Debussy: how to make the inaudible sound.

DEBUSSY, in the Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.

Let's just focus on the beginning.
To begin with, it is a small orchestration, but rare: there are two oboes + an English horn, two harps...

The symphonic poem is based on a melody first exposed by the flute, then re-exposed several times in which it is reharmonized.

Debussy's great achievement here, or one of them, is how to make a flute alone, in its low register (which is very weak) and also on piano, to be heard and stand out among the rest of the orchestra...

Let's hear it,

First we hear the flute alone and at the end of the phrase a transition with the harp and winds.
At the rehearsal position marked 1, at approximately 1:03.... is the first harmonization and that is what we are going to refer to.
 

How does Debussy make the flute sound so clear, even though the rest of the orchestra is in pp?

There are several things that contribute to this:

1. The dynamics in pp.
2. The tremolando of the strings, which weakens the sound.
3. The tremolando in sul tasto (sur la touche), which makes the sound less bright.
4. Assigning for the bass only two double basses.
5. But the most important thing is the non-interference of the space, of the register.

This scheme summarizes everything: the lowest note of the flute is a G natural, and the highest note of the rest of the orchestra is an F# (clarinets and tremolo violins). This way, even though the flute is in a low and weak register, it has all its space to sound on its own.

Wonderful.

Hey Luis @Luis Hernández,

Great didactic post as always! Except that the F# should be a F natrual for the clarinet (actual sound) and violin when the fulte is playing its lowest G! An F# will make a tone clash that ruin the serene atmosphere there, but a F natural with strengthen the serene mood.

Henry

1 hour ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

Hey Luis @Luis Hernández,

Great didactic post as always! Except that the F# should be a F natrual for the clarinet (actual sound) and violin when the fulte is playing its lowest G! An F# will make a tone clash that ruin the serene atmosphere there, but a F natural with strengthen the serene mood.

Henry

 

Nooo. Have in mind that the the actual or sounding pitches in the clarinet are F# and D, since theynare clarinets in A, and the tones A and F natural sound a minor third below… F# and D, like the violins.

10 minutes ago, Luis Hernández said:

Nooo. Have in mind that the the actual or sounding pitches in the clarinet are F# and D, since theynare clarinets in A, and the tones A and F natural sound a minor third below… F# and D, like the violins.

Yeah it's true in beat 1 but I am talking about the moment when the flute is playing the lowest G in the 3rd beat, since the clarinet is indeed playing a F natural since it's written as Ab+F there which will be F natrual and D in the actual pitch after tuning a minor third down. And as your example in showing the note G for the flute, it's better to have the harmony in the 3rd beat rather than the first beat when flute is not playing that particular G.