Download Skyler Butenshon History and Literature of Music: Program Notes

Skyler Butenshon
History and Literature of Music: Program Notes
Debussy's Prelude to "The Afternoon of a Faun"
"A Precursor to Modern Music"
First Performed: Paris, December 22, 1894
Orchestration: 3 flutes, 2 Oboes, 1 English horn, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns in F, 2
Harps, Antique Cymbals, Strings.
Length: approximately 10 minutes
The origins of Debussy's celebrated orchestral work Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune,
translated as Prelude to "The Afternoon of a Faun," can be traced back to the friendship he
developed with symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé. Though Mallarmé was twenty years older
than Debussy, the two were brought together through a series of mutual friends and artistic
connections in France1. The Paris World Exposition was happening in the year 1889, and it was
supposedly then that Debussy first encountered Mallarmé, who was writing in his notebook
while the two were attending the same concert. Debussy was aware of Mallarmé and his
poetry before they were introduced; at the age of twenty-two, Debussy had set an earlier
Mallarmé poem called Apparition (written in 1863)2. In 1876, Mallarmé published his final
version of L'Apres-midi d'un faune, which became the lyrical inspiration for Debussy's purely
orchestral Prelude to "The Afternoon of a Faun." In May of 1893, at which point Debussy and
Mallarmé were growing into good friends, they attended the play Pelleas et Melisande
together. The exact time in which Debussy began writing The Faun is unknown, but it would
not be far-fetched to presume that the two would have been discussing various possibilities of
the music of Debussy’s Faun and its connections to the poem at this particular meeting.
Debussy was in the midst of some of his busiest years as a composer when the Faun was
being written. In 1893, he had composed at least one scene of Pelleas, played illustrations for a
lecture on the Ring by Mendes, and his piece Damoiselle was first performed3. Debussy
finished composing the Faun by September 6th of the same year. In 1894, he was writing more
piano pieces and continuing progress on his Nocturnes, which must have left little time for
completing the score of the Faun and having it published. It was nonetheless performed for the
first time on December 22nd and 23rd; conducted by Gustave Doret and judged a great
success. In the following years, the piece became so popular and frequently performed that it
nearly overshadowed Debussy's newest compositions. By 1899, when Debussy was ready to
introduce his Nocturnes, he had to protest against the Faun being performed on the same
program.
1
Austin, William W.
2
Austin, William W.
3
François Lesure and Roy Howat
Despite the vast amount of musical works he created during his life in the Romantic
Period, the Prelude to "The Afternoon of a Faun" is remembered as one of Debussy's finest
pieces and considered an enormous influence on later composers. The first listen might
suggest a free form or improvisational structure, but closer examination shows a great deal of
complex motif organization and careful trading of themes between different instrument
sections. The lack of a tonal center is certainly noticeable, and yet there are many moments of
pleasant tonal sounds, however fleeting they may be. Since each musical phrase seems to flow
and cling to every other part, it is difficult to take certain sections out of context and fully
understand their role in the entire piece. The frequent overlapping and elusive, subtle
similarities make it so only the most central theme – which is also the introduction of the piece
played as a flute solo – is distinctly memorable.
It is around this subject that the entire piece seems to grab onto: a step-wise decent
from C sharp to G natural, and then an accent of the same nature. The key to this is the tritone
interval between the end notes of the phrase. Especially in the Romantic era, the tritone (or
diminished fifth) is nothing new to the musical world. However, to make it such a framework
for a long orchestral piece is only asking for a nebulous, attention-grabbing sound. The lack of
clear and lasting tonality directly compliments the dream-like element of Mallarmé’s poem –
the last line of which reads:
“Now I must simply nap, forget my blasphemy, / Stretching my legs on rumpled sand, and
happily / Must yawn at yonder start that keeps vines growing! / Couple good-bye; to see the
shadow you become I’m going.” 4
While Debussy was heavily influenced by composers before and during his time
(especially Wagner), he created his own sound of radical harmonies that made a profound
impact on the next generation of composers – defining the twentieth century and what became
known as “modern music.” The music of Igor Stravinsky, Bela Bartok, Maurice Ravel, and even
minimalists like Steve Reich and Philip Glass all owe Debussy, and in particular The Prelude to
“The Afternoon of a Faun”, for helping shape the style of the post-Romantic era.
Debussy’s use of imagery is and color is arguably his most notable contribution to
Western music, and these ideas and tools were unsurprisingly taken and redone by following
composers.5 Late Romantic music and the push into modern music take from Debussy the
ideas of a free-flowing, unpredictable form of music. Though Debussy wrote many works using
this concept, The Faun will always be the most famous example of this sound. In this way, The
Faun will always be considered a turning point for music; a piece that defied the old need of
melodic structure and tonality, and embraced the listener’s desire for music that takes them to
a dream.
4
Austin, William W.
5
Burkholder, James Peter
Bibliography:
Austin, William W., ed. Prelude to "The Afternoon of a Faun" An Authoritative Score. New York:
Norton Critical Scores, 1970. Print.
Burkholder, James Peter, Donald Jay. Grout, and Claude V. Palisca. A History of Western Music.
New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010. Print.
François Lesure and Roy Howat. "Debussy, Claude." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
18 Mar. 2010 <http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/07353>.