Unknown impressionism
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- “Prelude № 5”
| “The Lone Wreck” from the series “Tides” (1920–1921) Baines proposes an image of his favourite marine subjects: lone wreck lies on a shore, washed by sea waves sometimes less sometimes more. Despite of a simple binary form (a+a1+a2+a3) clearness here is kept an idea of a static character in a music flow. The texture as a leading means consists of three layers, the first one is a permanent tonic octave in a bass, the second (middle) one is an arpeggio principally based on the tonic triad (es-moll), the third (upper) one is a melody constructed by short tunes where occasionally is employed the VI Dorian degree. (Ex.6)
Ex. 6 William Baines, The Lone Wreck 
Tendency to colouring of harmony is appreciable in last chord of the piece – a secondary seventh chord with a major seventh on the tonic bass. Carpenter considers Baines` treatment of the compositions endings as the most individual of all the hallmarks of his style6. “Prelude № 5” from the series “Seven Preludes” (1919) is extremely significant example of an impressionistic style in the works by Baines. Its subtitle “Poppies gleaming in the moonlight” point-blank has something in common with music images by Debussy (e.g., piano preludes № 4 “Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l`air du soir”, № 19 “La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune”). Here we can see the same desire to express a personal impression of unusual, rather mysterious picture where a dreamy atmosphere of a moon night animating the usual flowers turns them into fantastical creatures. Roger Carpenter proposing another elucidation for this image, also notes that “atmosphere is extraordinarily brought out by the sense of colour”: The swirling harmony of № 5 … alternates between the keys of F sharp and F, the opiate warmth of F sharp suggesting the red hue of the poppies, and the cooler F major the silvery moonlight7. From the point of view of the image realization it was in a full measure a mature work where the impressionistic means manifest themselves in concentrated condition. First of all the structure of Prelude demonstrates an idea of tune germination in a ternary form (a + a1)(b + b1)a2. The tune from the theme a (bar 6) will be in the theme b1, the intonations from theme b will be in theme b1, the last tune from theme a will be on the joints of the form – after a1, b1, a2 (and inside of it). The harmony and texture aspects are the next important means of an impressionistic mood in this piece. Sometimes Baines creates an effect of permanent moving, of mutability using chords without resolution. So in the introduction there is a figuration, based on the seventh chord with flattened fifth. Then the theme a appears from this figuration where there are secondary seventh chord with minor third, then the third inversion of the seventh chord and resolution in d minor. The main colouring feature of the theme a1 is a pentatonic scale as the foundation of a figurative line. The same colouring effect is on the joint between the themes b1 and a2: the dominant ninth chord to F major and instead of resolution here is used the secondary seventh chord with minor third on eis (enharmonic equivalent f). The last chord of Prelude is the F major triad with sixth accentuated by its position as a syncope sound and at the same time as the main sound of a tune. (Ex.7a, 7b, 7c) Ex. 7 a William Baines, Prelude No. 5, theme a 
Ex. 7 b William Baines, Prelude No. 5, theme b 
Ex. 7 c William Baines, Prelude No. 5, the final bars 
Thus some Baines` piano works demonstrate active interest in Impressionism beginning from subjects (non-traditional vision of nature pictures, of marine element, fantastic images, hearing phenomena) until the special music devices as a structure, a texture, a harmony, a melody, modal and rhythm peculiarities for creation of such subjects. Download 3.96 Mb. Share with your friends:
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