Prelude to 'The Afternoon of a Faun' by Claude Debussy; William W.

Austin
Review by: J. A. W.
Music & Letters, Vol. 54, No. 1 (Jan., 1973), pp. 117-118
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/734212 .
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A perhapsslightlymoreunusualaspectofthescoreis foundin thefourth

movement,which is entirelyaleatory in design, the length of the
individual notes being indeterminateand the entries of individual
instrumental
groupsleftto the conductor'sdiscretion.The 'Sinfonietta'
is an interesting
compromisebetweenthe traditionaland the new, succeeding fullyin its aim, "to divert". Conventionand charm are also
unitedin theNorwegianEgil Hovland's 'Fanfareand Choral', composed
in i 967, a formallyrathercuriousconstruction
whichnot only includes
what its titlepromisesbut throwsin a livelyfugueinto thebargain.
Josephs's'Variationson a Theme ofBeethoven',a Britishcontribution
to the bicentenarycelebrations,take as theirthemethe tune fromthe
opening of the second movementof the piano sonata, Op. 49, no. 2,
arrangedfor percussion(xylophone,marimba), harp, solo stringsand
wind,following
whichthelisteneris immediately
plungedintoa new and
verydifferent
world.The ninevariationsdo not continuethe traditionof
Brahmsand Reger but, seizingon individualelementsfromthe theme,
subject these to a varietyof generallytwentieth-century
procedures
beforereturning
to the originalthemein the last variation.The resultis
interesting
enough,thoughwithoutany verypronouncedpersonalityof
its own-perhaps not altogethersurprisingin view of its august source
a-nddedicatee.John McCabe's 'ConcertanteMusic' of I968 is another
usefulpiece,apparentlywrittenwithamateursin mind.The conventional
orchestra,includingpiano, is supplementedby two percussiongroups,
one of Orffinstruments
involvingsix playersand the other (for four
players) with such unusual extrasas Indian bells and Japanese windchimes.The fourmovementsare by no means withouttheirattractions,
thoughtheycontainlittletoadd anything
newtoone'srangeofexperience.
Pierre Mercure's 'Lignes et Points' (i 964) prove to be a not untypical
melange of various twentieth-century
techniques,ranging over eight
movementsfrom the strictly'through-composed'to the controlled
freedomfeaturedin so many scoresof today.Althoughthe composer's
intentionsare not always easy to decipherfromthe printedtext,the
general impressionis of a fairlystimulating,if at times cluttered,
conception.
R. T. B.
Debussy, Claude, Preludeto 'The Afternoon
of a Faun'. Miniaturescore,
with historical introduction,critical notes, essays, etc., ed. by William
W. Austin. (Chappell, London, I972, cloth, f2.25; paperback, ?I.5o.)

The latest addition to the series of 'Norton Critical Scores' is

particularly interesting,not only because of the literary associations of
the work but also because for the firsttime, it would seem, we have an
accurate text. The music appears to be a photographic reproduction of
the original Fromont (Jobert) score; but correctionshave been introduced
in a style which makes them virtually indistinguishablefrom the original
engraving. Some of the corrections come from a copy, now in private
possession,marked by Debussy himself,othersfromthe printed orchestral
parts. A typical example of an errorwhich escaped the composer's notice
is the G: missing from the firstflute in bar 27 (i2th demisemiquaver),
though, as ProfessorAustin points out, it is improbable that any flautist
has failed to play it. He gives a good account of the origin of the work, but
is less happy with his translation of Mallarme's poem: I find it difficult
to stomach "chord-besprinkled thickets" for "bosquet arrose d'accords".
However, he is modest enough to invite readers to emend his version. An
analysis by Jean Barraque, printed at the end of the volume, concludes:
"Thus the Debussy technique eludes any rule of procedure"-in other
II7

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Austinessaysa moredetailed
words,whytryto analyseat all? Professor
are as uncertain
analysis,but he too admitsthat"criticalinterpretations
as thefaun'smemories".I doubtwhetheranyonewould enjoyDebussy's
J. A. W.
musicmoreby readingthem.
Nordheim,Arne, Floating.Score (24k' X 9'). (Hansen, Copenhagen,
1972, C2.6o.)

atmosphericand on the whole rathergloomywork,

A slow-moving,
in whichmuch is made ofthe deep sonorityofdividedcellosand basses.
Aftersome freneticoutburstsfromthe wind the upper stringsjoin in,
of48-partharmony.One cannothelp wondering
ppp,in a sortofcompote
whetherthe publisher'saddiction to scores of this extravagantand
inconvenientsize encouragescomposersto divide the stringsto this
extent.The clarinetsare said to be in Bb and thehornsin F, but internal
evidencesuggeststhat theirpartsare writtenat soundingpitch,though
J. A. W.
theredoes not seem to be any note to say so.
ORGAN SOLO

in.(Hansen,Copenhagen,
is icumen
Buck,Ole, Sumer
1971, TI.25.)

Gowers,Patrick,Toccata.(OxfordUniversityPress,1971, fI.00.)
Folkstoner.
Oslo,
Kjellsby,Erling,4 ForspilltilNorske
(NorskMusikforlag,
1971, 6op.)

Williamson,Malcolm, PeacePieces.2 books. (Weinberger,London, 1972,

70p. & 9op.)
The fourworks have nothingin commonand are varied in length,
difficulty,
'style',use of organ,registration,
etc.; yetnone of themquite
seemsto hitthetruepathoffuturegood organmusic.The bitsofbitonality
and jarring concordin the Gowers and Williamsonhave the triadism
of the Buck is prettydilute
deja vuin Britishmusic; theexperimentalism
of theKjellsbymay
Messiaen,despitetheexuberance;theneo-classicism
and lessflirtatious
well be moreconsistent
than,say Peppingor Pfortner,
but can hardlybe an answerto theproblem.The problemitselfis difficult
even to state clearly,but is somethinglike 'given the basic characterof
whatis thereleftforit to do that
theorganas a Renaissanceinstrument,
is expressive,new and idiomatic?' Most reviewscould begin with that
of these four works raise the matter
text, but the extremes-in-little
strikingly.
Despite its naivety, it could well be that Buck's piece has the
nearestanswer.'Sumer is icumenin' is a repetitive25-minutefantasia,
devotedforseveralpages to variantsof thesong above a fewheld quasithen throwingin tinybird-likeclusters,couleurs
de la citi
organum
fifths,
celeste,
canons ad lib. and increasinglyfrenziedplain repetitionsof the
theme,thewholefullof antique fifths
and loud-softcontrasts.The pageto
turnerhas his own canon to contribute,but the piece is not difficult
play and manage. There is also a kindofsoftcoda whichseemsto invite
a fewadded percussioninstruments,
but alas theDanish is not translated.
The piece can hardlybe takenseriously,yet thereis a welcomesenseof
vigourand, verylikely,effectiveness
about it thatshouldmakeit attractive
fora recitalon a loud classicalorgan.
Gowershas registeredhis piece forthe FestivalHall organ,but the
changes of colour are discreet.The Toccata is a fairlylong quasi
mobile
witha good deal of alternate-hand
perpetuum
play based on broken
chords very oftenderived fromunrelated triads. It is hard to say if
ii8

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