IMPRESSIONISM EXPRESSIONISM
Originated as an art movement that presents an The term expressionism was invented by art critics
immediate impression of an object or event. to describe a style of painting which developed as a
Impressionist painters try to show what the eye reaction to the art movement called
sees at a glance, rather than what they know or impressionism.
feel about the object. Impressionist painters were mainly concerned with
In similar, Impressionist music may be described how the surface of objects appeared to the eye at a
generally as having refinement, delicacy, and particular moment.
overall luminous fog atmosphere. In contrast, some of the expressionist painter used
There are descriptive devices to suggest sounds like striking colors and distorted shapes.
waves, wind, sea, waterfalls, and images of Expressionism conveyed the anguish of the poor
moonlight. and the horrors of war which made it a social
These descriptive musical elements can be heard protest.
from the works of French composers Claude Social protest is a form of political
Debussy and Maurice Ravel. expression that seeks to bring
Most of the time, their subject is nature. about social or political change by
They also use dissonances(lack of harmony), influencing the knowledge, attitudes, and
uncommon scales, like whole tone scale, as a behaviors of the public or the policies of
descriptive device in some of their works. an organization or institution.
Applied in music, expressionism is generally
Claude Debussy described as music that express true emotions with
exaggeration.
Expressionist music was very atonal (not written in
any key or mode) and dissonant.
These are manifested in the music of Arnold
Schoenberg, who is considered as one of the
famous expressionists of is time.
His atonal music is one of the styles that best
describes what expressionist music is all about.
Arnold Schoenberg