Multicultural Influences In Debussy’s Piano Works And Performance Technique In Impressionism Period

At the end of the 19 th century,Romantic art showed a trend of decline,and the phenomenon of rigid form and format was increasingly presented.This artistic form could not satisfy people’s pursuit of art and aesthetic appreciation.As a result,impressionism came into being,and its novel creation style and form of expression played a catalytic role in the emergence of modern art.The music of Debussy is the representative of impressionism.He was known for incorporating various themes into his music,such as pictures,natural scenes,poetry and other cultural elements,which he used as sources for his music.This paper will take three different cultures cited by Debussy as examples to illustrate Debussy’s piano works under the influence of multicultural impressionism.The three cultures are Javanese,Spanish and French.Debussy first came into contact with Javanese gamelan music at the Musical Exposition in Paris,and introduced the gamelan music into his piano works Tower.In addition to Tower,there are also Prelude for Piano and Temple of Moon Fades,etc.These works all referenced the unique Javanese gamelan music materials.In the work "The Night of Granada",the rhythmic material of Spanish Habanera dance is quoted,and the melody is inspired by the music material of Spanish Moors.Garden in the Rain uses the melodies of French folk songs as its writing material.This paper will expound the embodiment of Debussy’s piano works under the influence of impressionism and multiculturalism,as well as the performance skills obtained from his own performance and practice.It is hoped to provide clues for players to understand Debussy’s piano music works and performance practice.This paper is divided into four chapters.The first chapter mainly describes the birth of Impressionism and its sister arts,such as Impressionist painting,Impressionist literature,Impressionist films,Impressionist music and so on.In the sixth section of the first chapter,Debussy,a representative figure of impressionist music,is introduced.This paper expounds his life and makes a brief introduction to his piano works.The second chapter mainly elaborates the influence of gamelan music on Debussy’s piano works.In the first section,the birth and background of gamelan music are introduced.In the second section,Debussy was introduced to gamelan music at the World Expo for the first time,and then he developed a strong interest in gamelan music.He also used gamelan music in his piano works.The third chapter expounds the influence of Spanish Habanera dance rhythm and French ballads on Debussy’s piano works.In Debussy’s piano work "Garden in the Rain",he directly quotes French ballads such as "Sleep Little Baby" and other French ballads.This also fully confirms that Debussy’s piano works are exotic and draw on music materials from various countries.In the fourth chapter,the author expounds and analyzes the playing skills of Debussy’s piano works mentioned in the second chapter and the third chapter mainly based on his own practice and practice,hoping to be helpful for the players to perform and understand Debussy’s piano works.