SOUND IMAGES OF THE EAST IN THE PIANO MUSIC OF EUROPEAN COMPOSERS OF THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES (AS ILLUSTRATED BY WORKS BY C. DEBUSSY AND C. SCOTT)

Abstract

This article examines the characteristics of the formation of Eastern sound imagery in the piano music of European composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, using the pieces «Pagodes» by Claude Debussy and «Lotus Land» by Cyril Scott as examples. The relevance of this study stems from the need to analyse the ways in which elements of Asian musical cultures are artistically reinterpreted within European musical thought and to identify their semantic functions. The concept of the «East» is regarded as a syncretic figurative category formed within European artistic consciousness, combining various cultural associations, symbols and sonic representations. The aim of the article is to identify the specific characteristics of Oriental markers and to clarify their role in the formation of the sound imagery of the East. The research methodology is based on a combination of historical-cultural, music-theoretical, semantic, comparative and performanceinterpretative methods. The analysis reveals that in «Pagodes», Oriental imagery has a distinct acoustic foundation linked to a creative reinterpretation of the sound of the Javanese gamelan. This is shaped by pentatonicism, the stratification of texture, elements of onomatopoeia, pedalling, timbral sonority and the specific treatment of musical time. In the «Lotus Land», the image of the East emerges more indirectly – through the poetic symbolism of the title, a chromatically rich melodic-harmonic language, ornamentation, flexibility of tempo and rhythm, and colouristic effects. It has been found that in both works, oriental elements do not literally reproduce authentic musical traditions, but are integrated into the composers’ individual systems and acquire different semantic meanings. The comparative analysis also demonstrates an expansion of the piano’s timbral, colouristic, spatial and sonorous possibilities, where register, articulation, pedal use, textural organisation, and dynamic and agogic nuances become important vehicles for artistic expression.