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Analysis 20th century 2002-2003 (the hague)
 september 27, 2002
sorry i have no recording available at the moment...
 Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faun
a In a little article about this piece (see Debussy's Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faun and the poem of Mallarmé 1 ) it is stated that this piece is ''never in a key'' , though keys are suggested:
                       "The Prélude, however, was a breakthrough in musical composition: with its inception, music was never to be the same
                       again. In it, Debussy abandoned the traditional harmonic, thematic, structural and rhythmical rules which had governed
                       musical composition; and achieved, in his own words, "... music [that is] truly freed from motifs, or constructed on only
                       one continuing motif which nothing interrupts, and which never goes back on itself." 

                       Despite frequent suggestions of particular keys, the work never really settles in any; and does not belong to one.
                       Debussy had intended not to let the music rely on particular tonal centres, but sought through an attenuated tonality
                       "... a mode that tries to contain all the nuances [of different keys]". Pierre Boulez firmly believes that if modern music
                       had had a definite beginning, it must have been the opening bars of the Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune. The work’s
                       source of inspiration came from a poem by the French poet, Stéphane Mallarmé, who was a friend of the composer and
                       an admirer of his music...  "

  • Show - for instance by compairing the beginning and the end of the piece that this assumption is definitely wrong. 
  • Any idea what Debussy could have meant by "... a mode that tries to contain all the nuances [of different keys]"?
b Also the 'all-over key plan' of the piece suggests that - though the harmony is more or less 'floating' - there is also a clear connection with tradition. 
  • What are the main keys of the piece, and how are they related?
c The first bars - the start with only one melody, then a 4-voice chord and its resolution - suggest a certain connection with the Tristan-Vorspiel of Wagner.
  • show the connection with the Tristan-Vorspiel
In the end of the piece the first chord returns, but this last time its resolution is far more clear then in the beginning of the piece. 
  • Explain this last resolution. Why is it more clear then in the beginning of the piece.
d The first flute melody returns several times during the piece, but nearly every time accompanied by different harmony. Sometimes the melody itself is changed.
  • describe the different harmonic 'situations' in which the melody is occurring. Try to make clear in all cases in what key we are (or sometimes: '..in your opinion are..')
I found some info about the poem too (and about the relation poem-music). Not all is very good, but have a look: