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- Genre: Fiction--Authorship.
- Genre: Music--France--19th century--History and criticism.
- Creators: Arizona State University
Description
This essay is an exploration of Michael Holladay's interests in style and influence related to his writing and overall writing process. I've chosen a selection of books that both reflect my interests as a writer, books that I've loved and have informed me in the past which continue to inform and inspire on each re-read (Battleborn by Claire Vaye Watkins, A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, for example) and also books I hadn't read and needed to in order to challenge myself with writing I haven't been exposed to yet so I can continue to grow (I hadn't, for instance, read Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson or Reasons to Live by Amy Hempel before preparation for this essay.) The fiction I've chosen to discuss strikes a balance between favorites that have formed me up to this point and new work to "fill in the gaps" of books I needed to read. Additionally, I've chosen a selection of books on craft to provide a lens for thinking about writing. Finally, I've also included work in other genres that inform my fiction (Ryan van Meter's creative nonfiction essays, If You Knew Then What I Know Now and Andrew Haigh's film, Weekend.)
I've intentionally chosen work that is diverse in both form and content. I have more linear fiction represented (William Trevor, for example) matched with work that's fragmentary and language focused (Christine Schutt's Nightwork among others) since I'm interested in how linear form and fragmentation can intersect, and I've been experimenting with both during my time in the program. And in terms of content, the majority of the work speaks to my interest in how region, specifically the South, impresses itself on sexuality and gender, specifically queer or decentered sexuality and gender. So I have books with a heavy focus on region (Daddy's by Lindsay Hunter and Girl Trouble by Holly Goddard Jones) and work that explores the complexities of sexuality and identity (Michael Cunningham, Edmund White, Alexander Chee, and I'll mention Haigh's film Weekend again because it's always worth mentioning again.) These works will help synthesize and bring together my interests in style, language, structure, and form, and in content.
I've intentionally chosen work that is diverse in both form and content. I have more linear fiction represented (William Trevor, for example) matched with work that's fragmentary and language focused (Christine Schutt's Nightwork among others) since I'm interested in how linear form and fragmentation can intersect, and I've been experimenting with both during my time in the program. And in terms of content, the majority of the work speaks to my interest in how region, specifically the South, impresses itself on sexuality and gender, specifically queer or decentered sexuality and gender. So I have books with a heavy focus on region (Daddy's by Lindsay Hunter and Girl Trouble by Holly Goddard Jones) and work that explores the complexities of sexuality and identity (Michael Cunningham, Edmund White, Alexander Chee, and I'll mention Haigh's film Weekend again because it's always worth mentioning again.) These works will help synthesize and bring together my interests in style, language, structure, and form, and in content.
ContributorsHolladay, Michael (Author) / Ison, Tara (Thesis advisor) / Pritchard, Melissa (Committee member) / Bell, Matt (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
ABSTRACT
The early music revival in Paris, which came into full swing in the 1890s, had a defining impact on the composer Claude Debussy. Among the leaders of this movement were the Chanteurs de Saint Gervais under the direction of Charles Bordes and the Schola Cantorum, a school Bordes founded for the study and performance of early music in Paris. Debussy wrote admiringly of the performances of the Chanteurs and opera productions he saw at the Schola. He also spoke of the revelatory nature of performances of Renaissance masses that he heard in Italy after he won the Prix de Rome. Finally, he most likely visited Solesmes, important in the revival of plainchant. Hitherto unknown documents raise questions about the date of that visit, which most likely took place in 1892 or 1893.
A powerful manifestation of the influence of early music on Debussy’s compositional style is a melodic gesture that he referred to as “arabesque.” Debussy made many comments about the “divine arabesque,” which he related to the “primitives,” Palestrina, Victoria, and di Lasso. Further, Debussy connected those composers’ use of the arabesque to plainchant: “They found the basis of [the arabesque] in Gregorian chant, whose delicate tracery they supported with twining counterpoints.”
Debussy’s writings on early music provide a deeper context for understanding how plainchant, as well as music from the Renaissance, contributed to his compositional style, specifically in his use of modes and his notion of the arabesque. These influences are especially apparent in his only a cappella choral work, Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans.
Until now, analysis of the Trois chansons has not sufficiently considered the importance of either plainchant or the arabesque and their influence on the style and character of this work. Viewing Debussy’s musical aesthetic through the lens of plainchant and the arabesque brings his music to life in a new and exciting way, resulting in a richer understanding and more informed performance practice, especially in the Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans.
The early music revival in Paris, which came into full swing in the 1890s, had a defining impact on the composer Claude Debussy. Among the leaders of this movement were the Chanteurs de Saint Gervais under the direction of Charles Bordes and the Schola Cantorum, a school Bordes founded for the study and performance of early music in Paris. Debussy wrote admiringly of the performances of the Chanteurs and opera productions he saw at the Schola. He also spoke of the revelatory nature of performances of Renaissance masses that he heard in Italy after he won the Prix de Rome. Finally, he most likely visited Solesmes, important in the revival of plainchant. Hitherto unknown documents raise questions about the date of that visit, which most likely took place in 1892 or 1893.
A powerful manifestation of the influence of early music on Debussy’s compositional style is a melodic gesture that he referred to as “arabesque.” Debussy made many comments about the “divine arabesque,” which he related to the “primitives,” Palestrina, Victoria, and di Lasso. Further, Debussy connected those composers’ use of the arabesque to plainchant: “They found the basis of [the arabesque] in Gregorian chant, whose delicate tracery they supported with twining counterpoints.”
Debussy’s writings on early music provide a deeper context for understanding how plainchant, as well as music from the Renaissance, contributed to his compositional style, specifically in his use of modes and his notion of the arabesque. These influences are especially apparent in his only a cappella choral work, Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans.
Until now, analysis of the Trois chansons has not sufficiently considered the importance of either plainchant or the arabesque and their influence on the style and character of this work. Viewing Debussy’s musical aesthetic through the lens of plainchant and the arabesque brings his music to life in a new and exciting way, resulting in a richer understanding and more informed performance practice, especially in the Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans.
ContributorsRynex, Carolyn Rose (Author) / Schildkret, David (Thesis advisor) / Kopta, Anne (Committee member) / Saucier, Catherine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016