Table of Contents

Preface; Part I. Exposition: 1. Proportional structure and the Golden Section; 2. Analytical aims and methods; 3. 'Reflets dans l'eau'; Part II. Earlier Developments: 4. Early works - up to 1892; 5. L'isle joyeuse; Part III. La Mer: 6. Introduction; 7. 'De l'aube à midi sur la mer'; 8. 'Dialogue du vent et de la mer'; 9. 'Jeux de vagues'; Part IV. Other Evidence: 10. Brief studies of other works; 11. External evidence; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.

Promotional Information

A study of Debussy's unorthodox use of musical form.

Reviews

'Roy Howat, in Debussy in Proportion, brilliantly dragoons every analytical and historical method at his command in his assault on the elusive question of Debussy's musical structures. Howat dispassionately assembles his evidence - biographical and historical matters, the analysis of duration, rhythm, harmony, motivic relationship, 'foreground' and 'background' hierarchical levels - into a virtually unassailable critical analysis of how Debussy's musical structures function as entities whose bases are those proportions expressed by the Golden Section or by Fibonacci and Lucus number series. The result, devoid of the analysis, is overwhelmingly convincing ... It is criticism at its best, intelligent and untiring in its efforts to bring the music into clear focus.' 19th Century Music ' ... it is impossible to resist the richness of detail supplied by Dr Howat; no sooner has a doubt occurred to one than it is resolved in the text, and the premise of the book seems inescapable.' Tempo 'To my mind, Roy Howat's book represents the most important advance in unravelling the mysteries of Debussy's music that there has ever been, and I confidently predict that its ramifications will be with us for a long time to come.' Robert Orledge, Music and Letters