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Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Prelude
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Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, French Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, tone poem for orchestra by Claude Debussy. The original orchestral version was completed in 1894, and Debussy reworked it for performance on two pianos in 1895. The work is considered a quintessential example of musical Impressionism, a compositional style popular at the turn of the 20th century that was influenced by the artistic school of the same name.
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is a musical evocation of Stéphane Mallarmé’s poem “Afternoon of a Faun,” in which a faun—a half-man, half-goat creature of ancient Greek legend—awakes to revel in sensuous memories of forest nymphs.
Debussy begins with a sinuous flute melody evocative of a graceful female form. Gently swelling phrases for strings, harp, and horns are soon added. The music proceeds without abrupt shifts; themes blend into each other, slowly rising and falling. The middle section features clarinet and oboe solos before the flute gradually retakes the spotlight. In the final moments, airy touches of percussion from finger cymbals are heard.
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Stéphane Mallarmé…Debussy to compose his celebrated
Préludea quarter of a century later.…
…à l’après-midi d’un faune( Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun;1894). Eventually, the kinetic energies of the form erupted to the extent that the symphonic poem was largely superseded by the symphonic ballet. Thus, while Igor Stravinsky’s early Feu d’artifice( Fireworks;1908) was still ostensibly a symphonic poem,…
Orchestra, instrumental ensemble of varying size and composition. Although applied to various ensembles found in Western and non-Western music, orchestra in an unqualified sense usually refers to the typical Western music ensemble of bowed stringed instruments complemented by wind and percussion instruments that, in the string section at least, has…