Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un Faun
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Claude Debussy stands as one of the most important figure in music as it grew from the Romantic Period of the late 19th Century into the progressive musical styles of the 20th Century. While he disdained the use of the term as applied to his music, Debussy was the preeminent composer of Impressionist music and Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un Faun is one of the finest, and most well-known examples of Debussy’s early forays into that form.
Debussy was trained at the Paris Conservatoire in the classical style. He, however, felt stifled by the rigid application of form advocated by the musical establishment of the day. While his instructors considered his approach to composition rebellious, Debussy considered it more of an evolution.
After several frustrating ventures in the musical mainstream of Europe, Debussy settled back in Paris and began associating with poets and writers associated with the Symbolist movement. Symbolism was an outgrowth of French literature of the mid- to late-19th Century and served as a rebellion against realism. While the genesis of Symbolism was in the poetry of Charles Beaudelaire, Stephane Mallerme was the poet most closely associated with Symbolism as it developed in the coffee houses of Paris in the 1880s.
Debussy felt attracted to the ideals of the Symbolists and endeavored to find a way to incorporate them into his composition. This presented some serious challenges because symbolism can be fairly apparent in the written word, but is more difficult to convey in music. He ultimately became discouraged by the Symbolists’ idolatry of Wagner, feeling that Wagner’s music did not provide enough of an avenue for musical departure and growth.
He began associating with artists who belonged to the Impressionist school, as well as searching for inspiration in other areas. He found his inspiration at the 1894 World Exposition when he first heard Javanese Gamelan music. While Gamelan groups contain strings and woodwinds, they are most known for their percussion instruments and the complex rhythms of the music. These rhythms, as well as the tonality of Gamelan music, appealed to Debussy and his compositions began to reflect his fascination with this genre.
Debussy still considered himself a Symbolist, feeling that the Impressionist label that had been attached to his music failed to capture the true nature of his compositions. He began to experiment with ways of communicating symbolism through music, both audibly and inaudibly. He composed the Prelude at a time when he had first begun to experiment with Symbolism in his music.
Debussy, interestingly enough, wrote this piece shortly before being exposed to one of his most significant musical influences, the Javanese Gamelan music. Debussy based the Prelude on a poem by Stephane Mallerme entitled L’apres-midi d’un Faun. The poem is about a faun who, after awaking from a nap, discusses his sensual dreams with several nymphs. The poem is considered by many to be one of the greatest poems in French literature, and one of the greatest examples of Symbolism in literature.
Debussy admired Mallerme and wanted to collaborate with him in setting the poem to music. He initially conceived of a three movement piece, something of a Symbolist symphony, comprised of a Prelude, an Interlude, and a Paraphrase finale. He only completed the first of the three movements, though.
The piece was premiered in 1894 and was met with much criticism. Music critics felt that the piece was too “formless” and lacked tonal unity. This is an unfair criticism, though, because the piece does have an identifiable form. That form is just not presented in an obvious manner, as it had been during earlier musical periods. In the years since its premiere, though, it has captured the imagination of countless music lovers and elevated Debussy into the ranks of the pioneers of the past like Dufay, Josquin, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Wagner.
Prelude begins with a solo flute playing a very rhythmically loose melody, intended to represent the pan flute of the faun. The woodwinds then enter with a Wagnerian chord as the first horn floats above the woodwind choir to assume the lead. The faun returns with a reprise of the opening three measures, passing the melody off to the horns again. This section includes extreme chromaticism, hinting strongly at Wagner’s infamous Tristan chords at several points.
This section, in many ways, feels something like a prelude to the main A section of the piece, which involves the melody handed off between the flutes and clarinets beginning at rehearsal number 3. This conversation, between the faun and a nymph, continues between oboes and strings as the story progresses. This leads into a brief coda beginning with the strings playing descending quarter notes leading into the next section.
The B section is also comprised of a conversation between the flutes and other woodwinds, a leitmotif of the entire piece. The B section melody is later picked up by the violins, concluding with a beautiful duet between a solo violin and horn before the faun returns to restate a slower version of his theme as a transition into the next section.
The C section begins with a light, airy tune in the oboe. It is interrupted by a return to the faun’s theme, this time again heard in the oboes. This practice serves to mark the phrases, but also serves as a clever transition back into the final restatement of the faun’s theme in the flutes. When the flute entered in the first bar, it was in a character containing both the energy of waking up refreshed with the torpor of freshly rising from sleep. This statement of the faun’s theme seems a winding down as slumber returns to claim the faun.
The piece concludes with a brief Coda, signaled by the violins playing descending quarter notes, as in the first Transition. A solo oboe sounds after the violins, leading into the final few bars, slowly hinting at the faun’s theme before drifting off into a somnolent cadence, then silence.
The form of the piece can thus be considered in two lights. First, it may be thought of as a rounded ternary form comprised of three sections, set apart by transitions, followed by a reprise of the main theme before concluding in a Coda. An alternative formal analysis, though, is to consider the piece a 7-part Rondo. While the graph below does not analyze it as such, the persistent return of the faun’s theme, when considered as an A section, suggests a rondo-esque form. Regardless of your choice, the piece does have a discernable form, contrary to the claim of the piece’s harshest early critics. Wagnerian in its use of leitmotifs and chromaticism, it stands apart as an early foray into a new style that would ultimately come to define Debussy and Impressionism.
Debussy and Symbolism
Debussy was trained at the Paris Conservatoire in the classical style. He, however, felt stifled by the rigid application of form advocated by the musical establishment of the day. While his instructors considered his approach to composition rebellious, Debussy considered it more of an evolution.
After several frustrating ventures in the musical mainstream of Europe, Debussy settled back in Paris and began associating with poets and writers associated with the Symbolist movement. Symbolism was an outgrowth of French literature of the mid- to late-19th Century and served as a rebellion against realism. While the genesis of Symbolism was in the poetry of Charles Beaudelaire, Stephane Mallerme was the poet most closely associated with Symbolism as it developed in the coffee houses of Paris in the 1880s.
Debussy felt attracted to the ideals of the Symbolists and endeavored to find a way to incorporate them into his composition. This presented some serious challenges because symbolism can be fairly apparent in the written word, but is more difficult to convey in music. He ultimately became discouraged by the Symbolists’ idolatry of Wagner, feeling that Wagner’s music did not provide enough of an avenue for musical departure and growth.
He began associating with artists who belonged to the Impressionist school, as well as searching for inspiration in other areas. He found his inspiration at the 1894 World Exposition when he first heard Javanese Gamelan music. While Gamelan groups contain strings and woodwinds, they are most known for their percussion instruments and the complex rhythms of the music. These rhythms, as well as the tonality of Gamelan music, appealed to Debussy and his compositions began to reflect his fascination with this genre.
Debussy still considered himself a Symbolist, feeling that the Impressionist label that had been attached to his music failed to capture the true nature of his compositions. He began to experiment with ways of communicating symbolism through music, both audibly and inaudibly. He composed the Prelude at a time when he had first begun to experiment with Symbolism in his music.
The Prelude
Debussy, interestingly enough, wrote this piece shortly before being exposed to one of his most significant musical influences, the Javanese Gamelan music. Debussy based the Prelude on a poem by Stephane Mallerme entitled L’apres-midi d’un Faun. The poem is about a faun who, after awaking from a nap, discusses his sensual dreams with several nymphs. The poem is considered by many to be one of the greatest poems in French literature, and one of the greatest examples of Symbolism in literature.
Debussy admired Mallerme and wanted to collaborate with him in setting the poem to music. He initially conceived of a three movement piece, something of a Symbolist symphony, comprised of a Prelude, an Interlude, and a Paraphrase finale. He only completed the first of the three movements, though.
The piece was premiered in 1894 and was met with much criticism. Music critics felt that the piece was too “formless” and lacked tonal unity. This is an unfair criticism, though, because the piece does have an identifiable form. That form is just not presented in an obvious manner, as it had been during earlier musical periods. In the years since its premiere, though, it has captured the imagination of countless music lovers and elevated Debussy into the ranks of the pioneers of the past like Dufay, Josquin, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Wagner.
Prelude begins with a solo flute playing a very rhythmically loose melody, intended to represent the pan flute of the faun. The woodwinds then enter with a Wagnerian chord as the first horn floats above the woodwind choir to assume the lead. The faun returns with a reprise of the opening three measures, passing the melody off to the horns again. This section includes extreme chromaticism, hinting strongly at Wagner’s infamous Tristan chords at several points.
This section, in many ways, feels something like a prelude to the main A section of the piece, which involves the melody handed off between the flutes and clarinets beginning at rehearsal number 3. This conversation, between the faun and a nymph, continues between oboes and strings as the story progresses. This leads into a brief coda beginning with the strings playing descending quarter notes leading into the next section.
The B section is also comprised of a conversation between the flutes and other woodwinds, a leitmotif of the entire piece. The B section melody is later picked up by the violins, concluding with a beautiful duet between a solo violin and horn before the faun returns to restate a slower version of his theme as a transition into the next section.
The C section begins with a light, airy tune in the oboe. It is interrupted by a return to the faun’s theme, this time again heard in the oboes. This practice serves to mark the phrases, but also serves as a clever transition back into the final restatement of the faun’s theme in the flutes. When the flute entered in the first bar, it was in a character containing both the energy of waking up refreshed with the torpor of freshly rising from sleep. This statement of the faun’s theme seems a winding down as slumber returns to claim the faun.
The piece concludes with a brief Coda, signaled by the violins playing descending quarter notes, as in the first Transition. A solo oboe sounds after the violins, leading into the final few bars, slowly hinting at the faun’s theme before drifting off into a somnolent cadence, then silence.
Conclusion
The form of the piece can thus be considered in two lights. First, it may be thought of as a rounded ternary form comprised of three sections, set apart by transitions, followed by a reprise of the main theme before concluding in a Coda. An alternative formal analysis, though, is to consider the piece a 7-part Rondo. While the graph below does not analyze it as such, the persistent return of the faun’s theme, when considered as an A section, suggests a rondo-esque form. Regardless of your choice, the piece does have a discernable form, contrary to the claim of the piece’s harshest early critics. Wagnerian in its use of leitmotifs and chromaticism, it stands apart as an early foray into a new style that would ultimately come to define Debussy and Impressionism.
(Click to enlarge)
Sources for Further Reading:
On the Internet:
- http://www.classicalarchives.com/composer/2405.html#tvf=tracks&tv=about
- http://www.naxos.com/person/Claude_Debussy_27153/27153.htm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Debussy
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pr%C3%A9lude_%C3%A0_l%27apr%C3%A8s-midi_d%27un_faune
In Print:
- Trezise, Simon (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Debussy, Cambridge University Press (2003)
- Austin, William W. (Ed.), Prelude to "The Afternoon of a Faun," W.W. Norton & Co. (1970)
- Nichols, Roger, The Life of Debussy, Cambridge University Press (1998)
- Toliver, Brooks, The Formation of a Nature Aesthetic, 1901-1913 (Claude Debussy, France) Diss. University of California, Los Angeles, 1994. Ann Arbor: UMI, 1994. 9517729.
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