The Breakthrough of Impressionist Music in Traditional Functional Harmony and Its Enlightenment for Contemporary Music — 印象主义音乐对传统功能和声的突破与当代音乐的启示
Institute of Musicology, Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing, China（中央音乐学院音乐学研究所，北京，中国）
Abstract
Impressionist music emerged at the turn of the twentieth century as a significant reorientation of traditional functional harmony. Rather than prioritizing tonal stability and structural teleology, Impressionist composers foregrounded harmonic color, timbre, and atmospheric resonance as primary expressive elements. Drawing on existing scholarship on Impressionist harmony, this article examines how the use of whole-tone scales, pentatonic materials, blurred cadences, and pedal techniques reshaped conventional harmonic logic and rebalanced the relationship between function and sonority.
Moving beyond a purely historical account, the study further explores how this color-oriented harmonic thinking continues to inform contemporary film scoring. By emphasizing atmosphere, timbral space, and perceptual immersion, contemporary film music extends the Impressionist sonic paradigm into modern audiovisual contexts. In this sense, Impressionist harmony may be understood not merely as a historical technique, but as an enduring mode of sonic perception that bridges past and present listening practices.
印象主义音乐作为19世纪末20世纪初西方音乐史上的重要革新流派，打破了传统功能和声体系桎梏，重塑了音乐表达逻辑与审美维度。本文以印象主义音乐突破传统功能和声为核心切入，通过既有印象主义和声研究对色彩化、非功能性和声语言的探讨，进而将这一和声思维延伸至当代电影配乐中并为其提供理论参照，揭示印象主义音乐连接过去与未来的桥梁作用。
Keywords:
Impressionist Music; Functional Harmony; Harmonic Color; Film Scoring; Sonic Paradigm; 印象主义音乐; 功能和声; 和声革新; 当代音乐; 色彩化思维Data Availability Statement
No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study. All relevant materials are contained within the article.
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