Debussy - Syrinx
This piece originally for solo flute was an essential work for solo instrument. The piece has a spacious, improvisatory quality that echoes the opening of Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un faune, Debussy's haunting and fascinating casting of Mallarme's poem. Indeed the subject matter are very close, with satyrs and fertility as common threads. Syrinx has become widely played as a solo saxophone piece though obviously creates a slightly heavier sonority than the flute original. Debussy composed Syrinx as incidental music for a play by French writer Gabriel Mourey. The piece almost seems to imply much harmony and orchestration and therefore rarely feels empty or barren as so much solo repertoire can do. The absence of polyphony is well substituted by the passionate melodic lines and functions well as a tapestry of Pan's yearning and longing.