Steve Reich and Debussy: Some Connexions

Extract

Debussy's Works offer numerous examples of what, with historical hindsight, could be called systemic thinking. Texture is built up from repetitions of various elements—melodic scraps, trills, runs, figures—in such a way that the traditional view of Debussy as a primarily harmonic composer has to be temporarily abandoned. The combinations that these repetitions produce have a connexion with the innovative harmonic practices for which Debussy is famous; but this should not blind us to the fact that the underlying thought is often, in the good sense of the word, repetitious—see Examples 1 and 2, for instance.