Analysis of 20th Century Music by Debussy, Stravinsky & Schoenberg

This essay provides an analysis of three renowned 20th-century music pieces: La Mer by Claude Debussy, The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky, and Erwartung by Arnold Schoenberg. The analysis focuses on the use of acoustic instruments, the structure and rhythm of the pieces, and the overall effect they create. The essay highlights the similarities and differences between the pieces, noting that they all represent modernism, but Erwartung uniquely incorporates a singer and conductor. The student provides specific observations about the instrumentation, tempo, and dynamics of each piece, referencing the tension and storytelling aspects particularly evident in Schoenberg's work. The study is from a student at the University System of Georgia.

Running head: MUSIC 1
The 20th Century
Sarah Walker
University System of Georgia

Surname 2
The first thing I noticed when I watched is that the orchestra uses acoustic instruments. When I
listened to La Mer by Claude Debussy, I noted that the music started very silently and it was
followed by the beats of drums. They were then joined by the piano chord which was
accompanied by the stand-up bass which drew attention to the drums which belt out a jazz
rhythm as well as the e-bow guitar. The first part of the piece comprises a third-quarter time
signature which is overlaid over a 4/4 time’s signature. The stand-up bass, as well as the piano
chords, are then reiterated before the solo starts over the top (Alexandraki & Bader, 2016).
When I listened to Igor Stravinsky, Rite of Spring the piece also starts in silence, and it is
followed by the trumpet which joins the violins and the two play in rhythm. This is followed by
the solo directing an exceptional climax of the song. The drums join in, but after a while, it ends
in a long silence (Carr, 2017). The trumpets start to play silently and the ensuing silence is
broken by the violin-guitar as well as violas which play in harmony. The second silence is not
long and it ends when the trumpets and violins join in and they continue playing in the rhyme
resulting in a chaotic effect (Blessing & Berdahl, 2017).
In Arnold Schoenberg, Erwartung, the piece also commences slowly as well as it begins
to narrate the story of a woman who is looking for her lover. In this piece, the orchestra tries to
present a form more dependent on texture, dynamics, and rhetorical gesture than on pitch-
oriented or motive-oriented systems of organization. The orchestra plays in the background and
creates a certain tension that reflects the story the woman is telling (Hood, 2017). The woman is
a little frightened, and she is obviously anxious because she is unable to find her lover. When she
finally recognizes her lover’s body, the other instruments seize playing and leaves her the stage
to continue singing. She, however, asks for help, but no one responds but thereafter the
instruments start again which result in the climax of the piece (Dahlhaus, 2015).

Surname 3
The similarities between the three pieces are that they are some of the most renowned
pieces that represent modernism and the difference is that the last piece uses a singer who is also
the conductor.

Surname 4
References:
Alexandraki, C., & Bader, R. (2016). Anticipatory Networked Communications for Live Musical
Interactions of Acoustic Instruments. Journal of New Music Research, 45(1), 68-85.
Blessing, M., & Berdahl, E. (2017). The joystyx: a quartet of embedded acoustic instruments.
In NIME (pp. 271-274).
Carr, M. (2017). Stravinsky at the crossroads after the rite:" Jeu de Rossignol
Mécanique"(performance of the mechanical nightingale)(1 August 1913). In The Rite of
Spring at 100 (pp. 339-353). Indiana University Press.
Dahlhaus, C. (2015). Arnold Schönberg: Drittes Streichquartett, op. 30. Schott Music GmbH &
Company KG.
Hood, R. (2017). The Shadow's Symphony: Archetypal Awakening in Igor Stravinsky's The Rite
of Spring. Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism, 10(2), 4.