Musical Borrowing
An Annotated Bibliography

Individual record

[+] Baron, Carol K. "Varèse's Explication of Debussy's Syrinx in Density 21.5 and an Analysis of Varèse's Composition: A Secret Model Revealed." The Music Review 43 (May 1982): 121-34.

Varèse's composition Density 21.5 is in the truest sense musical parody, as it uses another work as its structural basis: Debussy's Syrinx. Structural similarities exist between the two pieces, such as the use of the two whole-tone scales as basic pitch collections. Though Varèse himself never explicitly confirmed this connection, Density may be read as a commentary upon Debussy's piece.

Works: Varèse: Density 21.5.

Sources: Debussy: Syrinx.

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Susan Richardson



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