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Optional Areas of Study (Appraising)
Quick questions on Into the Twentieth Century area of study: impressionism and set works - WJEC A-Level Music
4short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is model paragraph?Show answer
Debussy builds atmosphere by loosening the rules of tonality. In a piece like Nuages the harmony refuses to settle: slow chords glide in parallel motion, sevenths and ninths sliding side by side without resolving, and a whole-tone or modal colour removes the familiar pull towards a tonic, so the music seems to float. Melody is fragmentary and modal, a cor anglais idea returning like a recurring image rather than a developed theme, and the orchestration is chosen for colour, muted strings, harp and flute washing the texture in soft light.
What is q1?Show answer
What is the whole-tone scale, and why does it blur tonality? [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Name two features of Debussy's impressionist style. [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Analyse how Debussy creates an impressionist soundworld, with reference to a set work. [20 marks]
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