This is the evaluation of the French composer Ravel on the Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune. Admittedly, the aesthetic level of composers may be different from that of ordinary people, but Debussy’s symphony is not the same as the grand and complex symphony that we used to remember.When it comes to symphonies, many people will feel at first glance that they are “too advanced” or “unable to understand”. It is true that understanding a symphony requires some basic knowledge and training, but in fact, this does not prevent people from appreciating its beauty, only in varying degrees. “The song we are going to talk about today,” Afternoon of the Faun, “is strictly speaking only a part of the symphony, which is called a symphonic poem.”.
The difference between symphonic poetry and symphony is that symphonic poetry has only one movement, while symphony generally has several movements; Symphonic poems generally have titles (such as this poem “The Afternoon of the Faun”), while symphonies generally only have serial numbers and key numbers. What symphony is xxx? Most of those with names are nicknames given by the author (or later generations) based on the artistic conception of the piece or for some reason.
For example, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (Beijiu) is called Symphony No. 9 in D minor op.125, which is a serial number assigned to all the works of composers by later generations. Because the fourth movement is joined by chorus, it is also known as the “Chorus” Symphony. The words in this movement are Schiller’s “Ode to Joy,” so everyone calls it “Ode to Joy.”.
Therefore, we can see that symphonic poetry is actually a kind of title music, with a single and clear theme and a more emotional and vivid expression. Just like reading a poem, you don’t have to understand the meaning of each sentence, but you can also feel the artistic conception in it. Symphony, you can temporarily understand it as a puzzle solving game, and its beauty lies behind various puzzles, waiting for you to explore. Listening to symphonic poetry is a good choice for those who are new to symphony.
If you can’t wait to listen to “Afternoon of the Shepherd God” after reading this, then I won’t stop you, just feel it with my ears.
If you have any doubts or curiosity about this music, you can read on:
1. What is the story of the afternoon of the Shepherd God?
The Shepherd God was the god in charge of farming and animal husbandry in ancient Roman mythology, the somewhat colored Pan God, half human and half sheep, and quite ugly. One day, this guy ran into the woods and saw several fairies dancing. He ran over with a sheepish expression and wanted to hold a sister for dinner. However, because Ya was so ugly, he scared the fairies away. So the Shepherd God returned bitterly and fell asleep under the scorching sun.
In the middle of his sleep, Pan Shen seemed to see the group of fairies again. He played the iconic flute and relived the dream of dancing with the fairies. Just as his lust was regaining, a strong sense of sleep struck him again, and in a trance, he fell asleep again. In fact, it’s a fairly simple matter, with no special plot, such a situation that can be depicted with a single painting. Why did Debussy write a song to express it?
2. Relationship with Malami’s Poetry
In fact, Debussy wrote this song entirely because of Malami’s poem of the same name, “Afternoon of the Faun.”. Stefan Malame is a representative figure of French symbolism poetry. Isn’t France fond of creating artistic salons like that? Malam á n also created a salon, bringing together a group of artists such as Weierlen, Lambo, and Rodin to his home, known as “Malam á n’s Tuesday,” among which Debussy was also a member. Influenced by this group of symbolist poets, he created this eponymous “The Afternoon Prelude of the Faun” based on Malam’s poem “The Afternoon of the Faun.”.
It is said that this symphonic poem is written entirely in accordance with the verses of Malami. Malami himself stated, “Dude, the taste of your music is even more authentic than my original poem.” At the end of the article, a Chinese version of Malami’s poem “The Afternoon of the Shepherd God” (translated by Fei Bai) will be attached. Interested students can refer to it for reference.
3. Incomplete work?
“The Afternoon Prelude of the Shepherd God” is very famous, but I have never heard a prelude before. I have always wondered why no one mentioned the other parts of this piece. Is it difficult to listen to? So I checked and found out that Debussy originally planned to write a suite with three pieces, but after creating the first “Prelude”, he probably felt that he had expressed himself completely, so he gave up the creation of the latter two movements. Therefore, now we only see this “Prelude to the Afternoon of the Faun”, which is also the shortest piece of all Debussy’s orchestral works.
4. Does this piece of music have any significance?
“That’s great. This piece of music can be described as Debussy’s famous work. It was by virtue of this piece that he became famous and valued hundreds of times, and also established his decisive position in the history of classical music.”. Why can I have this position? “Afternoon of the Faun” is the first impressionist musical work in history, opening the door to the entire impressionist music. Although Debussy didn’t think he had anything to do with Impressionism, everyone still regarded Debussy as the originator of “Impressionism” because of this piece of music. He broke various rules of romantic music, which was truly refreshing at the time. Everyone was shocked by the music, and then turned to heartfelt admiration, so that the premiere effect was very good, and the entire Paris was crazy about it.
5. Emotional evaluation of this piece of music
One word: beauty
Two words: hazy
Three words: hazy beauty
Four words: dreamlike
6. Rational analysis of this piece of music
“The Afternoon of the Faun” is a trilogy style prelude, also known as ABA, which presents a structure of presentation, expansion, and reproduction.
[Part I]
Flute solo, leading to the theme of semi scale sliding, sweet and lazy, as if in the aftertaste of a dream fairy. Then the woodwind melody appears, accompanied by soft chords and a harp playing like the tinkling of water, to express the pastoral god’s afternoon meditation expression and create a dream. Then the flute repeats the same melody and slowly extends along with other instruments, showing the lazy atmosphere of the sunny meadow in the afternoon.
[Part II]
There are two sections. The first section of the oboe solo blows out bright and brief phrases, speeding up the playing speed. Then the violin repeats the phrases, making the music brighter, as if a dream is gradually dispelled by the sun. A succession of flute, clarinet, oboe, and horn solos demonstrate the intricacies of love, beyond reach.
The second section is very beautiful, with the delicate performance of strings and orchestral music, demonstrating the mobility of melody. Two harps are also involved, and as the music develops, it reaches the climax of the entire piece.
[Part III]
The third part is a simple reproduction of the first part, which is still the lazy sound played by the flute. However, at this time, the tonality of the music has changed, the acoustic performance of the background has become more delicate, the rhythm of the music theme has been expanded to a certain extent, and the texture is also richer. At the end, the languid mood reappears, as if the joy in front had never come before. The gentle head and tail indicate that the Shepherd God has once again fallen asleep.
