Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun

Claude Debussy

General Info

Year: 1894 / 1973
Duration: c. 10:30
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Hindsley Transcriptions, through C.L. Barnhouse
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $53.00 | Score Only (print) - $13.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo/Flute I
Flute II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Contra Alto Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Harp I-II (or Piano)
Percussion, including:

Antique Cymbals (or Bells)

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (L. 86), known in English as Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, is a symphonic poem for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration. It was composed in 1894 and first performed in Paris on 22 December 1894, conducted by Gustave Doret.

The composition was inspired by the poem L'après-midi d'un faune by Stéphane Mallarmé. It is one of Debussy's most famous works and is considered a turning point in the history of Western art music. Pierre Boulez considered the score to be the beginning of modern music, observing that "the flute of the faun brought new breath to the art of music."

- Program Note adapted from Wikipedia

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

Tennessee: VI

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Contra Costa Wind Symphony (Walnut Creek, Calif.) (Brad Hogarth, conductor) - 12 March 2023

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Danse (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kurokawa)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kano) (1908)

All Wind Works

The Afternoon of a Faun (arr. Walters) (1894/1950/1999?)
The Afternoon of a Faun. See also: Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune
Beau Soir (arr. Warner) (1880/1971)
Children's Corner Suite (arr. Winterbottom) (1908)
Clair de Lune (orch. Blair) (1890/1905/2021)
Clair de Lune (arr. Hautvast) (1890/1905/2011)
Clair de lune (arr. De Meij) (1890/1905/2017)
Clair de Lune (arr. Wallace) (1890/1905/1995)
Danse (arr. Boyd) (1890/1983)
Danse (arr. Scheiwiller) (1890/2019)
Danse (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kurokawa)
Danses Sacrée et Profane (arr. Odom) (1904/2019)
Danses Sacrée et Profane (tr. J. Lloyd) (1904)
Debussy: Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Akey) (1910/1995)
The Engulfed Cathedral (tr. Longfield) (1910/1987)
The Engulfed Cathedral (arr. Miller) (1910/1986)
The Engulfed Cathedral (tr. Patterson) (1910/1993)
The Engulfed Cathedral. See also: La Cathédrale Engloutie
Fêtes from "Nocturnes" (arr. Patterson) (c. 1899/2007)
Fêtes from "Three Nocturnes" (arr. Schaefer) (c.1899/1959)
Fêtes from "Three Nocturnes" (tr. Tatebe) (c.1899/1999)
Four Debussy Songs (trans. Anderson) (2018)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Beyrent) (1910/2013)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Brand) (1910)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Bernotas) (1910)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Moss) (1910/2007)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Sparke) (1910/2007)
Golliwogg's Cakewalk (arr. Lewis) (1908/2004)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (arr. Curnow) (1908/1985)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kano) (1908)
Hommage à Rameau (arr. Hunsberger) (1905/2009)
La Cathédrale Engloutie (arr. Mortimer) (1910/2016)
La Cathédrale Engloutie. See also: The Engulfed Cathedral
La Mer (trans. Odom) (1905/)
Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien (1911)
L’isle joyeuse (arr. Mashima) (1904/2005)
L'isle joyeuse (arr. Volans) (1904/1995)
Marche Écossaise (tr. Onodera) (1891/1908/2015(?))
Marche Écossaise (tr. Onodera) (Octet) (1891/1908/2015(?))
Marche Écossaise (tr. Schaefer) (1891/1908/1964)
Marche Écossaise (tr. Scatterday) (1891/1908)
'Menuet' from Suite Bergamasque (arr. Southard) (1890/2012)
Minstrels (tr. Scarbrough) (1910/2016)
Pagodes from "Estampes" (arr. Grainger) (1996)
Petite Suite (arr. Brakkee) (1889/1999?)
Petite Suite (tr. Winterbottom) (1889/1927)
Petite Suite (arr. Kimura) (1889/1998)
Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune (tr. Sousa) (1894)
Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune. See also: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and The Afternoon of a Faun
Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune (arr. Stalmeieir) (1894/1992)
Prelude from "Suite Bergamasque" (arr. St. Louis)
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (tr. Hindsley) (1894/1973)
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. See also: Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune
Premiere Arabesque (1891)
Première Rhapsodie (arr. Yodo)
Première Rhapsody (tr. Baars) (1910/12016)
Première Rhapsody (arr. Walker; ed. Pappas) (1910/1963/2004)
Reverie (arr. Boo) (1890/)
Rêverie (tr. Thompson) (1890/2011)
Sarabande (tr. Bennefield) (1894/1901/2020)
Sarabande (tr. Erickson) (1894/1967)
Sarabande (arr. Howland; ed. Gregory) (1894/2018)
Suite Bergamasque Mvt 2 Menuet (arr. Thompson)
Three Debussy Pieces (arr. Singletary)
Three Pieces from "Children's Corner" (orch. Sheen) (1908/1988)

Resources

Debussy, C.; Hindsley, M. [197-?]. Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun [score]. [Concert Band Transcriptions]: [Urbana, Ill.]
Perusal score
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune. Wikipedia Accessed 21 June 2022