Abstract
This essay takes a look at Paul Dukas’s Piano Sonata in E*f, a piece exhibiting a rich array of formal and contrapuntal detail. In contrast to other analytical studies of French fin-de-siècle pieces, which focus on the purely chordal aspects of the music, we propose an analysis that emphasizes the contrapuntal dimension. The paper first develops what we call the “Combined Melodic String Hypothesis” (CMSH), and it does so by drawing on the writings of both Théodore Dubois and Heinrich Schenker. It then explores Dukas’s own use of contrapuntal principles in the second and third movements to his sonata, using the CMSH and other Schenkerian-derived techniques. In the end, the paper aims to bridge the gap between the training composers like Dukas received at the Conservatoire and the works he produced as a result of that training.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 129-152 |
Number of pages | 23 |
Journal | Intégral |
Volume | 30 |
Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Keywords
- Paul Dukas
- Piano Sonata in Eb Major
- Theodore Dubois
- Heinrich Schenker