Can Debussys Music be accurately described as Impressionist?
… even if it originates from such an influential institution. Before determining how the term Impressionism could be applied, if at all, to Debussy’s music, we must first ascertain exactly what it is. Impressionism as a visual art form grew out of a frustration with traditional 19th Century styles of painting, resulting in vivid, colourful works where the artist’s interpretation of the subject have had great influence upon the final result, with a particular focus on nature in all its forms rather than more traditional subjects. Oscar Thompson, cited in Schmitz, states that the aim of Impressionism is ‘to mirror not the object but the emotional reaction to the object; to interpret a fugitive impression rather than to seize upon and fix the permanent reality’.2 Palmer argues that an important focus of Impressionistic works is their tendency to focus on matter which can distort the subject, obvious examples being light, mist and …
