Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun Essay

The musical piece Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, by Claude Debussy was one of the composer's most famous works and is considered a turning point in the history of music. The piece was made in the start of the twentieth century when compositional style of impressionism was first being introduced.
The piece was first composed in 1894, and first performed in Paris on December 22, leaving his audience amazed and impressed by the revolution of this new music. The type of music reminded me of when I was a kid and watched the animated Disney movie Bambi. The harmonic fluidity creates both melody and harmony of a woodland experience. Similar to the movie, the music takes the listener to a subtle childlike experience of fairies, cute animals, and light greenery where nothing could go wrong. The instrumental is composed of three flutes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two oboes, four horns, two harps, and two string instruments that appear within the song as either soloists, or a combined unity. It opens with a single, soloist who plays a the flute melody to create the scene of the falling sun on a summer day. The music slowly would rise and just as commonly, fall back to illustrate the theme of a faun in nature as a curious being that it may be. There are even some tones orchestrate that …show more content…
The piece was originally inspired by one of his good friend, Stephane Mallarme's poem Afternoon Faun, which was about a half-man, half-goat from ancient Greek legends who would wake to revel in seductive memories of forest nymphs. The piece can have many interpretations, especially when the actual composer represented his piece coming from such an erotic poem and the listener may interpret it as being light and airy as if they were going out for a picnic. During the time, however, Debussy rejected the term "Impressionism" to describe his piece, even though the work has so many connections to the artistic style of that