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WORK TITLE: Afternoon of a Faun
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WEBSITE: http://www.harveysnyder.com/
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http://www.harveysnyder.com/book-reviews * https://onstageandbackstage.wordpress.com/tag/harvey-lee-snyder/
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Son of Eli (a violinist) and Lillian (a painter) Snyder; married; wife’s name Carol; children: Larry, Tanya.
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Harvey Lee Snyder’s Afternoon of a Faun: How Debussy Created a New Music for the Modern World surveys the life history of a pioneer in modern music. The premier of Claude Debussy’s tone poem Prélude à “L’Après-midi d’un faune” in 1894, Snyder asserts, marked a change in the direction of art in general and music in particular. “In the late nineteenth century, French composers, or at least some of them, tried, without much success, to shake off the dust of mediocrity,” Snyder wrote in Afternoon of a Faun. “France’s musical contribution to the late Romantic era had been ‘an empty and paltry thing, emotionally shallow,’ wrote the music critic Lawrence Gilman, ‘refined and adroit, but meager and unrewarding.’ The composers of Germany and Austria … had dominated European music so thoroughly for more than two centuries that every music conservatory on the Continent and Britain was teaching the same dogma. The rules … were codified by seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Germanic music masters.” “As lovely and accomplished as French music could be,” Snyder continued, “the repertoire was lightweight and culturally insignificant when compared with that of Brahms, at the height of his career; Liszt, a pioneer of harmonic indiscretions; and Wagner, whose musical adventures had overwhelmed and forever changed European culture.”
Snyder sees Debussy—who was connected with many different artistic traditions of his time, besides music—as a seminal figure in the development of art in the twentieth century. “Debussy,” the author pointed out, “was the sort of genius whose knowledge of a certain range of human endeavor—in his case, music, literature, and the visual arts—was so broad and penetrating, and whose mind was so nimble, that he could synthesize these various strands and weave something that was new and individual and, most of all, pleasing to many others.” Afternoon of a Faun “will connect many musical history dots for readers familiar with classical repertory,” said David Hendricks in the San Antonio Express News. “Both those readers and others less familiar with classical music can enjoy Snyder’s biography of Debussy best by listening to recordings as they read the stories.”
Critics enjoyed Snyder’s popular biography. Readers “looking for an enjoyable account of Debussy’s life and times,” declared J.E. Wickell in Choice, “will appreciate this volume.” “Afternoon of a Faun,” wrote a contributor to the author’s eponymous Web site, the Harvey Lee Snyder Home Page, “is the first Debussy biography in English written for people who are not necessarily fluent in music.” “He generally deals with the matter straightforwardly,” stated Alan Swanson in Fanfare magazine, “and lets us draw our own conclusions.” “In Snyder’s prose,” concluded R.C. Speck in Quarter Notes, “it’s an irony as tragic as it is fascinating.”
BIOCRIT
BOOKS
Snyder, Harvey Lee, Afternoon of a Faun: How Debussy Created a New Music for the Modern World, Amadeus Press (Milwaukee, WI), 2015.
PERIODICALS
Choice, April, 2016, J.E. Wickell, review of Afternoon of a Faun, p. 1177.
Fanfare, March-April, 2016, Alan Swanson, review of Afternoon of a Faun.
Quarter Notes, summer, 2016, R.C. Speck, review of Afternoon of a Faun.
San Antonio Express News, December 19, 2015, David Hendricks, “Composer Debussy Had a Fresh Approach.”
ONLINE
Harvey Lee Snyder Home Page, http://www.harveysnyder.com/ (March 29, 2017), reviews of Afternoon of a Faun.*
Snyder, Harvey Lee. Afternoon of a faun: how Debussy created a new music for the modern world
J.E. Wickell
CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries. 53.8 (Apr. 2016): p1177.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association CHOICE
http://www.ala.org/acrl/choice/about
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Full Text:
Snyder, Harvey Lee. Afternoon of a faun: how Debussy created a new music for the modern world. Amadeus Press, LLC, 2015. 382p bibl index ISBN 9781574674491 cloth, $29.99
53-3447
ML410
2015-27704 CIP
In this readable, engaging biography of Claude Debussy, Snyder (who has experience writing liner notes for numerous labels) paints a vivid picture of Debussy and the artistic culture of the Belle Epoque in Europe. However, the book includes little discussion of music theory or structure, and no musical examples, so it is best suited to the layperson as pleasure reading. The work is chronological: the author details Debussy's early life, his artistic connections and influences, and the reception and impact of his music. Snyder also illuminates the importance of Debussy's less-known works, creating a rich narrative of his legacy. Those looking for an enjoyable account of Debussy's life and times will appreciate this volume. Those seeking a more rigorous critical and technical approach will want Eric Frederick Jensen's Debussy (CH, May'15, 52-4664), released in Oxford's "The Master Musicians" series. Summing Up: ** Recommended. General readers.--J. E. Wickell, Western Washington University
Composer Debussy had a fresh approach
By David Hendricks Published 12:00 am, Saturday, December 19, 2015
The music of Claude Debussy is standard orchestral repertory these days, but when he composed his now-famous works, Belle Époque Europe hardly knew what to think.
Author Harvey Lee Snyder renders the drama of Debussy’s ground breaking compositions in his biography “Afternoon of a Faun,” as if he was conducting a well-prepared orchestra.
By the end of the biography, readers can easily agree with what what French composer Léon Vallas wrote — that Debussy’s music “separated the music of the 20th century from that of the 19th, in the same manner as the art of Beethoven ... separated the 19th and 18th centuries.”
“Faun” begins with a nearly minute-by-minute description of the premiere performance of the “Prélude à ‘L’Après-midi d’un faune,’” a composition so fresh and unusual in form and meter that it left its first audience puzzled, drawing mixed reactions.
The biography then steps back to tell Debussy’s life story more or less chronologically, with some jumping back and forth.
The basic story Snyder relates is how French composers, including Debussy, found themselves in dilemma.
Richard Wagner had taken Western music seemingly as far as it could go, as it advanced from classical to Romanticism.
More Information
Afternoon of a Faun
By Harvey Lee Snyder
Amadeus Press, $29.99
Who could ever top Wagner?
Debussy, along with Erik Satie and Maurice Ravel, took music into another direction without trying to beat Wagner at his own game.
Their music relied less on rhythm and counterpoint. It also put orchestra color first and seemed to follow the general direction of another art form that France excelled in: Impressionistic paintings.
Some of Debussy’s inspiration came from America, namely poet Edgar Allan Poe.
“Debussy,” Snyder writes, “had an exceptional mind and the enthusiasms of a child, and his imaginative music, like Poe’s writing, often had a dreamlike ambience.”
Debussy’s music stirred controversy and debate, remaining a novelty until 1913 when, with World War I’s disruptions looming, an even stronger surge into the 20th century sparked a riot in Paris.
That was caused by the performance of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet music “Le Sacre du printemps,” or “The Rite of Spring.”
Snyder’s biography will connect many musical history dots for readers familiar with classical repertory.
Both those readers and others less familiar with classical music can enjoy Synder’s biography of Debussy best by listening to recordings as they read the stories behind the compositions.
dhendricks@express-news.net
Harvey Lee Snyder Home Page
http://www.harveysnyder.com/faun--the-book
Afternoon of a Faun is the first Debussy biography in English written for people who are not necessarily fluent in music. The book presents Debussy’s life as a vivid, coherent, compelling narrative, in the context of Parisian cultural life and European history. It appeals to readers with a casual interest in music or a fascination with Paris’s Belle Époque — and to savvy music lovers, students, and scholars, as well.
From his early years at the Paris Conservatory to his evenings at the literary salons of Stephane Mallarmé, from his scandalous love affairs to his dying days, Debussy's story is peopled with cultural icons such as Verlaine, Proust, Whistler, Wagner, Stravinsky, Nijinsky, and Ravel. Excerpts from letters, memoirs, and articles by the composer and his friends bring scenes alive with colorful detail.
Debussy’s lifetime (1862-1918) spanned the entire renaissance of French art from Manet to Cezanne and Picasso, but music lagged far behind. While other composers took inspiration from Beethoven and Wagner, Debussy cast aside the centuries-old rules governing harmony, rhythm, and form. He created his new music from uncomon sources, including medieval and baroque music, symbolist poetry, and the paintings of Turner. From these he wove a new music that “overthrew the very foundations of musical art, destroyed its highways, opened up a horizon of almost limitless expression,” said one critic, “and separated the music of the 20th century from that of the 19th.”
In Afternoon of a Faun: How Debussy Created a New Music for the Modern World, his works — from Clair de lune and La Mer to the little-known ballet scores and chamber sonatas — are presented with evocative description and analogy, but with minimal technical jargon. Early readers say it's a great read!
http://www.harveysnyder.com/book-reviews
San Antonio (Texas) Express News, Dec 19, 2015
Composer Debussy had a fresh approach
By David Hendricks
The music of Claude Debussy is standard orchestral repertory these days, but when he composed his now-famous works, Belle Époque Europe hardly knew what to think.
Author Harvey Lee Snyder renders the drama of Debussy’s ground-breaking compositions in his biography “Afternoon of a Faun,” as if he was conducting a well-prepared orchestra.
By the end of the biography, readers can easily agree with what French [musicologist] Léon Vallas wrote — that Debussy’s music “separated the music of the 20th century from that of the 19th, in the same manner as the art of Beethoven ... separated the 19th and 18th centuries.”
“Faun” begins with a nearly minute-by-minute description of the premiere performance of the “Prélude à ‘L’Après-midi d’un faune,’” a composition so fresh and unusual in form and meter that it left its first audience puzzled, drawing mixed reactions.
The biography then steps back to tell Debussy’s life story more or less chronologically, with some jumping back and forth. The basic story Snyder relates is how French composers, including Debussy, found themselves in dilemma. Richard Wagner had taken Western music seemingly as far as it could go, as it advanced from classical to Romanticism.
Who could ever top Wagner?
Debussy, along with Erik Satie and Maurice Ravel, took music into another direction without trying to beat Wagner at his own game. Their music relied less on rhythm and counterpoint. It also put orchestral color first and seemed to follow the general direction of another art form that France excelled in: Impressionistic paintings.
Some of Debussy’s inspiration came from America, namely poet Edgar Allan Poe. “Debussy,” Snyder writes, “had an exceptional mind and the enthusiasms of a child, and his imaginative music, like Poe’s writing, often had a dreamlike ambience.”
Debussy’s music stirred controversy and debate, remaining a novelty until 1913 when, with World War I’s disruptions looming, an even stronger surge into the 20th century sparked a riot in Paris. That was caused by the performance of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet music “Le Sacre du printemps,” or “The Rite of Spring.”
Snyder’s biography will connect many musical history dots for readers familiar with classical repertory. Both those readers and others less familiar with classical music can enjoy Snyder’s biography of Debussy best by listening to recordings as they read the stories behind the compositions. [Note: Almost all these compositions can be heard, in superb YouTube performances, on the "Debussy's Music" pages of this website.]
"Snyder renders the drama of Debussy’s ground-breaking compositions in his biography “Afternoon of a Faun,” as if he was conducting a well-prepared orchestra."
Reviews posted on Amazon:
Illuminating Debussy
By Ray Grasse
As someone who's always felt a special attrac-tion to Debussy's music, I was enthralled by Snyder's book, which fleshed out many details not only about the composer's seminal work "Afternoon of a Faun" (as well as his many other compositions), but Debussy's life itself. Highly recommended.
What fun!
By TCS
Who knew a book about classical music could be so much fun? It reads like a novel (and at times like a scandal sheet) and brings the lay person in on the magic of Debussy's music and his enormous contribution to the arts.
Five Stars!
By Dr Judith Lowenthal
Beautifully written. Many new insights on modern music.
A Wonderful Biography
By Kindle Customer
The drama of Debussy's romantic and musical life is compelling. The humor is unexpected and terrific. I was especially entranced by the descriptions of the music. I could almost hear the performances.
I love this book
By Gabriel Ross
The author has written a spellbinder. . . . I have not only learned a great deal about Debussy and his new music, and of a host of other fascinating musicians and literary figures, but also of a an era that is now wonderfully alive in my imagin-ation. . . . Thoroughly entertaining. I love this book.
Book Reviews
Background painting, "Sun Setting Over a Lake (c. 1840)," by J. M. W. Turner
Fanfare magazine review, March-April 2016
By Alan Swanson
Harvey Lee Snyder is an experienced writer of program and liner notes. He covers here all the major pieces of Debussy’s music (and a number of the minor ones, as well, among them some unfinished operas) in mostly short chronological chapters. The music makes its appearance as a part of the life, but does not dominate the main biographical story. This approach makes this book a good general introduction to the life and work of Claude Debussy. . . . [The] generous bibliography shows he is well read in the available English literature about Debussy. . . . I particularly enjoyed how he weaves the works into the presentation of the biography without often making great psychological assumptions about what Debussy was thinking and putting into the piece at hand. He generally deals with the matter straightforwardly and lets us draw our own conclusions. I find this approach refreshing in these days of hothouse speculative biography.
Quarter Notes (magazine of WCPE Radio, North Carolina) Summer 2016
"Marvelous biography . . . fascinating!"
By R. C. Speck
Music historians point to certain events which they claim ended one musical era and began the next. For example, it is said that the death of Johann Sebastian Bach in 1750 ended the Baroque period. As for the end of the Romantic period approximately 150 years later, it is not anyone’s death that triggered it but the life of French composer Claude Debussy. This is one of the central themes of Afternoon of a Faun, Harvey Lee Snyder’s marvelous biography of Debussy. . . . Snyder effectively conveys the circumstances of a man whose musical vision stretched deep into the 20th century but who could never quite overcome the political, emotional, and financial turmoil of his everyday life. In Snyder’s prose, it’s an irony as tragic as it is fascinating.