Prelude to the afternoon of a faun
Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune by Claude Debussy (1862-1918) was first performed on December 22, 1894 and it definitely was one of the works that serves as a steppingstone for 20th century repertoire. Mallarmé, the poet who in 1866 completed the Églogue on which Debussy’s music was based, had only praise to offer:
“I just came out of the concert, extremely moved: a marvel! your illustration of l’Après-midi d’un faune would present no dissonance with my text, unless to go further, indeed, into the nostalgia and the light, with finesse, with malaise, with richness.”
Alain Marion performs a very interesting version, for flute and piano, here…