On Religious Symbolism in Debussy’s Prelude “La cathédrale engloutie”

Michael Brailovsky

Issue № 1 (781) │ 2023

Research article

On Religious Symbolism in Debussy’s Prelude “La cathédrale engloutie”

This article is written in Russian. You can read it here.

References

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DOI 10.34690/294

Author Michael Brailovsky

Affiliation Independent researcher, North Brunswick, USA

Email mimobr@optonline.net

ORCID

0000-0002-4152-2580

Abstract

Starting from the question of what a symbol is in art and music, the author reveals the symbolism of C. Debussy’s prelude “La cathédrale engloutie,” asserting its religious content. The article also raises the question of the erroneous definition of “musical impressionism” in general and in relation to Debussy. Analyzing the composer’s statements, the author offers a new look at the well-established idea of Debussy’s relationship with Christianity. Next to the Breton legend about the City of Iz, a known source of the idea of the prelude, other alleged sources are suggested—the painting by J.-F. Millet “L’Angélus” and the Russian legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh. With the help of the identified objective correlates, the author reveals a carefully written, almost cinematic scenario of action in five “tableau vivants” captured in the prelude. The composer’s new approach to the rhythmization of time is revealed through his appeal to numerical formulas, mainly the Fibonacci sequence and the contained in it proportion of the golden ratio. The author also gives practical advice to performers on how to interpret “La cathédrale engloutie,” based on the findings about the meaning contained in the musical text. Also, the author gives practical recommendations on the performance and interpretation of this prelude.

Keywords music of the 20th century, music analysis, impressionism, symbolism, Fibonacci sequence, golden ratio, C. Debussy “La cathédrale engloutie”

For citation

Brailovsky, M. “On religious symbolism in Debussy’s prelude ‘La cathédrale engloutie’.” Muzykal’naya akademiya [Music Academy], no. 1, 2023, pp. 126–141, doi:10.34690/294. (In Russ.)

Acknowledgments

Author has to acknowledge the critical role of the “Piano Teachers Forum” of New Jersey and its president, Jason Gallagher, in facilitation of the research resulted in this article. Author is deeply grateful to Izaly Zemtsovsky for encouragement and his advice to become familiar with the Vladimir Yankelevitch’s writings. Special thanks go to Evgenia Chigareva and Irina Susidko, both who red and approved the synopsis of the article, and provided friendly support in the process of bringing it to the end.

Published 24.09.2022

Approved 15.12.2022

Submitted 27.03.2023

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