Me?” Dialogue of the Ages in the Late Works of Debussy]. Muzyka v dialoge kul'tur i tsivilizatsiy: sb. materialov mezhdunar. nauch. konf. k 70-letiyu Nizhegorodskoy gos. konservatorii im. M. I. Glinki [Music in the Dialogue of Cultures and Civilizations: Compilation of Materials of the International Scholarly Conference in Honor of the 70th Anniversary of the Nizhny-Novgorod State M. I. Glinka Conservatory]. Vol. 1. Nizhny Novgorod, 2017, pp. 43–53.
8. Imberty M. Émergence du temps et du sens chez Mallarmé et Debussy. Problemy muzykal'noj nauki/Music Scholarship. 2012. No. 1 (2012), pp. 215–225.
9. Debussy C. Correspondance (1882–1918). Édition établie par François Lesure et Denis Herlin. Paris: Gallimard, 2005. 2334 p.
10. Debussy and His World. Jane F. Fulcher, ed. Princeton University Press, 2001. 396 p.
11. Orledge R. Another Look Inside Debussy’s “Toybox.” The Musical Times. 1976. Vol. 117, No. 1606, pp. 987–989.
12. Pasler J. Debussy the Man, His Music, and His Legacy: an Overview of Current Research. Notes. 2012. Vol. 69, No. 2, pp. 197–216.