A Viennese Arrangement of Debussy's 'Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune': Orchestration

and Musical Structure

Author(s): Richard S. Parks
Source: Music & Letters , Feb., 1999, Vol. 80, No. 1 (Feb., 1999), pp. 50-73
Published by: Oxford University Press

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/854665

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? Oxford University Press

A VIENNESE ARRANGEMENT OF DEBUSSY'S

'PRELUDE A L'APRES-MIDI D'UN FAUNE':
ORCHESTRATION AND MUSICAL STRUCTURE

BY RICHARD S. PARKS

FOR ME, and I imagine for many listeners, one of the most striking impressions of
Claude Debussy's Prelude i l'apres-midi d'un faune is of its alternately shimmering or
undulating instrumental colours, a prominent feature that seems at least as essential to
the character of this piece as its more conventional aspects in such domains as theme,
harmonic language, key scheme and hierarchic phrase structure. Those who hesitate at
this assertion should attend a performance of Leonard Borwick's transcription for
piano solo.' Stripped of its orchestration, the Prelude remains a wonderful piece, but the
difference may be likened to replacing a wall of coloured bas-relief with plasterboard
and eggshell paint.
This article concerns Debussy's Prelude and a splendid chamber ensemble arrange-
ment of it created for Arnold Schoenberg's Verein fur musikalische Privatauffiihrungen. It
also discusses the ways in which each of these two quite different versions of a
composition may shed light upon the other, and the values and aspirations of those
who brought each of them into being. It begins with a brief history of the arrangement
and a recounting of Schoenberg's published views regarding the role of orchestration
apropos of 'musical substance'. It proceeds to a search for answers to obvious
questions: how does the arrangement compare with Debussy's orchestration in
terms of the assignment of instruments vis-a-vis pitch materials, and did the arranger
preserve Debussy's idiosyncratic treatment of instruments? It then considers subtler
questions: what about this lambency, this lustre of instrumental colour? Surely it has to
do with the pacing of changes in the assignment of instruments. Are there schemes
apparent in the kinds of changes in instrumentation, in the pacing of those changes, or
in the instrumental combinations Debussy employed? And did the arranger retain
them in the transcription (if so, how did he accommodate them within the confines of
the reduced instrumentation)? Finally, I ask what we might infer about the arranger's
conception of the role orchestration plays in forming compositional structure, at least
in this piece.
The fourth season of Schoenberg's Verein fur musikalische Privatauffihrungen promised
to be the most ambitious in its short history.2 As in previous seasons, programmes were

Most of the material in this article was presented in a substantially different form at an international conference held in
Ottawa during 2-6 January 1996. I wish to thank Walter Kreyzig, the organizer of the conference, for his invitation to
speak, which provoked me to formulate this topic. I also wish to thank Belmont Music Publishers (and Elizabeth
Saladay in particular) for their generosity in lending me the score of the chamber orchestra arrangement of Debussy's
Prilude a l'apr$s-midi d'unfaune, and for granting me permission to quote several passages; in addition, I wish to thank the
Arnold Schoenberg Institute (and Wayne Shoaf in particular) for providing me with a photocopy of the autograph score.
Claude Debussy, Prilude l'aprcs-midi d'unefaune, arr. Leonard Borwick, Paris, 1914.
2 There are many informative historical accounts of the Verein fiir musikalische Privatauffiihrungen. See, for example,
Willi Reich, Schoenberg: a Critical Biography, trans. Leo Black, New York, 1981 (unaltered reprint of the Praeger edition of
1971), 117-28; Joan Allen Smith, Schoenberg and his Circle: a Viennese Portrait, New York, 1986, esp. pp. 81-102; Leonard

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 to include compositions for solo instruments and chamber ensembles, and piano
transcriptions of modem orchestral works; but in addition the 1921-2 season was to
have featured monthly performances by a small chamber orchestra of as many as
sixteen orchestral works arranged specially for the Verein by Schoenberg's pupils.3 This
orchestra was to consist of a few wind instruments, a string quintet, piano and
harmonium. The impetus for the chamber orchestra performances came from Erwin
Stein, who had assumed the day-to-day direction of the Verein in 1920 during
Schoenberg's year in Holland. Stein had laboured hard to bring the chamber orchestra
concerts into existence. He had originally hoped for regular performances during the
1920-21 season, but the project languished because of insufficient funds. In May 1921
the Verein even sponsored a special concert and auction in order to raise additional
money to hire the musicians. Alas, it simply was not to be. The rapid fall in the value
of the Austrian mark doomed not only the chamber orchestra but the Verein itself,
which gave its last concert in December of that year.4 Most of the chamber ensemble
arrangements were never performed by the Verein; some of them survive, however,
including a transcription of Debussy's Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune attributed to
Benno Sachs.5 Scored for eleven instruments, comprising flute, oboe, clarinet,
harmonium, piano, string quintet and antique cymbals, the arrangement was
probably completed as early as November 1920 but was in any case finished by
October 1921.6
There appears to be little available information about Sachs. Joan Allen Smith tells
us that his name appeared in the first prospectus of the Verein, where he was listed as
one of the rehearsal conductors.7 Donald Harris lists him in the role of Corresponding
Secretary for the Verein towards the end of its existence;8 in addition, Bryan Simms
quotes a letter of 25 November 1920 to Schoenberg from the Verein member Pauline
Klarfeld in which she attributes the arrangement of the Prelude to Sachs (whose name
she spells as 'Sax').9 There is little mention of him after 1921, and hardly anything
outside the Verein.'? Although parts were prepared during October and November

Stein, 'The Privatauffiihrungen Revisited', in PaulA. Pisk: Essays in his Honor, ed.John Glowacki, Austin, 1966, pp. 203-7.
For information regarding the transcriptions, see Bryan R. Simms, 'The Society for Private Musical Performances:
Resources and Documents in Schoenberg's Legacy', Journal of the Arnold Schoenberg Institute, iii (1979), 126-49; and
Walter B. Bailey, 'The Chamber-Ensemble Arrangements of the Orchestral Songs, Opus 8: Realizing Schoenberg's
Instructions to his Students', Journal of the Arnold Schoenberg Institute, xiii (1990), 63-88.
3 See Simms, 'The Society for Private Musical Performances', pp. 142-4. As many as 22 compositions may have
been arranged for chamber orchestra under Schoenberg's auspices during the four years of the Verein's existence, and
ten manuscripts are now known to exist.
4A list of concert dates and works performed appears in Walter Szmolyan, 'Die Konzerte des Wiener Sch6nberg-
Vereins', in Schonbergs Verein fir Privatauffiihrungen, ed. Heinz-Klaus Metzger & Rainer Riehn ('Musik-Konzepte',
xxxvi), Munich, 1984, pp. 101-14.
See Theo Hirsbrunner, 'Debussys Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune und seine "sinnlichen Hilfsmittel"', in
Schonbergs Verein fir Privatauffiihrungen, ed. Metzger & Riehn, pp. 31-42.
6 Simms quotes a letter to Schoenberg from Pauline Klarfeld dated 25 November 1920 in which she says the
Debussy arrangement was now completed ('The Society for Private Musical Performances', p. 146). According to the
entry in the preliminary catalogue of the Arnold Schoenberg Institute, each of the parts for the arrangement is signed
and dated by the copyist, with dates ranging from 2 October to 5 November 1921. See Kathryn P. Glenna, Jerry L.
Mcbride & R. Wayne Shoaf, Arnold Schoenberg Institute Archives Preliminary Catalog, Los Angeles, 1986, p. 108.
Smith, Schoenberg and his Circle, p. 83.
8 Donald Harris, 'Ravel Visits the Verein: Alban Berg's Report', Journal of the Arnold Schoenberg Institute, iii (1979),
74-82, at p. 81.
9 Simms, 'The Society for Private Musical Performances', loc. cit. Simms also attributes to Sachs three of the 25
letters sent to apprise Schoenberg of the Verein's activities during his absence while conducting in Holland in 1920-21
(ibid., p. 130).
"0 In his sleeve notes for the Boston Chamber Players' recording of the transcription, Volker Scherliess credits the
arrangement to another of Schoenberg's pupils, Hanns Eisler, but his evidence for the attribution is thin: see his notes
for Transcriptions: Debussy, 'Prilude l'apris-midi d'unfaune'; Berg, 'Adagio'; Schonberg, 'Kammersymphonie' Opus 9 (Deutsche

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1921, presumably in readiness for the second half of that season, the arrangement was
never performed in the Verein concerts."
Schoenberg harboured a keen interest in Debussy's music. Smith quotes Paul Pisk,
who was closely associated with the Verein, as saying: 'You know they called the
Schoenberg Verein "Reger-Debussy Verein" because Schoenberg was so fond of Reger
and Debussy'.12 Indeed, sixteen of Debussy's compositions were included on the
Society's programmes; he was second only to Reger as the composer most frequently
performed.'3 As for orchestration, Smith relates that Schoenberg 'believed the
presentation of large works in arrangements for reduced forces allowed for a clarity
of presentation and a simplicity of formal enunciation often not possible in a rendition
obscured by the richness of orchestration','4 and that 'The reductions ... [of orchestral
works for piano or chamber ensemble enabled listeners] to hear complicated works
clearly presented, divorced from their coloristic properties'.'5 Indeed, in Style and Idea
Schoenberg himself discusses piano transcriptions in metaphorical terms:
A sculpture can never be seen from all sides at once; despite this, all its sides are worked out
to the same degree. Almost all composers proceed in the same way when handling the
orchestra; they realize even details that are not under all circumstances going to be audible.
Despite this, the piano reduction should only be like the view of a sculpture from one
viewpoint.16

Smith also quotes personal correspondence from the pianist Stefan Askenase dated
27 July 1973: 'Schoenberg's opinion was, that a work could be better judged without
an orchestral decoration, that one could better find out what it really contained of
musical quality'.'7
Grammophon 2531-213 (1980)). In an article published at about the same time, Scherliess claimed that the handwriting
on the autograph resembled Eisler's (for comparison, he reproduced bars 43-7 of the score and a postcard from Eisler
to Eduard Erdmann): Volker Scherliess, 'Hanns Eisler's Bearbeitung von Debussys Prilude d l'aprcs-midi d'un faune',
Neue Zeitschrift fir Musik, cxli (1980), 130-32.
For a long time I found the question of the arrangement's authorship puzzling. In vain I searched modem and
contemporaneous biographical and bibliographical resources for information about Sachs, but he seemed to have
appeared with the Verein in 1918 and to have disappeared with its demise in 1921. The only mention outside the Verein
that I could discover was an entry under his name in the catalogue of the Library of Congress for a music item entitled
Famous Favorites in Miniaturefor Piano (Boston, c. 1940). For a time I even entertained the possibility that Benno Sachs was
a pseudonym. Recently, however, Marilyn McCoy, Assistant Archivist at the Arnold Schoenberg Institute, has shed
considerable light on the subject. In two electronic communications to me (31 January 1997 and 4 February 1997) she
referred to three letters in the Institute's materials related to the Verein that name Sachs as the arranger: to Schoenberg
from Josef Travnicek (also known as Trauneck), dated 29 October 1920; from Pauline Klarfeld, dated 25 November
1920 (mentioned by Simms, as noted above); and from Sachs himself, dated 18 October 1920. She noted that the
Institute's holdings include a total of five communications from Sachs to Schoenberg, including the three letters residing
among the Verein materials, a birthday postcard to Schoenberg signed by Sachs, his wife and others (dated 1923), and
from 1934 'an engraved visiting card from "Dr. Benno Sachs und Frau" with a handwritten birthday greeting' (McCoy,
e-mail of 4 February 1997). She offered, as explanation for the dearth of references to Sachs, the fact that he was a
physician, for whom music was a hobby. As for Scherliess's attribution to Eisler based on the handwriting in the score,
it is McCoy's opinion that the handwriting in all of the documents attributed to Sachs is both consistent and unique.
She asserts that among the Verein correspondents Erwin Stein's handwriting most closely resembles Sachs's but that
there are clear differences both in penmanship and line-spacing. I am deeply indebted to Marilyn McCoy for this
information.
1 See Bailey, 'The Chamber-Ensemble Arrangements of the Orchestral Songs', p. 67. The manuscript of Sachs's
arrangement of the Prelude survived, however, and parts are now available for rental through Belmont Music Publishers
in California.
12 Smith, Schoenberg and his Circle, p. 90.
3 Reich, Schoenberg, p. 122.
4 Smith, Schoenberg and his Circle, p. 85.
5 Ibid., p. 91.
6 Arnold Schoenberg, 'The Moder Piano Reduction (1923)', in idem, Style and Idea, ed. Leonard Stein, London,
1975, pp. 348-50, at p. 349.
" Smith, Schoenberg and his Circle, p. 94.

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 Articles by Bryan R. Simms and Walter B. Bailey give us some idea of both the
scope and the particulars of Schoenberg's practice of assigning, as compositional
exercises, projects in which works for full orchestra were to be arranged for one or more
pianos or for chamber ensemble.18 For the Verein arrangements Schoenberg favoured a
chamber ensemble instrumentation consisting of a few wind instruments (three or
four), piano, harmonium and string quintet. Bailey closely examines one set of
arrangements (Op. 8), briefly discusses several others, summarizes the extant corres-
pondence between the students and Schoenberg (as well as other documents, such as
Vorlagen, bearing upon Schoenberg's views regarding the study of orchestration), and
extrapolates six principles that he believes Schoenberg must have stipulated to his
students for the Verein arrangements. These principles may be paraphrased as follows:
first, eliminate doublings from the original; second, eliminate divisi within sections
where possible, or reassign to another solo instrument, or keyboard; third, wind
instruments usually play their own 'first' parts, though if idle they may take horn parts;
fourth, the harmonium takes the remaining wind and horn parts, and sometimes inner
string parts; fifth, the piano takes harp parts and substitutes for brass instruments
(including horn) when the latter are used as a choir, for punctuation, or when given
important motivic figures; sixth, the string quintet plays string section parts as written
(after divisi parts have been removed).'9 The Prelude arrangement consistently conforms
to these principles.

I turn now to three idiosyncratic structural features of Debussy's orchestration, and

consider how the arrangement treats them: first, the instrumentation itself, with its
potential for depth of instrumental colour; second, the use of instrumentation to
enhance other musical parameters; and third, the practice of overlapping instrument
entrances with exits.

INSTRUMENTATION

While the instrumental forces required for the Prelude are not extravaga
they modest. Debussy rejects trumpets, trombones and percussion (exc
antique cymbals) but employs a full complement of woodwind, includin
and stipulates a full section of four horns (although he utilizes them all a
the equivalent of about eleven of the work's 110 bars). Moreover, he mak
of divisi strings, at times even writing parts for two solo violins in add
violins I. Considered by instrument type, a total of nine different instr
are available: flutes, oboes, cor anglais, clarinets, bassoons, horns, harp
of course, antique cymbals. But in addition, there is available considerable
instrument groups because most of the instruments are multiply repr
woodwind type is represented by a pair except for the flute (which is tr
anglais (which is alone). The harp is also paired, and the horn quadruple
section features the most redundancy, which Debussy often exploits by s
or divisi parts. As a result, not only is there available a fairly wide palette of
colours, but it is also possible for Debussy to manipulate the degree of sat
any instrument colour or combination of colours.
By 'saturation' I mean the use of more or fewer instruments from a g
18 Bailey, 'The Chamber-Ensemble Arrangements of the Orchestral Songs', passim; Simms, 'The S
Musical Performances', esp. pp. 142-8.
19 Bailey, 'The Chamber-Ensemble Arrangements of the Orchestral Songs', pp. 75-7.

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deepen or lighten that particular colour. Saturation can be manipulated in two ways:
by adding or subtracting unison doublings (which occurs most often in the strings), or
by increasing or diminishing the assignment of instruments to different notes, as in
chords, which occurs in all instrument groups except for the cor anglais. Thus
Debussy's basic sound palette of nine 'hues' can produce a wide range of timbral
intensities.
By way of illustration we may consider bars 16-18 of the original orchestration.20 In
bar 16 (see Ex. 1), divisi violin II 'stands in' for violin I; thus the total number of string
parts is five, distributed as in a standard orchestral string quintet. In bar 17, pairs of
flutes, bassoons and horns registrally disperse each of their instrumental colours,
whereas the unison doubling in the oboe pair intensifies that timbre (over the previous
bar's oboe I) but without dispersing it registrally.21 In bar 18 the oboe pair disperses to
an octave doubling, the addition of a second horn pair deepens that instrument's
colour, and violin I enters, divisi further dispersing the string sound among a total of
seven parts.22
Although it employs far fewer resources than the original orchestration, the chamber
arrangement of the Prelude nevertheless provides for almost as many distinct instru-
mental colours-a total of seven, in fact: flute, oboe, clarinet, harmonium, piano, string
quintet and antique cymbals. Cor anglais, bassoon, horn and harp are missing, but
their loss is somewhat compensated for by the new timbres of piano and harmonium.
Because of this variety the arrangement is able to retain most of the original
orchestration's instrumental colour changes accomplished through entrances and
exits of instrument types. The arrangement does differ from the original, but only
minutely. There is, for example, a change of instrument at bar 8 that does not appear in
the original (the clarinet enters after an absence of two bars to take the 3rd horn part),
and there are no changes in instrumentation at bar 13 (in the original, horns entered
after an absence of two bars) or bar 15 (in the original, horns exited and bassoons
entered). Such discrepancies are rare and always involve small magnitudes of
difference: the addition or subtraction of a single instrument group. What is con-
spicuously missing in the arrangement is Debussy's manipulation of saturation within
particular instrument colours, since neither doublings (in the strings) nor polyphonic
assignments (within any single wind instrument type) are possible. I would liken the
difference in potentialities between original and arrangement to that between the visual
paint media of acrylic versus watercolour; both can be used to depict the same
underlying images, but in the realm of colour the former has a wider dramatic range.
Of course, the chamber arrangement permits most of the same repertory of special
instrumental effects as the original, such as specific bowing techniques and the use of
mutes ('sur la touche' in the strings, for instance, at bar 11). Moreover, the piano and
harmonium permit some additional possibilities for figuration, which the arranger uses
imaginatively to compensate for missing instruments. Hence the availability of the
damper and sostenuto pedals makes it possible in bars 4-5 (Ex. 2) to assign to the
piano the harp glissando and the solo horn at the same time; and the harmonium's
ability for sudden crescendos and diminuendos makes it possible to mimic that effect
in the horns and clarinet of the original at bars 19 and 63-70 (Ex. 3).
20 In assembling the score excerpts, I have consulted William Austin's critical edition as well as the original Paris
edition. See Claude Debussy: 'Prilude to "The Afternoon of a Faun"', ed. William W. Austin, New York, 1970; Claude
Debussy, Prelude a l'apris-midi d'un faune, Paris, 1895.
21 Note that the dynamic marking here is piano, so that the increase in instrumental colour saturation contrasts with
the still-restrained dynamic level.
22 Here the registral pitch-span occupied by oboes, horns and strings also widens dramatically.

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 Ex. 1 Debussy, Prelude, bars 16-20
Original orchestration Arrangement

16 Na 17 1I 19 On 16 17 1
Fl. 1,2
'&B - rT P p cre

Ob. 1,2 P crescendo sc fc sc

Ob.
R, P f cre

Cl.
Cor.A.
0 - 'r~r' 'r'r '- r ~or t r p
p crescendo f-f f sc
^ ^tT f^ <r^

Cl. 1,2

P crescendo dim. etretenu Harm.

crescendo

Fg. 1,2
0n

- ".,- ' 7~---9 , ,

Cn

Cor. 1,2
Klav.
Si ' - sC jij crescendo

Cor. 3,4

(i *t Et#;:cr`sc Ddgll j t*@,#> f sct

0 $e- 4#.
Vn. I
-$B - dgj- (G a,, ,t Vn. I 68 B - l f f^
Vn. 2
rnemolo
Vn. 2

a tremolo
cresce
Va.
1 Premolo
aintsJr
Ih J. J . l- r' 'T' rgrpr_rp -' ''
Va.
1W ; crescen

a: ' J. ' r ? . rp
Vc.
tremolo
Vc.
L : a T:-rr r r r r p r pr p r p Tp^ 70 ,- crescen

| W crescendo ycyr yf: Cb.

s8AeJ^jJ?. . , 7 "r' . j. y , ,,
Cb. cr

Il,r crescendo -
Exce
Belm

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 Ex. 2 Debussy, Prelude, bars 4-5
Original orchestration Arrangement
4 5

'4"1~~~~~~~
Fl. I

Byr~~~~ 'I r tl~~~~~

4

Ob. 1,2 Fl.

8 a r f r I J

~~~~~~~~~a ~~
$Yia r ~~~~~~~~~I$~~ A #.
Ob.
Cl. 1,2

Cl.

Cor. 1
4al I ~ a _r
Cor. 3 Harm. driril~~~~~~ ri
7 ' Fr\,IIY~ 7 gr~ ~ ~~~
4rhlr~ g y
Cn Arp. I
0>

Klav.

Arp. 2

BYrg B~~~~~ Vn. I

Vn. 1
9:da - c- Vn. 2

Vn. 2 9:lC a : Va.

Va.
~~rt~~k i ii ,d?~~~)~
Vc.

Vc.
Cb.

Excerpt from arrangement used by permission

Cb.
Belmont Music Publishers, Pacific Palisades, C

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Ex. 3 Debussy, Prelude, bar 63
Original orchestration Arrangement
6~~ 3
F^L b f rr* r^ r rf
Fl. 1

9 F."
Fl. 2,3@ , i e Fl
' __ r r lr r
63 'L L
Ob. 1 d e 9 X i i 1^subito
OiO O b^ 1 y e O
Cor.A. m? l 'p ' ) PPsubito

k~4U~I,Fg F ( '/ Psubito?

Fg. I8sy^^ \ r
pp Ha> > >m

Cor.l4 2 t . . 1 J
Cor4.d i 6 r r V 0 \B"a j 0 JI
6A h ; ; nKlav.

I 8

6>9 6 ;? s6 Vn.l I

f~ t !j s ~ 'p ~2 subito
Arp.2
Arp. P Vn.2
2 2 Vn. f 2
r
p subito
e 6 6

Vn.l ,l r r va. jBu bp r mP subito

PP subito

Vn.2 dN4l r r 1
VV. c.

Va. B^ X r r ppsubito
Cb. b p s of
Vc. pp ! I * rpsubito

Excerpt from arrangement

Cb. ~S 1 2' Belmont Music Pub

INSTRUMENTATION AND INTENSITY

Debussy often uses instrumentation as a means of enhancing or produc

normally associated with intensity (i.e., volume). He may, for exam
intensity by adding or subtracting instruments, either as an altern
adjunct to crescendos or diminuendos normally achieved simply by havin
play louder or softer. Thus at bar 18 Debussy adds divisi violins I to the p
in the oboes, which enhances the crescendo begun in the previous bar
also requires 2nd oboe to abandon doubling 1st oboe at the unison
doubling at the octave, which increases the registral span of the instrum
band' at the same time as there occurs an increase in intensity (wr
crescendo instruction coupled with the addition of instruments). In a sim
bar 20, in support of the diminuendo in the theme in 1st clarinet,
instruments (oboes, 2nd clarinet, violin I) from the theme, which collaps
span of the 'colour-band' as well as removing octave and unison doublin

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 Debussy uses a different approach in bars 42-50 (Ex. 4), which is the site of an
incremental crescendo fromp (bar 42) to mf (bar 44), tof (bar 46), followed by a gradual
diminuendo to pp (bars 48-50). This crescendo is depicted schematically in Fig. 1.
Both the number of instrument groups and the number of parts increase and decrease
in tandem, from four instrument groups and seven parts in bar 42,23 to seven groups
and sixteen parts in bar 44, to seven groups and eighteen parts in bar 46. At bar 48,
where the diminuendo begins, the number of groups and parts falls to five and twelve,
and to five and eleven at bar 50, where the diminuendo culminates in the pp. In an
apparent anomaly, the forces at bar 50, which coincides with the nadir of the
diminuendo to pp, actually mark an increase over those of bar 49 (from two groups
and seven parts to five groups and eleven parts). But in fact the overall intensity
continues to attenuate from bar 49 to bar 50 because the addition of flutes and harps is
mitigated by the strings' reduction in density (with the exit of violin II, viola and divisi
violoncellos), the reduction in attack activity in the 2nd bassoon and horns (where
dotted minims replace crotchets or quavers), and the coalescence of flutes and harp
into unison doubling (which further reduces the overall density of texture).
Debussy treats relations between instrumental forces and other musical parameters
with subtlety and imagination. The obvious way to relate instrumental forces to
intensity is to co-ordinate them in tandem by pairing 'louder' with more instrument
groups, 'softer' with fewer, which we might liken to modifying visual perspective on a
subject by means of a camera lens of variable focal length, through which we may
zoom in on, or away from, our subject. An alternative is to co-ordinate changes in
forces and volume in opposition, for example pairing 'softer' with an increase in
instrument groups, as at bars 49-50, just examined. If I may extend the visual
metaphor, this effect is like combining the techniques of variable focal length
photography with stereophotography, where two lenses focused on the same object
move apart laterally at the same time as they zoom out, so that the depth of the image
increases even as it becomes more distant. It is an exquisite effect.
With regard to instrumentation and intensity, in general the arrangement is faithful
to the original, but there are some differences. At bar 18 the addition of violin I to triple
the line in the oboe and clarinet in support of the crescendo mimics the effect of the
original, as does the reduction from tripling to a single clarinet coinciding with the
diminuendo (see Ex. 1). But the result is a pale reflection of the original since in bar 18
there is no 2nd oboe to double the 1st at either the unison or the octave. Hence the
crescendo cannot be reinforced in that way; nor are divisi octaves possible in violin I. In
bars 42-50 of the arrangement (see Ex. 4) the number of instrument groups increases
and decreases in parallel with the incremental crescendo and diminuendo, just as in
the original, but the changes are noticeably less abrupt: in the original the number of
instrument groups increases from four to seven (at bar 44), and then decreases, first to
five and then to two (bars 48-9); in the arrangement the increase is from three to six,
but the decrease is more gradual, from six (bars 44-6) to five (bar 472) to four (bar 48)
and finally to three (bar 492). As for Debussy's technique of manipulating instrumenta-
tion in concert with changes in intensity, while there are minor discrepancies between
the arrangement and the original the arrangement's overall fidelity at least allows us to
conclude that the transcriber recognized the centrality of the technique to the character
of the piece.
23 By 'part' I mean a particular instrument playing a particular line, such as clarinet II or horn III, except for the
string section, where 'part' refers to a line that may be played by an entire group, such as violin II, or by a sub-group in
the case of divisi 'parts'. One part may (and often does) double another.

58

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 Ex. 4 Debussy, Prelude, bars 42-50
Original orchestration Arrangement

? p 43 @ mf 45 4f
F..i ...rrn.r. , , %S,g=fr t? ? f - 42 43 44

Fl.

Ob.
el.*.s
4J-JJJJ J I t
?z~~ ,
a.

Ob 1 ' I - r- 1 - r- f r

s f

,p
Cll.,2 # l tg 2t 0 ( - '--
Ut'26 Fb ,, ri :
I'^!4 j 1 s 1r
Fg.1,2 Bl^ ri P t t , L
t'1 t w t w i
C-., " j, '. , + r _' -r 12 T- r* P * r
V. 2
-^i ^ r L ?
Cor.3,4 ? | J't t J W n t r3fl T4 l e . ^J ST r
! ^l^rJJ'?~~t * ,
- - I - _ Va.

p
6i*i
rJlr- f
t "'
l - - _ -
Arp. 2
r
I , i - f- II Cb.
_ ' ' t t >r_
Vn. I~,, | r, , 't:
Excerpt from arrangeme
Vn.2 . 1 ?t Belmont
? Music P PublisheI

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 Original orchestration Arrangem

47 @ 49 50 47 48

Fl. 1

, J
Fl.

Fl. 2,3

Ob.

Ob. 1,2
;J - Cla.

Cor. A.
- - - ,j j J1 , di.

CI. 1,2

- . J ' J - J ; I
Fg. 1,2 d? J.
? ? ? # , , -
r
f dim.
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Co,. 1.2/J.rdi-
i. 4 J dim.
j J. J J JPJ . Klgv.

0 )

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Cor.3,4 J J J- jrn3 J 4 _, I I r :
f p

~- -~ ' - 9 r r r
f
Vn. I
,_wf
??
r ___
/'*/ *d
Arp.

-^.;P"1>J L- J
II--
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1 - - -~~~~~~~ 4jJ
Va

Vn. I - r t-ffrt rr ' f ' -'r1 Vc.

Cb.
Vn. 2
FJi = ? Lr i r 'i r r 'r r ) ? Excerpt from arrangement u
Va.
Belmonxcerpt from ausic Publishers
Idp
Belmont Music Publishers, Pa
r ' . r :
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; ^r ir t^ ; 'r 'r-r '
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J r

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 dynamics p n mf f dim.... PP

1 flute 3 flutes (dlv.) 1 flute

2 oboes (8ves) 2 oboes (div.)
cor snglais cor anglais cor anglais
I clarinet 2 clarnets (unis.) 2 clarinets (unis.) 1 clarinet
instruments 2 bassoons 2 bassoons (unis.) 2 bassoons (unis.) 2 bassoons (div.) 1 bassoon
2 horns (div.) 4 horns (div.) 2 horns (unis.) 3 horns (div.)
2 harps
strings (a3) strings (64) strings (a6) strings (a6) strings (a3)

:::: ::: ::::::::::::::.:::.:.ib. .:.:.:::::::::::: :< ...: ........... ............... .......:: : : : :

number of
parts 7 16 18 12 (7) 11

number
number of
of.. .
t ..........................
? 7 5 CZ) 5
instrument groups 7 5 . ( 5

Fig. 1 Debussy's orchestration

with numbers of instru

OVERLAPPING ENTRANCES AND EXITS

A characteristic feature of Debussy's treatment of instruments is h

overlapping instrument exits and entrances. This feature is manifest in tw
lengthy overlaps, in which one or more instrument colours are reta
formal juncture otherwise partly defined by changes in instrum
second, brief overlaps, in which one or more instrument colours ar
a formal juncture for only one note. Both techniques are pervasive
Prlude,24 and each serves a different purpose.
Lengthy overlaps preserve continuity from one formal unit to the
the effect of changes in other parameters. Examples abound in the Pr
tiny formal junctures as well as major ones. The main formal junctur
is preceded by four bars of transition25 in which the solo clarinet
thematic material with additional support from 1st oboe in the last b
'new'26 theme (set in a new, homophonic texture) entails new instrum
flute and cor anglais. However, the clarinet and oboe timbres are re
previous bar. Similarly, the preceding phrase-level formal junct
bridged by bassoons, horns and violins, which persist throughout the
51-4.

Brief overlaps serve to soften the effects of disjunction; they 'blur the edges', so
speak. An example occurs at bar 79 (Ex. 6), which is the site of another major form
juncture marked by the varied return of the opening theme in the flute and many
prominent changes in instrumentation. Just before this bar the instrumentati
features oboe, clarinet, horns and solo violin; at the beginning of bar 79 the
instrumentation changes to harp and strings, and two beats later the solo flu
enters. While the oboe, clarinet and horns withdraw almost immediately, the

24 A rare exception is the pause at bar 6, where a dramatic bar of silence follows the opening phrase of bars 1-4 an
its continuation in bar 5.
25 The transition's theme in the solo clarinet is closely related to that of the codetta-like bars 48-50.
26 This theme can be regarded as a variant of the original theme presented by the solo flute. See my The Music o
Claude Debussy, New Haven & London, 1989, pp. 224-5 and p. 348 n. 7.

61

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 Ex. 5 Debussy, Prelude, bars 5
Original orchestration Arrangement

3 flutes

I
F
nA

Fl.

' p
S - -v -
- ^
Ob.

CL

J, r
0)
ho,
KIv.
$ J J J
-yJ-2^?
., ^:^r
- ,I rrr
- t F s f f
V..
Va.22

A 'rr t fr
K - . .
Vc.
K' 4 ' 'J
''- r ,v
Cb.

Excerpt f
Belmont

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 c\i

ca

.5
o

0 -

C?
a t

no
Q.C
.

EX

c
0) 0
E
a)
C
E,
x 0
w o

o - > _

Il
0,

1.0

CC
t t

0
3 o

0I
Q Wc
cP ? s;'
(,

63

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nevertheless overlap the new instruments by one quaver. Another example may be
found at bar 83 (Ex. 7), where the solo flute is replaced by solo oboe; the instruments
overlap by one quaver. (A longer overlap occurs here in the strings; violoncellos and
double basses persist well into the phrase that begins at bar 83.)
This feature of overlapping entrances and exits is carefully retained throughout the
arrangement. At bars 51-4 the violins are retained from the preceding bars. At bar 55,
flute, oboe and clarinet are retained from the previous bar, as are the strings. What has
changed is that the piano has receded well into the background (as did the horns in the
original), while the harmonium has approached the foreground (supporting the
strings). Despite the availability of one flute for the upper note of the sustained triad
at bar 52, in the transcription the arranger reassigns the entire flute trio of the original
to the harmonium. This reassignment works well because the sustained harmonium
sounds very close to the original timbre of three flutes, and it enables the true flute
timbre to be reserved for bars 53-4, where the heterophonic effect of having the flute
double the clarinet, but on the offbeats, is more important than is its colour on the
sustained, pianississimo triad. A glance at the score will confirm that the arrangement
preserves the technique of brief overlaps, for instance in bar 51 (Ex. 5: flute overlaps
clarinet for one quaver, as in the original) and bar 55 (piano persists for one quaver, in
place of 1st horn in the original). At bar 79 (see Ex. 6), oboe, clarinet, harmonium and
violin I overlap the piano and lower strings for one quaver, in place of oboe, clarinet,
horns and solo violin in the original. And at bar 83 (see Ex. 7), the flute overlaps by one
quaver with the oboe, as in the original.

I now return to the prefatory observations in my first paragraph, in which I remarked

on the iridescent effect of the Prelude's coruscating instrumental colours. Close
attention to this feature reveals that it varies noticeably throughout the piece. At
times, such as at the beginning (bars 1-20), the changing instrumental colours impart
a languid character, whereas later on (bars 31-50) their effect is much more active and
purposeful. I wish to explore the impetus for this impression of iridescence, which
arises from the orchestration, because while I have no documentary evidence to
support my contention (i.e., in the form of instructions to the arranger or comments to
interested parties), I suspect that this particular musical character was prominent
among the attributes that attracted Schoenberg and members of the Verein to this piece
as a subject for a chamber ensemble arrangement.27
The varying effects of mutability in instrumental colour-which range on one hand
from lambent shimmering to languid vacillation, and on the other from an almost
metric regularity to capriciousness bordering on the erratic-actually arise in the
domain of rhythm, specifically from the durations that separate changes among
instrument groups. It is the protean relations among these durations that mirror the
various effects of mood that the piece elicits. The durations that separate changes in the
make-up of instrument groups concatenate to form two general types of pattern that
are as easy to discern as the durations themselves and are readily apparent in the score.
One type of pattern arises from variations in the successive durations that separate
changes in the composition of the instrumentation. These successive durations are
either progressive, regressive or static. The other type arises from variations in the

27 Had the Verein merely wished to present 'the notes' of the Prilude to their members the Borwick piano transcription
was already available.

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 cJ\

ca
c.

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r- \ Ia)
a)
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CZ
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P4 $ 0 6

65

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average rates of change among those durations that occur from one formal unit to the
next. To explore these patterns, all that is necessary is to note entrances and exits of
instrumental groups as the piece unfolds,28 to record the durations that separate them,
and to observe the patterns that emerge as the durations accumulate. In Fig. 2 I have
posited a formal plan that will provide a framework for this discussion.29

Section 1 (bars 1-30) Section 2 (bars 31-54) Section 3 (bars 55-78) Section 4 (bars 79-110)
Tr6s moder6 Au Mouvt Mime mouvt et tres soutenu Mouvt du d6but

(B: VI) (A ( DA : V ) (E: V I)

phrase: 2 3 4 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12

~per X,I
phrase .. |, | .. H .. 1..
: ,1 .90...:..: ::.: ':. .. .. .
0duration .0
(in quaver s)a 4 .2 .
changes ' , 10.0 10,5 ' W :SS g | - .
10.5 ~ i~i~i isli1
iiiiii12.0
12.0 12.0 12,o 12o0 120,
IZ 12.0 , 120:12.0
,0o

ii X
Fig 2 Formal plan changes in instrument groups and Debussy's orchestration

| ,:,: I 1 2410
24.0

Note howeveraverage
that exits be much more difficult to ween trances
dur
average devaton 5 average deviation = 2.6 average deviaton = 5.5 average deviation = 3.1

precisely but
average durati treat
on 9.3 exits
activity. with
Thesrage signalsless precision.
are followed by markedAlso, exits
chanverages are musical
in several affected byatonce,
parameters reverberation
such as
acoustics andtexture,
tempo, varies from
attack one venue
activity to artiation
and another.5 averag e dev with 2.6 taverage introdueviation of striking new musical material or a
29 A number of writers have proposed formal plans for this piece. In his critical edition of the Prelude, Austin
summarizes several different plans (see his chapter 'Toward an Analytical Appreciation', pp. 71-96, esp. at pp. 71-5).
prominent
Another schemereprise of earliem
is provided by Jeanal plan, changes
Barraque: in ibetween
Austin's tnstrument
translation of his essay groups, and entitled
of 1962, Debussy's orchestmbrated
'An Experiment by an
Crowned with Success' (ibid., pp. 162-5), reproduces Barraque's plan on p. 163. Most scholars agree that major formal
boundaries occur at bars 55 and 79. As I have posited elsewhere (The Music of Claude Debussy, pp. 240-43), I hear three
authentic cadence in B mthat exits can b much more diicult to track. Skilled performers execute the timings of entracter (despite
partitions, including those at bars 55 and 79 as well as a third that occurs at the anacrusis to bar 31, resulting in a
obvious correspondencxits between the leading line and the opening theme) in terms of tex, which is a function of concert-ha
quaternary scheme that evinces roughly symmetrical proportions about an axis at bar 55. Although expediency
(more active) and articulaties from on (more varied and more frequent). The boundary at bar 55 is preceded and followed by
precludes
precludesaadetailed
detailedexplanation
explanation of of
mymy scheme,
scheme,a brief account
a brief may be
account may helpful.
be helpful.
9 Aeven more dramatic changes. Again an e proposed formal plans for this piece. In his critical edition of the ud, Austi
The boundaries for each of the four sections are defined by signals of closure such as harmonic cadences and general
extendsummarizes sever five bars, from the plan (see hin A flat major) an Analytical Appreciation', bars 51. 71-96,Again there at pp. 71-5).marked
Another scheme in musical materovided by ean Barraqu: Austin's texture from reanslatively thin to dessay of 1962, entited 'An Experiment
tempo, texture, attack activity and articulation, and combine with the introduction of striking new musical material or
semiquavCrowned with Success' (ibid., pp. 162-5), reprodic contour of theraqu's prevailing upper line Mostom smooth tolars angular, and smajor forth. The
prominent reprise of earlier material. The boundary between the first two sections (at bar 304) is adumbrated by an
last maboundaries occur at bars 55 and 79 evinces similar features: an autelsewhentic cadence (in D flat major) effects closure in bhears 73-8;three
authentic cadence in B major (bars 29-30). It is followed by musical material of a markedly different character (despite
rhythmically
obvious fluctuantbetween
correspondences to regular; and a ell
the leading a aand
line thethe
ts aopening
occurs theme)
atpening the anacrusis
in terms of texture to bar 31, resulting
(thinner), in
attack activity
(more
Withinactive) and
eary sch articulation
section there occur(more variedsmaletl
nuroughlys and more frequent). The
proposubdivisions aboutboundary at These
phrase level. bar 55 is preceded
range and followed
in55. Although expedfromby nin
even more dramatic changes. Again an authentic cadence adumbrates the formal boundary, but this time its duration i
quavThe boundaries for phrach of the four section 4 (only one bar long) to 42 quavers for phrase 2 of sectiuch as harmonic cadences and genebars long).
extended over five bars, from the dominant (in A flat major) at bar 503 to the tonic at bars 51-4. Again there are marked
attenuation of activity. These signals are followed by marked changes in several musical prameters at once, such as
changes in musical materials at the boundary: in texture from relatively thin to decidedly thick; in activity from
semiquavers to quavers; in the melodic contour of the prevailing upper line from smooth to angular, and so forth. The
last main boundary at bar 79 evinces similar features: an authentic cadence (in D flat major) effects closure in bars 73-
the texture and active registral span changes from thin and narrow to dense and wide; attack activity shifts from
rhythmically fluctuant to regular; and there is a clear reprise of the opening thematic material in the flute.
Within each section there occur numerous small subdivisions at the phrase level. These range in length from nine
quavers for phrase 9 of section 4 (only one bar long) to 42 quavers for phrase 2 of section 1 (six and two-thirds bars long).
The average per phrase is about 24 quavers.

66

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ACCELERATION VERSUS DECELERATION

Following Wallace Berry's definitions, let us call changes of the fi

progressive or regressive incremental changes-rhythmic accelerati
tions.30 Berry calls pacing that entails progressively shorter durat
progressively longer durations he called deceleration. There is also a
namely, stasis-which occurs when durations remain constant.
Fig. 3 represents portions of the Prelude (and, for comparison, th
ment) by means of a two-dimensional model for which the hor
corresponds to the passage of time demarcated in bars, while the
corresponds to entries and exits of instrument types. The original
given on the lower half of the diagram, the arrangement on th
portion of Fig. 3 records the durations (in quavers) that separate ch
original are recorded immediately below the central horizontal
arrangement immediately above. In addition, the number of instrum
or entering at points of change, and the resulting total number of i
are recorded under the broken horizontal line below the axis (for th
the broken line above the axis (for the arrangement). Higher integ
durations (in quavers) or more instruments. Table I shows ser
(measured in quavers) separating changes in instrumentation
comprising the five phrases that are encircled on Fig. 3.
An example of acceleration occurs in the first phrase of section
(Fig. 3c: note that the phrase actually begins with a deceleration sinc
is four quavers, as shown in Table I). An example of deceleration o
phrase of section 1, bars 28-303 (Fig. 3b and Table I), and an examp
found in the sixth phrase of section 2, bars 75-8 (Fig. 3c and Table
Phrases that manifest a single tendency are quite rare, howe
common are those that fluctuate. Consider the dynamic effect of
opening passage of the Prelude, phrases 1-2 (Fig. 3a, bars 1-10
between changes in instrument groups across the two phrases are sh
terms of instrumental colour the first phrase is completely uniform. Th
however, vacillates through three and a half cycles of deceleration
striking contrast between the enervation of the first phrase compared w
vigour of the second, with its undulating pattern in the flow of instrum
the tone for the piece as a whole, which continually changes its
fashion.

INTENSIFICATION VERSUS DIFFUSION

The second category of changes, which entails, in the composition of inst

differences in average rates of change in the durations that separate cha
seen by considering larger formal units-either clusters of phrases or who
characterize the effect of different average rates of change over longer
intensification versus diffusion. Intensification occurs when the average ra
are high, that is, when changes occur relatively often. Diffusion is the o
occurs when changes are relatively infrequent.
Taken together, changes of instrument groups within the six phrases of
separated on average by rather long durations (see Table II and Fig. 2). Ov

30 Wallace Berry, 'Rhythmic Accelerations in Beethoven', Journal of Music Theory, xxii (1978), 177
Structural Functions in Music, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1976.

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Fig. 3

A. Bars 1-10 (phrases 1-2): fluctuations in pacing

.Sehr m.ssig
' 1 5 Ih
flute 11111111111111111111111111111111111 1 1111111111 11111111111
oboe -

clarinet 4 1111111111111111111IIIIIIUlllllllllllil 111111i ?

t fi?cttrt
harmonium
piano I
antique cymbals
violin 1
violin 2
viola II{I 9i
* Al~
m

violoncello E
M Nit!
double bass 9 T -

9 6

Metre 8 8 8!

insts. exiting -1 -1 -3 .1 .2

insts. entering . ............. ...-t......... ...2 .......1I........ ..2 .....- . t .... ..... ....................................
instruments playing 3 2 32 0 2 3 2 3 42 3 4

Durations (in is) 30 6 7 7 4 6 29

2 5 hi 5
between changes 30 2 5 5 6 1 5 1 8 4 6 18 11
insts. exiting -1 -2 -3 -1 -1 -- -1

insts. entering ........ . 4..............4 .....-+1-..... 2. . . .. ........................................... .1

instruments playing 54 53 0 23 2 1 43, 3 4

Tres modere
10 o
flute 1 1 II I I 111111111111111
flute 2
flute 3 :
: . . .:
. . . . . . . . . ' : . : .

oboe 1 . . ; .!
.i
oboe 2
nrAr
Wv l IIanniais
1al; ;
clarinet 1
8: IIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIII IIII111!111 :I; Ill
clarinet 2
bassoon 1
bassoon 2
horn 1 iiI
horn 2
horn 3 : , Iff'
horn 4
anti que cymbals
harp 1
harp 2 . . . . e/
. . . . . ;

violin 1

violin 2

viola

violoncello

double bass

'9 6
Metre 8 8 8:

phrase structure
no. bars \' 3 1/3 62/3 . 3 1/3
phrase 1 2 3
section 1 ---... ......-.- ...
'"'... .-----..------..

Entries and exits of instrument types, bars 1-10

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B. Bars 28-30 (one phrase): deceleration

flute
oboe
clarinet
harmonium
piano
antique cymbals
violin 1
violin 2
viola
violoncello
double bass : : I : : i I Urll!JIIU IIJ.
9 ! 12 9 12 i; 3
Metre 8 8 8 8 1 4

insts. exiting -1 -1 -1 -1 -3 -1 -1-1 -1

insts. entering C 2) ..... 1 ........... --3 '-- 4. 4 ... -....- ... +1.1 .. ..... ... . +1 .
instruments playing 4) 3 4 3 4343 1 24 3 4 34 4

Durations (in Js) 3 3 12 15 3 3 4 17 6 7 3 26

between changes 3 3 31 9 12 13 3 3 4
insts. exiting -1 -2 -1 *1 -1 -1 -2 *1 - 1 -1 -1
insts. entering (-t 3) ......+ J-l . ...... .......... . . 1...... +.. --
-.-..-...-... 1+t --........ ..-
instruments playing 5) 4 5 4 3 ;2 3 2 3 2 1 234 3 4 34 5

Au
Cede 1z I 3 mouvt

flute 1
ein llIIII IlIIIlIlIlIlllIIIlIllIIlII 1 111111 111111 "I IH IIIH I itU[UUI[UJJJll
flute 2
flute 3
oboe 1
oboe 2
cor anglais
clarinet 1
clarinet 2
bassoon 1
bassoon 2 111X|11111j11 , , , 111111111111111\
horn 1 anff,i ^ i i
horn 2
horn 3 . . t
;' i flfiffS
Ilfl
horn 4 . . .tn . . .

antique cymbals
harp 1
. . .3

harp 2 ;laa1 . /agIm:

violin 1

violin 2
I. mir
I. Dl
viola
, _
Fm im
;: . . . .

violoncello IE
H 9-- I

double bass l ll 1 1'1 N '

Metre
Metre 12 9
8 8 12 9 12 ' 3 12
A8 8 8 4 8
phrase structure
no. bars 2 , 23/4 . 31/4
phrase 8 '-.s 9 ^. 1
section .-.- ------2- 2

Entries and exits of instrume

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C. Bars 75-8 (1 phrase): stasis
Bars 79-831 (1 phrase): acceleration
.. ' Anfangs

7S..... . 2zeitm
8. Eas as
8! lebhafter
, []
flute
oboe
clarinet
harmonium
piano
antique cymbals | |uw , i [
violin 1
violin 2
viola
l Ii i raSimm J., i I.- i .!
violoncello
double bass
Metre
' in figuration,
lo' violin ends) :

insts. exiting -4 -1
'4 -1 .1 ' -2 -1-3 -2
insts. entering ......+2 ......... . ' .._.+l..........+l.. ...- .....-.- . ..2 ... ..... 2+J-+1 . ...
...........
instruments playing
1..12323
.+4 '4 3 5 : 2\ 3 4 3 3, 5 3 55342

Durations (in Js) 4 2 6, 6 | 6 12 1.4 20 16 3 15 31 5 2122 2 6

between changes 4 2 6 12 12 , . 4 20 6 21 5 213 3 2 2 2 2 21
insts. exiting -5 -1 -2-1 -1, -2 -1 4 -2 -2 -1

insts. entering ......t.J . . i - --.. ---.. -----..

1 ...... -- i.
................. ..2.. .....2A.1 +2+1 .. 2._..-.2 .2+2+.t .1

instruments playing 1 22 3 4 11 2 4 233! 54 3 513322

', Mouvt
C6dez Un peu
un peu d2but plUs anime
75
flute 1
flute 2
flute 3
oboe 1
oboe 2
cor anglais
clarinet 1
clarinet 2
bassoon 1
bassoon 2
horn 1
hor 2
hor 3
hom 4
antique cymbals
harp 1
harp 2
violin 1

violin 2

viola

violoncello

double bass

Metre
44
phrase structure I ,~~~~~~~~~~~I,
no. bars 4 ~~~41/4
phrase 6 11.1 2
section .1*- ~4 -. (4)

Entries and exits of inst

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 TABLE I

Rhythmic Accelerations, Decelerations and Stasis in the Pacing of Changes of Ins

Groups

Key: Durations between changes are measured in

quavers expressed as integers.
Series of durations are bracketed as '< >'.

Original arrangement

bars 79-831: acceleration

<(4),20,6,2,1> < (4),20,6,3>

bars 28-303: deceleration

<3,3,3,4,17> <3,3,3,4,17>

bars 75-8: stasis

<12,12> <6,6,12>

bars 1-4, 4-10 (phrases 1-2):

4 1/2 cycles of
deceleration-acceleration

<3012,5,1,5,6,1,5,8,4,6>
<301 2,5,1,5,6,7,7,4,6>

TABLE II

Intensification versus Diffusion in the Pacing of Changes of Instrument Groups

Key: Approximate durations between changes are

measured in quavers expressed as integers.
Series of durations are bracketed as '< >'.

original arranaement

section 3 (phrases 1-6, bars 55-78)

<5,12,6,24,4,12> <5,24,6,24,4,8>
average duration = 11 averaae duration = 12

section 4 (phrases 1-12, bars 79-110)

<6,2,6,3,3,4,8,16,5,8,12,4><7,3,9,3,4,4,8,16,5,8,12,4>
average duration = 6 average duration = 7

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average duration between changes is almost eleven quavers. In contrast, the twelve
phrases of section 4 exhibit relatively short durations between changes, with an average
duration of about six quavers. The difference is palpable: section 3's leisurely changes
in the composition of instrumental colour evince a listless character (consistent with
that of the melodic material and figuration), which contrasts sharply with the agitated
character of most of section 4, where changes in instrumental composition are more
frequent.
We may also hear a scheme in which pacing intensifies from section 1 to section 2
(i.e., on average the durations between changes are shorter in section 2 compared with
section 1). Moreover, the average deviation in duration (measured in quavers) is less for
section 2, so that from phrase to phrase the duration between changes varies less in
magnitude than it does in section 1. In section 1 the average deviation is about six
quavers, compared with about three quavers' deviation per change for section 2 (see
Fig. 2). Both of these features contribute to the enervating character of section 1, in
contrast to the more vital character of section 2. Section 3 resembles section 1 in both
its slower overall pacing of changes and its wider deviations. But whereas each phrase
exhibits a different number of changes (and thereby contributes to a wide average
deviation of about six quavers), the durations of the phrases themselves are con-
spicuously regular (at four bars each)-unlike sections 1 and 2, where fluctuating
phrase lengths complement fluctuating durations between changes. Section 4 has the
largest number of phrases (twelve), with changes occurring often, on average about
every six quavers. At the same time, the average deviation in the duration of changes
narrows considerably (to about three quavers), so that the effect is one of frequent
changes at regular intervals-almost a pulsating effect.
Overall, sections 1 and 3, which treat their thematic material in a more 'expository'
fashion, exhibit the slowest pacing of changes but the greatest variance in the amount
of change. Sections 2 and 4, whose characters are more 'transitional' or 'develop-
mental', are also the most inconstant-and at the same time the least varied in their
changes. The characters evinced by these patterns of pacing are co-ordinated to events
in other musical parameters (including pacing of changes within those parameters),
which can be affirmed by listening to the piano transcription by Borwick. The
orchestration does not create these characters by itself, but serves to enhance and
support them.
While not all changes are preserved in the arrangement (some are omitted while a
few others are added; see, for example, Fig. 3c (bars 75-8) and Table I), on balance the
overall tendencies remain. In particular, the arrangement retains all of the aforemen-
tioned structural features in the realm of pacing of changes in instrument colours
(although their impact is greatly diluted owing to the drastically narrower range of
resources available to effect them). A final note: whereas in the original, changes always
coincide with phrase boundaries, in the arrangement they do not. For example, the
beginning of bar 26, which is a phrase boundary, is the site of changes in the original
orchestration, but not in the arrangement (see Fig. 3b).

The arrangement preserves far more of the original than just the notes, motifs,
harmonies and textural attributes such as counterpoint and figuration; it also preserves
the main structural features of Debussy's orchestration, despite the contrary implica-
tions of Schoenberg's published comments to the effect that he regarded orchestration

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as compositional decoration rather than essence, something to be trimmed off if one
wished to measure the true musical substance of a work. Despite its drastically reduced
forces, the transcription retains most of the range of instrumental colour, although not
its capacity for nuance. Like the original, the transcription uses the instrumentation to
enhance other musical parameters (especially intensity), although the reduced forces
provide a far less potent tool and so its contribution is diluted. In addition, the
arrangement punctiliously preserves a hallmark of Debussy's style, namely, the
practice of overlapping instrument entrances with exits at main and subsidiary
formal junctures as a means of obscuring the work's formal seams. Finally, the
arrangement preserves the original's pacing of changes in instrument groups, thereby
preserving a subtle, concealed dynamic structure that contributes significantly to the
work's exquisitely variegated sound surface.

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