CHAMOD SAMARASINGHE
Classical music is an unusual art. It is dominated by a few pieces which are far more popular than everything else which has been composed within the past few centuries. When compared to Beethoven’s fifth symphony, Bach’s toccata in d minor, Handel’s messiah and fur Elise (and a few others), everything else is a comparative blur to most. Scholars could argue that this is due to their memorable nature and overall simplicity (for the listener, not the composer), but there is one notable exception to this rule: Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy. While the opening melody is certainly ear-catching and repetitive, everything else seems deliberately ambiguous, perfectly melancholy, and at times downright unusual.
Its adaptability could be the reason that is used so often in film and TV. It is famously played in the opening of the purge, where the gentle piano creates an intense juxtaposition with the scenes of violence which play out alongside it. It eventually forces the viewer to contemplate exactly how this will become to the characters throughout the course of the film. In the 2001 crime-comedy ‘Ocean's Eleven’, an instrumental version can be heard. Here, it serves as an emotional ending to the movie, when the gang of robbers prepare to commit their final bank heist after which they will never meet again. The use of an orchestra also complements the scenes of enormous wealth we see, adding to the elegant atmosphere. In both these examples, the piece is used in almost completely different ways. In one, the darker tones are emphasised against everything else, whereas in the other uses it completely ‘unironically’: to give a sense of quite sadness.
Music, or indeed any other art form hasn't stayed consistently emotional throughout the course of its history. Much like literature and painting, the height of emotional expressiveness (in western music) was created in the Romantic era between the years of 1800-1900. These dates marked a turning point in society in many ways. People thought more freely; no longer being bound by the church’s imposing views, but this led to a crisis in morality. They understood the great opportunities in science, yet feared the god-like powers they could possess. They wanted industry, but also desired a connection with nature. Some were nationalist, but only through a sense of pride and patriotism.Taking part in these ‘battles’ of competing ideas resulted in strong opinions in either side which was evident in the emotion portrayed in art. Frederic Chopin’s ‘Winter Wind’ (Etude Op. 25 No. 11) is a good example of a piece which was inspired by nature, particularly the harsh blizzards which ravaged Chopin’s home county of Poland in the winter months. There is a degree of subtlety to the piece, too. It contrasts the dark, swirling piano parts with the occasional switch to a bright Major chord. This suggests that the blizzards also create beauty, despite being so dangerous. This style continued for about a century after it began.
Towards the beginning of the 20th century, however, the idea of putting emotion above everything else broke down in many ways. This is due in part to WW1 and its economic fallout, which affected many composers throughout. Ravel famously wrote Le Tombeu de Couperin, A piece made up of 6 movements, each of them dedicated to a friend who had died in WW1. As society became more and more effected by the trauma of the war, the emotions presented in music grew darker and the pieces more difficult to listen to. In addition to this, people hated the systems of the past which had led to WW1, so composers rebelled against the musical conventions which they followed. Completely atonal music represented the very height of this era-to modern ears it is almost painful to listen to, but it is important to recognise that it genuinely reflected how they felt at the time.
Clair de lune, in fact, was written in 1905, before the WW1 had started but that does not mean it couldn’t have been influenced by the tensions in Europe at the time. The piece was composed in a turning point for music, and so marks a delicate balance between two styles. It manages just to give us an impression of emotion, but also seems, somehow, understands that this is meaningless. It always seems to give an existential edge to anything you play it over; a ‘dampening’ of any strong feelings you see. It makes for a perfect background music as it serves almost as a protest against the dramatization of the films it is included in.