Subject Proposal:

The History Of Impressionism

In Music
 Why I Want To Research This
Impressionism marked the beginning of massive change to classical music, and is noted as
the start of the modern era.
As such, it is an incredibly influential period in music history.
Many famous pianists and piano compositions came from Impressionism. As a pianist
myself, who enjoys playing Impressionist works, I have a personal interest in better
understanding the transformative nature of these works.
Because of this, I want to create a comprehensive documentation of the movement’s
history, key influences, key figures, and legacy.
 Methodology
Although primary sources are limited as many original impressionist composers are now
deceased, there are still books and surviving accounts to refer to.
A Ravel Reader: Correspondence, Articles, Interviews, book by Maurice Ravel
Debussy on Music: The Critical Writings of the Great French Composer Claude Debussy,
book by Claude Debussy
I can also look at passages from Impressionist pieces.

There are many more secondary sources to refer to, although many are rather brief in
nature. Sources such as Wikipedia offer a spring board for research, leading to further
sources which can be used.
Wikipedia- Impressionism in music
Encyclopaedia Britannica- Impressionism
CPR Classical- Musical Impressionism Started With Claude Debussy’s ‘Prelude To The
Afternoon Of A Faun’
 Methodology (Cont.)
The four main areas I will research are:
Influences/origins: I should mention composers like Wagner, and the influence of
Gamelan.
Key composers: Claude Debussy is a figurehead in the movement, but I can also talk
about composers like Ravel and Lili Boulanger.
Definition/Characteristics: Could be quite difficult due to differences in opinions, but I
could discuss that as well.
I also want to give a rough timeline of the key events of the movement.

Having already read around the subject, I have compiled some key search terms when
looking for sources:
impressionist music, impressionism, debussy, ravel, liszt, composers, influences, origins, legacy,
gamelan, atonality, whole-tone scales, modern era, bernard herrman, modes, upper extension chords,
parallelism, planing, modal jazz, parallel sonorities, romanticism, wagner
 Timelines
1. In the first 3 weeks of this project, I am going to compile a list of sources I want to
implement and create detailed notes on what I am going to include in my essay. I will
also plan how to structure it. This will essentially be a very rough first draft.
In the 2 weeks after I am going to create a full formal first draft, and seek feedback.
In the last 2 weeks I will continue to improve and respond to feedback until I have
finalised my work. At this point I will have a full essay and research log to submit.