A Study Of Composing And Conducting Of Debussy's "La Mer"

Claude Debussy composed many impressionistic works, and one of the most important among them is the three symphonic sketches for orchestra La Mer, composed in 1905. This repertoire has a strong symbolic significance on aesthetics, compositional technique and the influence on later composers. The author approached from the aspects of aesthetics, compositional technique and conducting technique to do research on this dissertation. Hence, this dissertation is mainly divided into three sections.The first section contains a brief introduction and review on Debussy's life as a composer, and the role of La Mer throughout his career. Moreover, it focuses on how the development of Debussy's egoistic mindset could influence the essence of the repertoire La Mer.In the second section, the author will approach the compositional technique La Mer from different aspects. Firstly is the analysis of the form and structure of this repertoire. The repertoire used unique ways to unfold the different themes and structures of pitch; therefore the analysis of the form and structure is mainly based on the process and usage of the music material. In addition, a basic analysis of the tonal structure and pitch range will be included;also using an approach from the aspect of orchestration to analyze on Debussy's impressionistic style of La Mer.As for the third section, the author will approach from the view point as a conductor and discuss about the various ways of conducting the aesthetic and stylistic characteristics of La Mer.Lastly is the conclusion of the aesthetic value and unique characteristic of the repertoire, La Mer.