BIBFRAME Work

Title

Debussy, Bergson and the music of 'la duree'

Type

• Monograph
• Text

Contribution

• Frantz, Charles Frederick (aut)

Subject

• Time in music (LCSH)
• Debussy, Claude, 1862-1918--Criticism and interpretation. (LCSH)
• Bergson, Henri, 1859-1941 (LCNAF)
• Music--20th century--Analysis, appreciation (LCSH)

Language

• English

Classification

• LCC: ML410.D28 (Assigner: dlc) (Status: used by assigner)
• DDC: 781.1/7 (Assigner: dlc)

Content

• text

Supplementary content

• bibliography
• index

Summary

"In fin-de-siècle Paris, Debussy was revolutionizing musical time while Bergson was establishing a metaphysics that challenged the notion of measured or spatialized time. Bergson argued that real time or durée could be grasped only through intuition as opposed to analysis. Debussy eschewed analysis of music declaring that separating it into parts was better left to engineers. Debussy's music and Bergson's durée were conceived and imagined in the environs of nature. The cycle of seasons, the gracefulness of a blooming flower or a gentle breeze all suggest continuity, flow, and uninterrupted rhythm. The time of nature is the time of Debussy's music and Bergson's durée. Debussy's use of open forms and Golden Sections create a time world of an expanded present, never ceasing. Bergson's perception of real time is ever changing bringing the past into the present and open to unforeseen novelty. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of Debussy's music through the lens of Bergson's philosophical perspective of durée reveals his 'revolution' in musical time"-- Provided by publisher.

Authorized Access Point

Frantz, Charles Frederick. Debussy, Bergson and the music of 'la duree'

Admin Metadata

• Date: 2026-09-11T20:13:36.002878+00:00
• Agent: cbc
• Status: c
• Derived from: 23786172

Admin Metadata

• Date: 2026-09-11
• Cataloger id: Unknown
• Description level: http://id.loc.gov/ontologies/bibframe-2-6-0/
• Description language: eng
• Description authentication: pcc