“Prelude to the Afternoon of Faun” by Claude Debussy Essay

Introduction

In this paper, we are going to discuss such musical pieces as Prelude to the Afternoon of Faun, created by the famous French composer Claude Debussy. In particular, we need to focus on the literary and musical sources that conductors can consult while preparing this work for performance. Overall, it is of the crucial importance to pay attention to those books or scholarly articles, which throw light on such features as: the composers style, and the difficulties, which may arouse in connection with this issue. As regards the piece itself, we should search for the information that illuminates its themes, literary origins, structure, and the functions, fulfilled by each instrument. For that purpose, it is necessary to refer to Debussy’s notes, and the comments of prominent musicians, who have already played this composition many times. Finally, we may analyze live or recorded performances of the Prelude. In what way do various conductors approach this task? In the overwhelming majority of cases the effect that any work produces is determined by the way in which is presented. Naturally, we cannot presume that some performers distort this composition but sometimes, there are some subtle details that can go disregarded even by distinguished musicians.

Claude Debussys style

The first source we should refer to is the book The theories of Claude Debussy by Leon Vallas. This work is important because it gives thorough insights into the composer’s style and his performance manner. According to the author, Debussy adhered to the principles of impressionism, which manifests itself in the structure of his musical pieces, their form and the impact that they produce. We may draw several examples, substantiating this point of view, but in the vast majority of cases, the impact of impressionism can be traced in Debussy’s slightly improvisational approach, though we should not presume that his compositions are form-free.

Overall, his style can be characterized by the so-called unprepared modulations, which means that he is inclined to change from one tonal center to another very in a very unexpected or even abrupt manner. In part, this peculiarity, presents certain difficulties to the musicians. We cannot argue that the Prelude abounds in such sudden transitions, yet it has to be admitted that unprepared modulation can be observed in this musical piece. ¹ In this regard, we need to discuss the task that the orchestra must fulfill. They need to maintain equilibrium between this unexpectedness and abruptness. In point of fact, Claude Debussy always strived to achieve fluidity or smooth transition, but he did not want it to be protracted. This book is helpful to the extent that it familiarizes us with the peculiarities of his compositions and warns us against some mistakes that can be committed while performing the Prelude.

The second source that we may refer to also explores the composer’s performance manner. According to Elie Schmitz, the so-called polytonality or bitonality is an inherent feature of Debussy’s works. This term implies simultaneous use of different keys. The scholar says that that polytonality requires prodigious coordination from the orchestra. In addition to that, some music critics argue that his works produce an impression of being improvisational or spontaneous, based only on emotions but they also urge us not to forget that this impression is rather deceptive because his works are always well-structured and must not be regarded as form-free.

In his book The Piano Works of Claude Debussy Elie Schmitz expresses the opinion that this improvisational manner of his composition is mostly connected with the influence of impressionism. Again, we need to stress the fact that Claude Debussy always attached primary importance to the form and structure of his works (Schmitz, 1996, p 25). To some extent, this peculiarity is an obstacle, which musicians need to overcome, while performing Debussys musical pieces. Therefore, we may conclude that these two books may prove to be useful because they attract our attention to the most significant aspects of Claude Debussy’s compositions and make us aware of some obstacles that musicians have to surmount while playing his works. Now that, we have made a general overview of the composers style, we may narrow the scope of our research and focus on the Prelude, itself.

At this point, we need to consult these works that analyze the composition. For instance, a conductor may refer to the book Debussy Selected Favorites, which contains not only the composers notes but also the analysis of the Prelude, its literary origins, and discusses each instrument. First and foremost, we may learn from this source that the composition is partially based on the poem of the same name by Stephane Mallarme. Initially, it was designed as introduction to a larger work, yet Debussy did not finish it (Debussy et al, 1985, p 17). Yet, some critics do not agree with this statement, claiming that these works are not connected with each other. ² Nonetheless, it seems that that the influence of the prominent poet is quite traceable because in some way the composer intends to emulate the calm of the morning and the forth-coming outburst. Prelude to the Afternoon of a Fawn is sometimes termed as recitative, which means that to some degree it emulates the sounds of nature. It is too early to jump to any conclusion, but we may suppose that such work may be full of consonances and the transition between various themes will not be very lengthy. This book is crucial in our research because it provides practical tips for the musicians and studies the score of each instrument.

The Prelude to the Afternoon of A Faun

While preparing the performance of this piece, we should first speak about its structure. Traditionally, it is believed that the Prelude consists of introduction, two themes and coda. The introduction is supposed to reproduce the relative calm of the morning. It is performed in a relatively low register. The melody, itself, is somewhat languid as if trying to describe the very process of awakening. It should be taken into account that each new theme is introduced through woodwinds, especially if we are speaking about the flute. Therefore, any mistake along this line may ruin the whole performance. As the piece progresses, the music becomes more vibrant and it is full of consonances, or the sounds that do not fit into the overall harmony. Occasionally, they serve to represent new theme. It seems that Claude Debussy does not give preference to long transitions from one theme to another. On the contrary, he makes them as short as possible sometimes it is achieved by means of assonance. Some musicians claim that these sudden changes are the most difficult aspect of performance and require full coordination from the orchestra. Claude Debussys notes and the comments of Lynn Olson urge us not to fall into common errors, and without this books, it is hardly possible to make any further progress.

While speaking about the structure of the Prelude we must acknowledge that it is not complete and in some way the ending itself suggests further continuation but the piece abruptly stops. Probably, Debussy decided that the Prelude should not be continued because; it was a self-sufficient musical piece that did not need any prolongation.

In addition to that we should speak about the tempo of this musical piece. For example, we may consult Lawrence Gilmans guide to symphonic music. In the authors opinion, Claude Debussy makes the Prelude at a relatively slow pace, namely adagietto and Tranquillo. Nevertheless, one cannot overlook gradual escalation and de-escalation of sound in the first and second themes. It stands to reason that gradualness and tranquility are the most dominant features, yet sometimes such these accelerations and decelerations of tempo become somewhat unexpected. Probably the composer employs this technique in order to render the atmosphere of morning in the forest. It shows how life is gathering speed. ³

According to some performers, it is extremely difficult to play these accelerations of tempo without making them two abrupt. This will make the piece itself almost crumpled, to say the least. Moreover, many educators attract students attention to the fact the composer wants to achieve a very interesting effect at the very beginning of the Prelude, he completely and deliberately silences the music. It is extremely difficult to hear this moment of complete silence because it lasts only for thirty-five milliseconds but for this period there is no sound at all. At this moment, the musicians of the orchestra must literally merge into a single entity in order to make this pause simultaneously. Perhaps, this is the most widespread error that performers can commit while playing the work. At first glance one may suggest that this minor detail is virtually unnoticeable however, it may spoil the overall impression of the listeners though they might not be able to explain the reason. These are theoretical resources that we need to employ. But, theory cannot be separated from practice.

In this respect, we should analyze the live performance of Debussys work. There are many of them; but we may discuss the one, made by Boston Symphony Orchestra on April 12, 2003. The play was impeccable and it is not an overstatement because musicians brilliantly coped with all tricky moments of the Prelude. The musicians succeeded in producing that impression of fluidity and gradualness for which Debussy hankered. Secondly, they were absolutely unanimous in creating this moment of silence. The same goes for the performance, carried out in Paris on January 3, 2005. These are the examples that musicians and conductors should always follow.

Conclusion

Therefore, we can arrive at the conclusion what while preparing for the performance of any musical piece and Prelude to the Morning of the Faun, in particular, a musician should study the peculiarities of the composers style. Furthermore, it is necessary to concentrate on the difficulties which may during the performance. For this purpose, one should first examine the structure of the composition. As for this particular work, we may primarily speak about the smoothness of transition from one theme to another and unexpected consonances. Secondly, we should speak about the moment of complete silence, which takes place at the very beginning. In this case, the indispensable condition for success is meticulous coordination. As for the source, they must be both theoretical and practical, they may examine various aspects, such as the composers manner, his compositions, each instrument. However, live or recorded performances are probably most helpful for the musicians.

Bibliography

Ameling, Elly, et al., eds (1980). Melodies. By Claude Debussy. EMI.

Claude Debussy, Lynn Olson (1985). “Debussy — Selected Favorites”. Alfred Publishing.

Elie Robert Schmitz, Virgil Thomson (1966). “The piano works of Claude Debussy” Courier Dover Publications.

Hugh Aitken (1997). The piece as a whole: studies in holistic musical analysis. Greenwood Publishing Group.

Lawrence Gilman (1937). “Stories of Symphonic Music: A Guide to the Meaning of Important Symphonies, Overtures, and Tone-Poems from Beethoven to Debussy.” Garden City Publishing.

Léon Vallas. Maire O’Brien (1975). “The Theories of Claude Debussy: Musicien Francais” Oxford University Press.

Footnotes

1. Maire O’Brien (1975). The Theories of Claude Debussy: Musicien Francais.
2. Hugh Aitken (1997). The piece as a whole: studies in holistic musical analysis.
3. Lawrence Gilman (1955). Stories of Symphonic Music: A Guide to the Meaning of Important Symphonies, Overtures, and Tone-Poems from Beethoven to Debussy.