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Date: | Thu, 11 Feb 1999 19:26:21 -1000 |
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Aaron Rabushka wrote:
>When I was teaching an adult music appreciation class some time ago I
>played the first movement of Debussy's "Nocturnes." At one point this
>features a pentatonic melody that, to me, "sounds Chinese." One of the
>students was from Taiwan and he didn't hear it as such.
As a Malaysian Chinese (though currently residing in Honolulu), and having
listened to the Nocturnes for over a year now, I've never considered the
first movement to be anything remotely "Chinese". Though Debussy may have
used pentatonic melodies, it doesn't really sound Chinese. Actually as I
am listening to it right now, it recalls more of Indonesian/Malaysian
ethnic music - especially the gamelans (orchestras basically made up of
only percussive instruments).
Jynn Tan
Honolulu, Hawaii
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