Debussy Prelude A L'apres Midi D'une Faune

Question 1

What style is Debussy’s Prelude A L’apres Midi D’une Faune?

Answer 1

Impressionist

Question 2

Context

Answer 2

• The poem describes a faun, alone in a forest, playing on his pan-pipes. Passing nymphs (personification of nature in Greek mythology) arouse him and he pursues them. He is unsuccessful in his pursuit, falls asleep and has vivid dreams.
• Premiered in Paris in 1894.

Question 3

Orchestration

Answer 3

• Solo flute representing Faun’s pipe, 4 horns and 2 harps.
• Unusual - Antique cymbals; tuned percussion instruments - appear near the end playing a perfect fifth (E to B).
• Harp glissandi create shimmering effect
• Pizzicato and Arco techniques used, sometimes in rapid succession (eg. Bars 25-26)
• Tremolo is used in strings. (e.g Bar 95: both strings and clarinets use tremolo)
• Harmonics used on harp (eg. Bars 108-109).
• Woodwind often given solo lines that focus on their individual timbres (flute, oboe and clarinet are often isolated in this way).
  -Full complement of strings with 10 woodwind

Question 4

Structure

Answer 4

Ternary form with coda
1-54 A
55-78 B
79-93 A
94-110 Coda

OR

1-30 A (flute theme)
31-36 Transition based on flute theme
37-54 A1 (oboe theme)

Question 5

Tonality

Answer 5

• Keys are present but are not established or defined traditionally
• Chromatic melody at start (tritone), no established key - tonal ambiguity
• Bar 21 - when the melodic C#s fit with E major chord (with added 6th both in the melody and the harmony)
• Bar 55 - Db major V-I in bass
• Perfect cadence in E major (Bars 105-106) V-I in bass
• Begins and ends in E major -> giving structure a sense of completion

Question 6

Harmony

Answer 6

• Non-functional harmony
• Much use of 7th chords
• Use of chord extensions; 9th, 11th and 13th notes
• Non-resolving Dominant 7th chords (eg. Bar 5)
• Pedals (eg. Bars 94-99)
• Chromatic harmony
• Half-diminished chords, eg. Bar 4.

Question 7

Melody

Answer 7

• Opening two bars - chromatic combination of tones and semitones. Radically, they cover the range of a tritone.
• Bar 3 - melody covers range of an octave and it could be viewed as either diatonic or as a minor pentatonic on C#.
• Whole tone scale b32 clarinet
• Bar 21 is a varied and rhythmically diminished version of Bar 3

Question 8

Rhythm and metre

Answer 8

-Compound triple - opening metre
- Metre frequently changes
- B section stays in simple triple metre throughout
- Bar 1 - semiquaver triplets
- Bar 21 - quintuplets in harp, bar 106 - quadruplets
- Bar 67 - cross rhythms
- Bar 55 - syncopation in accompanying strings