Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune

Background#

About his composition, Debussy wrote that: The music of this prelude is a very free illustration of Mallarmé’s beautiful poem. By no means does it claim to be a synthesis of it. Rather there is a succession of scenes through which pass the desires and dreams of the faun in the heat of the afternoon. Then, tired of pursuing the timorous flight of nymphs and naiads, he succumbs to intoxicating sleep, in which he can finally realize his dreams of possession in universal Nature. Paul Valéry recorded the observation that upon being informed of Debussy’s composition, Mallarmé himself was unhappy with his poem being used as the basis for music: He believed that his own music was sufficient, and that even with the best intentions in the world, it was a veritable crime as far as poetry was concerned to juxtapose poetry and music, even if it were the finest music there is. However, his opinion changed after attending the premiere performance at Debussy’s invitation; Mallarmé wrote to him that: I have just come out of the concert, deeply moved. The marvel! Your illustration of the Afternoon of a Faun, which presents no dissonance with my text, but goes much further, really, into nostalgia and into light, with finesse, with sensuality, with richness. I shake your hand admiringly, Debussy. Yours, Mallarmé.

Composition#

The work is scored for three flutes, two oboes, cor anglais, two clarinets in A and B, two bassoons, four horns, two harps, two crotales and strings. Although many refer to the Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune as a tone poem, it lacks the musically programmatic form of the style; instead, the slow and mediated melody and layered orchestration as a whole evoke the eroticism of Mallarmé’s poem. This prelude was Debussy’s musical response to the poem of Stephane Mallarmé (1842–1898), in which a faun playing his pan-pipes alone in the woods becomes aroused by passing nymphs and naiads, pursues them unsuccessfully, then wearily abandons himself to a sleep filled with visions. Though called a “prelude,” the work is nevertheless complete – an evocation of the feelings of the poem as a whole. Debussy had intended to compose a second and third movement, an Interlude and Paraphrase finale, respectively, but he decided to concentrate all of his musical ideas into one movement. The Prélude at first listening seems improvisational and almost free-form; however, closer observation will demonstrate that the piece consists of a complex organization of musical cells, motifs carefully developed and traded between members of the orchestra. A close analysis of the piece reveals a high degree of compositional consciousness on Debussy’s part. The main musical themes are introduced by woodwinds, with delicate but harmonically advanced accompaniment of muted horns, strings and harp. Recurring tools in Debussy’s compositional arsenal make appearances in this piece: extended whole-tone scale runs, harmonic fluidity without lengthy modulations between central keys, and tritones in both melody and harmony. The opening flute solo consists of a chromatic descent to a tritone below the original pitch and then subsequent ascent. The development of the slow main theme transitions smoothly between , , and . Debussy uses sophisticated voicings and orchestration, allowing the main melodic cell to move from solo flute to oboe, back to solo flute, then to two unison flutes (yielding a completely different atmosphere to the melody), then to clarinet, and so on. Even the accompaniment explores alternate voicings: the flute duo’s crescendo during their melodic cells accompany legato strings with violas carrying the soprano part over alto violins (the tone of a viola in its upper register being especially pronounced). ;Main theme : \relative cis’ \clef treble \time 9/8 \key cis \minor \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo “Très modéré” 4. = 36 \override Score.SpacingSpanner #‘common-shortest-duration = #(ly:make-moment 1 8) \set Staff.midiInstrument = “flute” \stemDown cis'4.(^“Flute”\p cis8\markup \italic “doux et expressif” cis16 \set stemRightBeamCount = #1 b \times 2/3 \set stemLeftBeamCount = #1 ais16 a gis g8. a16 b bis) cis4.( cis8 cis16 \set stemRightBeamCount = #1 b \times 2/3 \set stemLeftBeamCount = #1 ais16 a gis g8. a16 b bis) \override DynamicLineSpanner.staff-padding = #3 cis8(\ b cis ais4)! ;Ambiguous chord progression : \new PianoStaff (\p^“Horn” e8e4– \time 6/8 )~ aes4.! \ r8 r16 c,( \p\ c d4!) » \new Staff \relative c’ \clef treble \time 9/8 \key cis \minor \set Staff.midiInstrument = “clarinet” \once \override Staff.TimeSignature #‘stencil = ##f r4 r8 2.\p>^“Winds” \set Staff.midiInstrument = “string ensemble 1” \time 6/8 \clef bass \once \override TextScript #‘self-alignment-X = #-1.6 \pp“Strings/Harp” » ;Theme : \relative c’ \clef treble \time 12/8 \key cis \minor \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4. = 44 \set Score.currentBarNumber = #28 \bar "" \set Staff.midiInstrument = “flute” \times 2/3 gis16(^“Flute”\f ais \set stemRightBeamCount = #1 gis \times 2/3 \set stemLeftBeamCount = #1 fis gis \set stemRightBeamCount = #1 fis \times 2/3 \set stemLeftBeamCount = #1 dis e dis) cis( dis ais4)~ ais8 ;Theme – similar to the main theme in chromaticism and contour. Uses a whole-tone scale in m. 32. : \relative d’ \new Staff \with \remove “Time_signature_engraver” \clef treble \time 12/8 \key f \major \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 2. = 22 \set Staff.midiInstrument = “clarinet” \partial 8*3 f4(\ g4!~ g32 fis(\ e)! \override DynamicLineSpanner.staff-padding = #2.5 \time 3/4 f32(\ ;Theme – similar contour to the main theme. : \relative c’ \clef treble \time 3/4 \key cis \minor \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo “En animant” 4 = 64 \set Score.currentBarNumber = #37 \bar "" \set Staff.midiInstrument = “oboe” cis'8^“Oboe”(\markup \italic “doux et expressif” b16 gis fis4~ fis16 b cis gis’) fis( dis e cis b gis fis b cis8 b16 gis) gis(\cresc b b8)~ b16( d d8)~ d16( b cis d) \set Staff.midiInstrument = “violin” gis^“Violin” ( b b8)~ b16( d d8)~ d16( b cis d)! ;Secondary theme : \relative c’ \new Staff \with \remove “Time_signature_engraver” \clef treble \time 3/4 \key des \major \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo \markup \concat “Même mouvt” \translate #’(-0.8 . 0) “.” “et très soutenu” 4 = 56 \set Score.currentBarNumber = #55 \bar "" \set Staff.midiInstrument = “clarinet” aes2(^“Woodwinds”\p\markup \italic “expressif et très soutenu” f4 es4. des8~\ ;Theme – new melodic idea created by combining fragments of two previous melodies. : \relative c’ \new Staff \with \remove “Time_signature_engraver” \clef treble \key des \major \time 3/4 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo “Toujours animé” 4 = 56 \set Score.currentBarNumber = #67 \bar "" \set Staff.midiInstrument = “string ensemble 1” \override TextSpanner #’(bound-details left text) = \markup \italic “cresc. molto” \textSpannerDown bes'16(^“Strings”\mp des des8)_\startTextSpan des16( c c8) c16 bes(\ ;Theme – related to main theme. : \relative a \clef treble \time 4/4 \key a \minor \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo “Un peu plus animé” 4 = 56 \set Score.currentBarNumber = #83 \bar "" \set Staff.midiInstrument = “oboe” r8 g’–\p^“Oboe” g g\startTrillSpan\sfz> \slashedGrace a8(\stopTrillSpan g16)! fis-. f-. e-. e8–\ ;Final chromatic harmonization of the main theme : \relative e \clef treble \key e \major \time 12/8 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo “Très lent et très retenu jusqu’à la fin” 4. = 36 % This marking is one measure earlier than the excerpt \set Score.currentBarNumber = #107 \bar "" \set Staff.midiInstrument = “string ensemble 1” 4.( 8. 16 ) 4.(~ 8. 16 ) 2. The composition totals 110 bars. If one counts the incomplete lines of verse as one, Mallarmé’s text likewise adds up to 110 lines. The second section in D starts at bar 55, exactly halfway through the work. The piece is scored for orchestra including 3 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 harps, 2 crotales, and strings.

Ballet versions#

In 1912, the piece was made into a short ballet, with costumes and sets by painter Léon Bakst, which was choreographed and performed by the renowned dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. It proved to be highly controversial because of the dancers’ non-traditional movements and because of a moment in which the faun appears to masturbate. In 1958, another ballet by Jerome Robbins was made, which has been frequently performed by many companies.

Literature#

In Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain it is implied that protagonist Hans Castorp listened to Debussy’s piece on a gramophone. In the book, the Prélude is one of his favorite recordings, and leads him to daydream about a faun playing pipes in an oneiric landscape.

Cinema#

In Bruno Bozzetto’s 1976 animation film Allegro non troppo, Debussy’s Prélude drives the first animation section, depicting an elderly satyr that attempts in vain to cosmetically recapture his youth and virility.

Transcription#

Claude Debussy himself transcribed the piece for performance on two pianos in 1895. Other transcriptions include: the arrangement of Maurice Ravel for piano four hands, the flute and piano version of Gustave Samazeuilh, the arrangement for Pierrot ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano) by Tim Mulleman, a transcription for flute, clarinet and piano by Michael Webster, and an arrangement for the instruments of Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro (flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet) with an additional double bass, by Graeme Steele Johnson. The Russian pianist Vyacheslav Gryaznov also transcribed it for solo piano. Linos Piano Trio arranged the piece for piano trio and included it on their 2021 album Stolen Music. Another version was transcribed by composer Paolo Fradiani for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, harp and strings, and published by Universal Edition . Benno Sachs, a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg, reorchestrated the work for a chamber ensemble which included a piano and a harmonium, for Schoenberg’s Society for Private Musical Performances, which took place on 27 October 1920.

Further reading#

• • Hendrik Lücke: “Mallarmé – Debussy. Eine vergleichende Studie zur Kunstanschauung am Beispiel von L’Après-midi d’un Faune”. (Studien zur Musikwissenschaft, vol. 4). Dr. Kovac, Hamburg 2005, .

External links#

• Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, score, patachonf.free.fr
• Program notes by Richard Freed, January 2004
• , Tmesis Ensemble, Etcetera Records 2019