Submitted by Patty O., Arkansas
Idea posted October 26, 2004
I made up is story in my head to help me memorize "La Cathedrale Engloutie" by Debussy. Here it is as I hear it:
- Measure 1: The sea is calm and there is a mist hanging over it.
- Measure 6: Bells are heard ringing in the distance.
- Measure 16: The waves begin to gently roll as if there were movement underneath the water.
- Measure 22: The cathedral slowly rises out of the water - spires are seen first, then slowly the building emerges.
- Measure 28: Bells are heard clearly as the bell towers emerge out of the water. The ringing of the bells increases powerfully and then dies away.
- Measure 47: The solemn voices of the monks are heard echoing throughout the cathedral. As they pray together, their voices grow in strength and fervor. Their prayer has ended and the voices fade.
- Measure 70: The waves begin to flow again as the cathedral is heard distantly for the last moments as it slowly sinks back to the depths of the sea.
- Measure 81: The spires disappear.
- Measure 84: The fog slowly moves back in over the calm sea. The ghostly cathedral is gone.
That's how I see it, anyway. There is much room for interpretation in this beautiful piece. The kids are also in awe when they hear it played live! (It's not a difficult piece.) What I have done with this piece: I handed out cards with clue words on them as to the story above (i.e., One card would say "The sea is calm," another might say "The voices of the monks are heard," etc.) As they listen to the piece they put their cards in order at the sections where they think they hear that specific event. We discuss the cards before we start the "guided listening" ("What would monks voices sound like?," "What would waves sound like?," etc.) I have broken kids into groups, and they have created that section of the story on paper. Then we put it together to make a mural with the words (like on the cards) above each section and include a brief biography of Debussy at the beginning. We have also studied impressionistic art in connection with this piece. We studied Debussy's life, and my students are particularly moved by the letter from his daughter about the death of Debussy.