FREE ESSAY ON THE IMPRESSIONISTIC PERIOD

THE IMPRESSIONISTIC PERIOD

THE IMPRESSIONISTIC PERIOD
The Impressionistic Period took place during the latter half of the 19th century and the
beginning half of the 20th century. Impressionistic music was first started by Claude
Debussy, a French composer. He also founded the impressionist school of music. The
Impressionistic Period started as a revolt against German romanticism. The influence of
the French impressionist paintings also helped form this style of music. Debussy's music
was brief, elegant, and rather cold, unlike the period before, which held sentimental
music. At one point in his life, he broke away and composed a piece which was more
conventional, called La Mer, which means the sea.
There were many different composers during the Impressionistic Period. Some of them were
Manuel de Falla, Fredrick Delius, Ralph Williams Vaughan, and Ottorino Respighi. These
and other composers helped to make up the Impressionistic Period. Delius and Vaughan were
English composers. La Falla was a Spanish composer. Impressionistic music was especially
popular in the European countries.
Impressionistic music was influenced by Claude Monet's painting, Sunrise. Other
impressionistic artists were Camile Pissaro, Auguste Renior, Edgar Degas, and Berthe
Morisot. Many people of the time rejected this style of art.
The paintings were flooded with bright colors applied directly to the canvas in small
textured strokes. This style broke the consistency of the clearly outlined and
represented paintings of this time.
Impressionistic music had a vagueness of form and the elusive mark of impressionism. Some
characteristics are the use of unconventional chord changes, comparative unimportance of
melody, and pentatonic scales often replaced the major and minor scales.
The Impressionistic Period was also famous for its literature. Impressionism in
literature often is used broadly, including symbolism, imagism, and other styles that
were not formal, some leaders in impressionistic literature were not formal, some leaders
in impressionistic literature were American poets, Amy Lowell and Ezra Pound.
The Impressionistic Period was a great influence on many people of the time. We still
remember it today as a great step forward in musical history.