In name only : the interaction of title and genre in the sonata forms of Debussy and Ravel

Includes abstract and vita.This dissertation examines the extent to which the title of a sonata form interacts with its generic context, looking specifically at works by Debussy and Ravel. I start by tracing the historiagraphy of sonatas (from the eighteenth century to the present) and considering a set of alternative perspectives, such as theories of narrative, discontunuity, and phenomenology. I consider the semiotic perspectives of Nattiez: the "poietic" perspective--a look into the relevant influences of the two composers (including both late-nineteenth-century French sonatas as well as historical musicology); and the "esthesic" perspective, which considers the perception of these works in terms of Sonata Components, a set of three axioms based on a generic compilation of theories on sonata. Extending the definition of poietic and esthesic, I divide the analyses (chamber and solo works) into two groups: those possessing an abstract title and those possessing a "subjective" title. Movements that contain an abstract ("generic") title invoke the sonata genre in terms of both the poietic and esthetic poles, whereas the latter prioritizes the esthesic. Applying the objective conditions offered by the Components, I measure--in the abstract title group--the extent to which an objective schemata of sonata form is confirmed or reconstructed, introducing the phenomenon of "semiotic clash" and "semiotic reconstruction." While it is traditional to apply sonata axioms to compositions that carry abstract titles, such considerations have not been consistently applied to those with "subjective titles"--works that seem to suggest ad-hoc formal procedures (based upon esthesic cues). I contribute two new concepts: the notion of "post-expositional breakthrough" (PEB) and a formal paradigm called "resetting the formal compass" (RFC). Breakthroughs are the result of a formal discontinuity, in which a process suddenly ceases, only to be resumed following a point of "apotheosis" (or Adorno's Durchbruch). RFC is a formal function that results from the music "losing its formal bearings," veering away from any predictable backdrop; as a result, the music suddenly changes course, offering a blanket of sound that serves as a "memoryless" buffer. I posit that many works by Debussy and Ravel of this "subjective" category can be viewed through the traditional sonata lens, facilitating a reconsideration of this genre in fin-de-siáecle French contexts. After considering each group independently, I compare the analyses of both and consider the broad impact of a title's influence on generic context and formal perception. Conclusively, I establish that the procedures outlined in both groups exhibit distinct twentieth-century sonata conceptions that are uniquely French