Conventional and Unconventional Tonality in Debussy’s Second Book of Preludes

Along the way of his musical studies, the author has picked up a growing interest in Claude Debussy’s music and especially in his unique brand of tonality, which sounded to him neither too far away from conventional tonality, nor too deeply anchored in its common practices. Debussy was a revolutionary; not in the way that broke up with anything that was held as law, but rather through a mixture of conventional practice and new elements, which imbues his music with an original charm. The paper focuses on Debussy’s tonal language in the Préludes for piano. Any attempt to analyse Debussy’s music is a perilous adventure, because of his revolutionary nature and his conviction that music must evolve, and not bask in the reflected glory of past masters. He sought the unconventional, the breaking of laws that would hinder progress; in this respect, he sought to hide his music from conventional practices – which he nevertheless didn’t completely forget. His music is, by excellence, an elusive music.