This is a README file for a data repository originating from the DCML corpus initiative and serves as welcome page for both
the GitHub repo DCMLab/debussy_piano and the corresponding
documentation page https://dcmlab.github.io/debussy_piano
For information on how to obtain and use the dataset, please refer to this documentation page.
The Claude Debussy Solo Piano Corpus#
The scores of Claude Debussy’s entire oeuvre for piano solo, in uncompressed MuseScore 3 format (.mscx).
Cite as#
This dataset has been released together with the publication
Laneve, S., Schaerf, L., Cecchetti, G., Hentschel, J., & Rohrmeier, M. (2023). The diachronic development of Debussy’s musical style: A corpus study with Discrete Fourier Transform. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1), 289. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01796-7
Data and Code from the article can be found in the publiction_data_and_code folder with instructions on how to run it.
Abstract#
Claude Debussy’s personal style is typically characterised as a departure from earlier diatonic tonality, including a greater variety of pitch-class materials organised in fragmented yet coherent compositions. Exploiting the music-theoretical interpretability of Discrete Fourier Transforms over pitch-class distributions, we performed a corpus study over Debussy’s solo-piano works in order to investigate the diachronic development of such stylistic features across the composer’s lifespan. We propose quantitative heuristics for the prevalence of different pitch-class prototypes, the fragmentation of a piece across different prototypes, as well as some aspect of the overall coherence of a piece. We found strong evidence for a decrease of diatonicity in favour of octatonicity, as well as for an increase of fragmentation accompanied by non-decreasing coherence. These results contribute to the understanding of the historical development of extended-tonal harmony, while representing a fertile testing ground for the interaction of computational corpus-based methods with traditional music analytical approaches.
License#
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
Naming convention#
Example: l075-01_suite_prelude.
The filenames follow the pattern l<###>[-##][_collection]_piece where optional components are given in brackets [].
The corresponding regular expression is l(?P<lesure>\d{3})(?:-(?P<mvt>\d{2}))?(?:_(?P<collection>[a-z]+?))?_(?P<piece>[a-z]+).
The components are:
lesure: A three-digit, zero-padded number corresponding to the original Lesure (1977) catalog. A mapping to the revised 2003 version can be found on Wikipedia.mvt(optional): A two-digit movement number.collection(optional): If a piece is part of a collection, the first word of it’s title.title: The first word of the piece’s title.
Titles are given in lowercase and without diacritics.
Overview#
debussy_childrens_corner#
file_name |
measures |
labels |
standard |
|---|---|---|---|
l113-01_childrens_doctor |
76 |
0 |
|
l113-02_childrens_jimbos |
81 |
0 |
|
l113-03_childrens_serenade |
124 |
0 |
|
l113-04_childrens_snow |
74 |
0 |
|
l113-05_childrens_little |
31 |
0 |
|
l113-06_childrens_golliwoggs |
128 |
0 |
debussy_deux_arabesques#
file_name |
measures |
labels |
standard |
|---|---|---|---|
l066-01_arabesques_premiere |
107 |
0 |
|
l066-02_arabesques_deuxieme |
110 |
0 |
debussy_estampes#
file_name |
measures |
labels |
standard |
|---|---|---|---|
l100-01_estampes_pagode |
98 |
0 |
|
l100-02_estampes_soiree |
136 |
0 |
|
l100-03_estampes_jardins |
157 |
0 |
debussy_etudes#
file_name |
measures |
labels |
standard |
|---|---|---|---|
l136-01_etudes_cinq |
116 |
0 |
|
l136-02_etudes_tierces |
76 |
0 |
|
l136-03_etudes_quartes |
85 |
0 |
|
l136-04_etudes_sixtes |
59 |
0 |
|
l136-05_etudes_octaves |
121 |
0 |
|
l136-06_etudes_huit |
68 |
0 |
|
l136-07_etudes_degres |
88 |
0 |
|
l136-08_etudes_agrements |
52 |
0 |
|
l136-09_etudes_notes |
84 |
0 |
|
l136-10_etudes_sonorites |
75 |
0 |
|
l136-11_etudes_arpeges |
67 |
0 |
|
l136-12_etudes_accords |
181 |
0 |
debussy_images#
file_name |
measures |
labels |
standard |
|---|---|---|---|
l087-01_images_lent |
57 |
0 |
|
l087-02_images_souvenir |
72 |
0 |
|
l087-03_images_quelques |
186 |
0 |
|
l110-01_images_reflets |
95 |
0 |
|
l110-02_images_hommage |
76 |
0 |
|
l110-03_images_mouvement |
177 |
0 |
|
l111-01_images_cloches |
49 |
0 |
|
l111-02_images_lune |
57 |
0 |
|
l111-03_images_poissons |
97 |
0 |
debussy_other_piano_pieces#
file_name |
measures |
labels |
standard |
|---|---|---|---|
l000_etude |
71 |
0 |
|
l000_soirs |
23 |
0 |
|
l009_danse |
92 |
0 |
|
l067_mazurka |
138 |
0 |
|
l068_reverie |
101 |
0 |
|
l069_tarentelle |
333 |
0 |
|
l070_ballade |
105 |
0 |
|
l071_valse |
151 |
0 |
|
l082_nocturne |
77 |
0 |
|
l099_cahier |
55 |
0 |
|
l105_masques |
381 |
0 |
|
l106_isle |
255 |
0 |
|
l108_morceau |
27 |
0 |
|
l114_petit |
87 |
0 |
|
l115_hommage |
118 |
0 |
|
l121_plus |
148 |
0 |
|
l132_berceuse |
68 |
0 |
|
l133_page |
38 |
0 |
|
l138_elegie |
21 |
0 |
debussy_pour_le_piano#
file_name |
measures |
labels |
standard |
|---|---|---|---|
l095-01_pour_prelude |
163 |
0 |
|
l095-02_pour_sarabande |
72 |
0 |
|
l095-03_pour_toccata |
266 |
0 |
debussy_preludes#
file_name |
measures |
labels |
standard |
|---|---|---|---|
l117-01_preludes_danseuses |
31 |
0 |
|
l117-02_preludes_voiles |
64 |
0 |
|
l117-03_preludes_vent |
59 |
0 |
|
l117-04_preludes_sons |
53 |
0 |
|
l117-05_preludes_collines |
96 |
0 |
|
l117-06_preludes_pas |
36 |
0 |
|
l117-07_preludes_ce |
70 |
0 |
|
l117-08_preludes_fille |
39 |
0 |
|
l117-09_preludes_serenade |
137 |
0 |
|
l117-10_preludes_cathedrale |
89 |
0 |
|
l117-11_preludes_danse |
96 |
0 |
|
l117-12_preludes_minstrels |
89 |
0 |
|
l123-01_preludes_brouillards |
52 |
0 |
|
l123-02_preludes_feuilles |
52 |
0 |
|
l123-03_preludes_puerta |
90 |
0 |
|
l123-04_preludes_fees |
127 |
0 |
|
l123-05_preludes_bruyeres |
51 |
0 |
|
l123-06_preludes_general |
109 |
0 |
|
l123-07_preludes_terrasse |
45 |
0 |
|
l123-08_preludes_ondine |
74 |
0 |
|
l123-09_preludes_hommage |
54 |
0 |
|
l123-10_preludes_canope |
33 |
0 |
|
l123-11_preludes_tierces |
165 |
0 |
|
l123-12_preludes_feux |
100 |
0 |
debussy_suite_bergamasque#
file_name |
measures |
labels |
standard |
|---|---|---|---|
l075-01_suite_prelude |
89 |
274 |
2.3.0 |
l075-02_suite_menuet |
104 |
305 |
2.3.0 |
l075-03_suite_clair |
72 |
150 |
2.3.0 |
l075-04_suite_passepied |
156 |
284 |
2.3.0 |
Further information: