Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (‘Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun’) is one of the most prominent examples of the intersection between music and literature. Inspired by the French Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé’s poem L’après-midi d’un faune, Debussy’s Prélude offers a musical illustration of a faun’s dreamlike recollection of his encounters with nymphs and naiads. Rather than simply synthesising Mallarmé’s narrative, Debussy seeks to depict the desires and dreams of the faun in a succession of scenes. This in turn creates sonic images of the faun’s sensual experience, an effect that captures the essence of what later became known as musical Impressionism.
Debussy’s reimagining of L’après-midi d’un faune places a strong emphasis on the flute, which alludes to the panpipes of the faun. The Prélude begins with a wavering main theme played by the solo flute, whose timbre sets a dreamy atmosphere to the music. The melody is then transferred over to first the oboes and clarinets and subsequently the violins as the faun meets the nymphs. After the solo flute reappears over an enchanting harp figuration, a new line on the solo oboe emerges from the pastoral, setting the scene for the climax of the Prélude. In this middle section, we hear an outburst of lyricism: by way of an expressive interior theme on tutti woodwinds and strings, the music plunges into the climax that mirrors the faun’s exclamation of love for the nymphs. Yet such a lyrical passage soon rushes to an end as the main theme resurfaces, and we are left in an equivocal state, questioning together with the faun whether that was a dream or the reality.
Concerts notes originally commissioned for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ Symphony, conducted by Yutaka Sado. Thursday 11 and Friday 12 November 2021, City Halls, Glasgow.
© Kelvin H. F. Lee