The flute excerpt from Debussy’s tone poem Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) is one of the most popular excerpts and is called for on nearly every audition. As such, even if you’re not actively seeking to take auditions, I highly recommend learning this excerpt and keeping it under your fingers… and in your lungs!
Debussy began working on the piece in 1892 and formally finished it two years later in October of 1894, though last-minute changes were made up until the final moment before its premiere. The first performance of Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune was at the Société Nationale de Musique in Paris on December 22, 1894 with Gustave Doret conducting. It quickly became an audience favorite and was considered one of Debussy’s first great successes, establishing him as a legitimate composer amongst the Société and its members. The performance was also unprecedentedly repeated the next day for the general public – something the Société had never done before.
L’après-midi d’un faune was inspired by a poem of the same title by Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-1898). The poem, which you can read for yourself here, was written between 1865 and 1867 and published in 1876. It tells the story of a faun (a half-man, half-goat creature) that awakens from a nap and tries to discern whether his dream, in which he was romantically pursuing nymphs, was a dream or a reality. As Marc Mandel eloquently stated in the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s program notes for the piece, “The poem plays not only with the distinctions between dream and reality, between sleep and waking awareness, but also with those between consciousness and unconsciousness, between desire and artistic vision.” At the end of the poem, as the faun drifts back to sleep, Mallarmé leaves the reader to decide for themselves whether his encounter and pursuit of the nymphs was a dream or reality.
Though Mallarmé was not initially thrilled about setting his poem to music, his opinion changed after Debussy played him a piano reduction of the score at his apartment. According to Mandel, Mallarmé commented, “I didn’t expect anything like this! This music prolongs the emotion of my poem, and sets its scene more vividly than color.” Indeed, Debussy’s rendition of the poem evokes the desires of the faun in the heat of the afternoon and innovatively utilizes the various colors of the orchestra, beginning with the flute.
As the program notes by Dr. K. Dawn Grapes with the Fort Collins Symphony explain, “The opening flute solo of Prélude sets up the programmatic scene, for long before the faun appears, the music emanating from his pipes is heard in the distance. Each subsequent restatement is heard differently, with fluctuating harmonies, like light changing throughout the day.” For more information on the relationship between the poem and the music, check out this detailed article by Kelariz Keshavarz.
Performance Considerations
Though this excerpt may not be as technically difficult as others in our repertoire (though of course rhythmic precision is still required), it showcases a flutist’s control, variability of colors, intonation, and ability to play long phrases.
The excerpt famously opens with the dreaded C# – one of the most challenging notes on the flute, in my opinion, due to its instability and tendency to be sharp. Spending an ample amount of time with long tones on C# and the notes immediately next to it will be beneficial, and there are so many different things you can focus on while playing the long tones. Here’s a list to get you started:
- Work on how soft the sound can be while still being focused, which will require both support and a consistent quantity of air.
- Practice matching the color of the C# to the notes around it.
- In addition to keeping the color smooth between notes, also work to avoid sudden shifts in dynamics between one note and another.
- As French impressionist music utilizes a wide range of colors, experiment with using different fingerings for the C#s when the opening phrase is repeated. Also, consider how the color of the flute can support other instruments as they enter.
I recommend practicing these long tones without vibrato – as vibrato can often cover up fundamental issues with tone – and with a drone, which will aid in your intonation efforts. Once you have achieved your desired color, mapped your dynamics, and solidified the phrasing (remember to go somewhere on held notes – don’t just sit there!), plan your vibrato to match the context of the music.
Perhaps the most notoriously difficult part of this excerpt is the breathing. Typically, in an audition, you need to play the opening phrase in one breath without sacrificing the quality and color of sound, intonation, and direction. Consider this your opportunity to demonstrate the delicateness of your tone and your control in a piano dynamic.
In a performance of the work, it has become more acceptable to take extra breaths as you will have to project over the orchestra. The best places for these are after the G natural in the second measure or after the tied B natural in the fourth bar, but again, you’ll want to avoid taking any extra breaths in an audition if possible.
Here are some tips and tricks I have used to practice breathing in Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune:
- Step one is to make sure you are as relaxed as possible and are not holding any tension anywhere. Tension can prevent you from taking deep breaths (which you will absolutely need for this excerpt) by limiting the available space for your lungs to fully expand. Check in with your posture (for example, relax your shoulders and your fingers, stretch out your neck, etc.) and make sure you are supporting.
- Practice the solo in one breath at a faster tempo (for example at eighth note = 110) and gradually work your way down to eighth note = between 74-80. This will prepare you to play the excerpt within a range of tempi.
- Take a deep breath at the beginning of the solo, and “top it off” with two other sips. I like to call this kind of breath the “gas breath” – just like how you shake off the nozzle in a car’s gas tank before putting it back on the pump (get those few extra drops in and avoid any gas dripping on your shoes!), you take a full, deep breath at the beginning and top it off with two sips. Make sure you are breathing out (the stomach is expanding), not up (don’t let those shoulders go up!)!
As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune is important to learn and keep fresh, especially so you don’t lose the hard work you put in regarding breathing. If there are any other tips or tricks you have used to practice this excerpt, I’d love to know them! Feel free to leave a comment or contact me and I’ll add them in. Happy practicing!
