Task: Choose recordings of at least two of the pieces for solo wind instruments in the suggested listening above, and if possible search out a library copy of the score too. After listening to and following each piece, make your own analysis of how the end result has been achieved. You can always draw something from the experience of other composers. If possible, ask a friend or colleague to play one of the pieces. Your brief written analysis should include your observations of: • the structural design • the melodic contour design • the scales and tonality that are explored.
Claude Debussy – Syrinx (1913)
French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918) composed Syrinx, a work for solo flute, in 1913 as part of the musicalisation of the theatre production of Psyché, by Gabriel Mourey. This composition was meant to be the only musical section in the whole of the play and was meant to be performed off-stage to musicalize the myth of the nymph Syrinx and the god Pan. This piece has been widely recorded and is a major component of the repertoire for solo flute; furthermore, it has had the unintended consequence of serving as a template, in both style and substance, for a vast number of subsequent compositions for solo flute .
The piece itself takes between 2:20 and 3:20 minutes to perform (from a quick survey of available recordings on Spotify).
Form and Structure
The form of the piece appears to be A-A-B-A and can be split as follows:
- A1: measures 1-8
- Statement of the theme, conclusion at double bar-line.
- A2: measures 9-13
- Re-statement of the theme, development of the thematic content without the conclusion from A1
- B1: measures 14-24
- Secondary motif is introduced and developed, idea is now based on triplets.
- Section contains more ornamentation (grace notes, appoggiaturas, and trills)
- A3: measures 25-35
- Final statement of the theme and conclusion
- Short change in time signature to 2/4 before returning to ¾ until the end
Melodic Design
The melody is based on a circular arabesque, meaning that the motif keeps on coming back to itself. In the case of Syrinx, the repeating theme of section A returns to the tonic of Bb with every pass.
The different statements of the theme all contain different endings to the phrase. This can be seen if looking at the difference in measures 2 and 4 above. Measure 2 contains a chromatic descent onto the tonic and a clear ending to the statement. By contrast, measure 4 does not allow the idea stated in measure 3 to finish, but this introduces a variation to the main idea. No two phrase endings to the theme are the same in this composition, and all introduce some variation.
The composer has kept the majority of the piece in the lower register of the flute, perhaps to highlight the richer fuller sounds of the solo/unaccompanied performance. Without having to compete for register space, the flute on its own can take advantage of the expressive and colourful tone of its lower register.
Scales and Tonality
The piece is written in the key of Bb minor and makes extensive use of chromatic passing tons. The chromaticism employed in the melody is used very carefully as a means of highlighting the notes from the implied tonality. Generally, in the exposition, the chromatic notes outside of the key are given shorter durations and allow for the strong beats to contain notes from the key of the piece. There are some places where the pattern above does not fit. Debussy makes use of an E natural which gives sections an implied whole-tone sound (E natural – Gb – Ab – Bb – C)
Olivier Messiaen – Abîme des oiseaux (1941)
French composer Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) composed the sketches of what would become the Quartet for the End of Time while held at a German prisoner-of-war camp in Poland in 1941. While en transit to the camp he met a clarinetist, a cellist, and a violinist and composed the Quartet, which includes the solo clarinet work Abîme des Oiseaux. The work was performed in the camp for an audience made up of fellow prisoners, camp staff, and German soldiers. Henri Akoka, an Algerian-French clarinetist at the camp who premiered the composition, acknowledged the difficulty of the piece from its inception.
The piece itself takes between 6:20 and 9:00 minutes to perform (from a quick survey of available recordings on Spotify). The piece is noted for its difficult slow tempo (as slow as 1/8th note = 44) and it’s demanding control of dynamics and breath control from the instrumentalist.
Form and Structure
The piece is written in free-form time
The form of the piece may be discerned from the section commentary given by the author to provide expressive indications. Listed in order or appearance, these would be as follows:
- Lent, expressif et triste A1
- Sans presser, progressif et puissant B1
- Presque vif, gai, capricieux C1
- Lent (sans presser, progressif et puissant) B2
- Presque vif C2
- Lent expressif et triste A2
- Sans presser, progressif et puissant B3
- Modéré D1
- Presque vif C3
- Lent E1
A1 – B1 – C1 – B2 – C2 – A2 – B3 – D1 – C3 – E1
Melodic Design
Messiaen uses markedly different devices to craft the shape of the melodic lines in this composition. I think it might be interesting to look at the design of the phrasing in this piece, rather than to analyze every individual section, which may be beyond the scope of this exercise