Réti concluded that Debussy’s achievement was the synthesis of monophonic-based
‘melodic tonality’ with harmonies, albeit different from those of ‘harmonic tonality’.
Debussy’s music is very concerned with mood and colour, so it is surprising to discover
that some of his major works were structured around mathematical models while using a
classical structure such as sonata form. Howat (1983) suggesed that some of Debussy’s
pieces can be divided into sections that reflect the golden ratio. In some pieces these
divisions follow the standard divisions of the overall structure while in others they mark
out other significant features of the music.
In ‘La Cathédrale Engloutie’ the published editions lack the instruction to play bars 7-12
and 22-83 at twice the speed of the remainder which Debussy himself did in his
reproducing piano recording. When the piece is analysed with this alteration, it follows
golden section proportions.
Debussy was one of the most influential composers of the twentieth century and is one of
the most important and popular composers for the piano. His harmonies, radical in their
day, influenced almost every major composer of the twentieth century, especially
Stravinsky, Messiaën, Bartók and Boulez.
DIMINUENDO
Diminuendo, also called decrescendo, is a decrease in the volume of piano sound in a
musical phrase. It is obtained by decreasing by degrees the pressure with which the
fingers strike each note. Diminuendo is a vital part of the cantabile style and of all
espressive piano playing.
Diminuendo is a common way of playing a descending phrase, just as crescendo is a
common way of playing an ascending phrase. Diminuendo is marked by the composer
by the word ‘diminuendo’ or its abbreviation ‘dim.’ or by a decreasing ‘hairpin’.
In a diminuendo it is vital to plan the dynamic level so that it starts sufficiently loudly so
that the diminuendo can be made effective.
If silence is the greatest effect in music then diminuendo is perhaps the second greatest
effect. A person who heard Chopin play said that on one occasion he seemed to use
diminuendo throughout every phrase. Chopin in his own music very often specifically
marks the diminuendo particularly in descending passages.
A diminuendo is very useful in descending sequences in Bach and elsewhere, and, with
or without a rallentando, is also often used for the end of a phrase.
It has been said that Mozart never needed to mark a diminuendo because this should
always be applied to the notes under a slur in his music, whether the slur covers two notes
or any number of notes in excess of two. As an absolute rule in all cases this may be