I thought you all would be interested in what happened to me at the State Solo and Ensemble Festival today.

I played Debussy's Syrinx, which was originally written for a famous flute player by the name of Louis Fleury. By some strange coincidence I got the one judge who had been taught by someone who had studied under Louis Fleury. I mean, what are the chances of that? So, she proceeded to tell me everything she knew about the piece and how it is supposed to sound in each section, along with the piece of the story it fits with. She was absolutely full of good advice though. Maybe it's because she was also taught by James Galway and is an international concert flautist. *sigh* I'm so glad I heard all this AFTER I played...

The girl who played after me, though, was playing her very first concerto, which also happened to be the very same concerto the judge played as her first...

So did you play it like she wanted it?

I heard the whole story and was taught measure by measure with this piece and thought it was a very interesting. I don't think that there is a right way or wrong was to play it, everyone expresses themselves differently.

I read an article about when Ronda Larson went to one of James Galways master classes where he scolded her for playing a piece wrong, that her interpretation of it was totally wrong. I don't like that. It is like the whole gold flute craze where everyone wants the same sound. No one is going to tell me how I should or shouldn't express myself in a piece of music. I suppose that is one of the biggest reason why I refused to go to college.

I play what is in your heart, not what people 'tell' me to and so far have been very happy with the results.

you are right Kara, music school can sometimes be the worst thing for a musician

As for Galways interpretations, just go listen to some famous flute rep. on Itunes and hear all the different tempi, phrasing, dynamics, articulation, etc etc etc

Well, my interpretation and story was different from hers, but she still gave me a superior.

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Yeah, I have heard Syrinx played so many different ways. I just went with what felt right and what sounded good.

There's this whole story about this piece with regards to Syrinx and Pan may be basically wrong. People have created this elaborate scene of the Greek god/faune Pan desperately chasing the maiden Syrinx to the river's edge. It is true that Syrinx was the one that Pan had the hots for and also true that as a result of the Pan /Syrinx story, the panpipes musical instrument bundle is also called Syrinx in some places.

I believe that if you investigate, the piece was written as incidental music for a play. In the play it is background music for Pan's death scene. It was not exactly written for Fleury but he was hired to perform it and after the play he kept the music as his personal property.

Here:
The history of the short but memorable work is intriguing. Debussy and his friend Gabriel Mourey, an influential poet, dramatist and critic of the arts, had often discussed the possibility of collaborating on theatrical projects, but they never actually worked together on anything until 1912. At that time, Debussy began to write incidental music for Mourey’s play, Psyche, based on the ancient myth about a girl so beautiful that not only did Cupid fall in love with her, but also even Venus was jealous of her loveliness. Debussy said that Mourey’s play “plucked all the feathers form the wings of love.” He wrote only these brief two and a half minutes of music for a flute, which were played backstage during the death scene of the god Pan, who personified fertility and creation. Louis Fleury, who performed this composition when the play was produced in 1913, kept the manuscript and often played the piece in public, but no other flutist was allowed access to the music until it was published, in 1927, two years after Debussy’s death.

~Bilbo
N.E. Ohio

Bilbo, your history of this piece is correct, I wrote a paper on Syrinx in music school years ago.

I have several students learning this piece now and I find it interesting how so many flute players I have heard over the years ignore the very specific directions written by the composer himself, especially in terms of rhythm

Patrick, It has been my experience that some play the whole thing too fast or their rhythms are off. The first event comes after the first note is lengthened as they over-emphasize the dot and make the 32nds into qick grace notes. Then in the 4th ms they can't seem to find the difference between the dotted eighth rhythm on the 1st beat and the triplets later. Moving into the next ms where the rhythm goes completely awry and then the Cb where they can't even find a beat in a bucket. Combine this with the fact that they are going by a sort of memory of some sort of style that they heard once and the fact that they aren't really counting, it may not really be Debussy's concept of the tune anymore.

This impressionism is neat stuff and a far cry from Sousa's type of beats. I've been listening to Pahud's CD "Beau Soir" and although it doesn't have Syrinx, it represents other Debussy or impressionism works and is really well done musically. A good example to follow.
http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?z=y&PWB=1&EAN=724355774026

~Bilbo
N.E. Ohio

it is interesting what people do to Syrinx, the late great Tom Nyfenger used to give a lecture titled "25 perversions of Syrinx" where he listed 25 common mistakes or liberties taken by flutists, actually, Debussy is very very specific as to what he wants, which to me is important in retaining the tension as the piece progresses