The Classical Music Book

231

sometimes considered less technical

than other genres, Debussy’s

experimentation with rhythmic

techniques shows that atmosphere

and technicality can coexist.

Staging the piece

Debussy’s orchestra is moderately

sized: its only brass instruments

are four horns, and only two

percussion “antique cymbals”

color the latter part of the piece

with their delicate, bell-like tone.

The orchestra does, however, have

two harps, which help to create

a more luxuriant sound. Long

sections use divisi in the strings,

sometimes playing sur la touche—

over the fingerboard, where the

tone is more mellow.

MODERN 1900 –1950

Debussy's work premiered in Paris

in December 1894, and Stéphane

Mallarmé was invited to hear it.

While he had initially opposed the

composition of music based on

his poem, Mallarmé came out full

of praise, writing to Debussy that it

went further “in nostalgia and light,

with finesse, uneasiness, and

richness” than his own work. ■

Orchestra for Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune

2 violin parts

Four horns

Two bassoons

Two oboes

Solo flute

Two other flute parts

Two harps

Antique Cymbals

English horn

Cello

The original orchestra for Debussy’s

symphonic poem consisted of woodwinds,

strings, harp, and horns, together creating

a delicate, sensuous sound world.

Strings

Brass

Harps

Percussion

Woodwind

Debussy and impressionism

The word “impressionism” is

controversial when applied to

music. Debussy himself—its

most iconic exponent—railed

against it. “I’m attempting

‘something different,’” he wrote

in 1908, “[that] imbeciles call

impressionism, just about the

least appropriate term possible.”

Despite this, Debussy’s work is

as much a musical equivalent

to Monet as to Mallarmé. His

tonally ambiguous harmonies

(which do not clearly suggest

one particular resolution) could

lead to numerous possible

progressions, putting the focus

on the sensual effect of each

chord, while obscuring its role in

the structure that underpins the

piece—just as Monet’s focus on

colors and eschewal of lines

communicates more about the

sense than about the details

of his subject. Both Debussy

and Monet have been called

“antirealist,” but for Debussy,

appealing to the very senses

by which music is heard, was

“more real” than realism.

I wasn’t expecting

anything like that! The

music prolongs the emotion

of my poem and conjures

up the scenery more

vividly than any color.

Stéphane Mallarmé

Double bass

Viola

Clarinet

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