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 https://github.com/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