In 1876, Stéphane Mallarmé published The Afternoon of a Faun, a dreamy evocation of a faun (half man-half goat) and his lusty pursuit of nymphs. One admirer of the poem was Claude Debussy, who planned a Prelude, Interlude and Paraphrase Finale on the work. Apparently he originally intended some sort of declamation of the text, along with the music.

What finally emerged in 1894 was the orchestral Prelude only. The first performance of Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun took place on December 22, 1894 in Paris. 

In his preface to the score, Debussy described the music as “a very free illustration to Stéphane Mallarmé's beautiful poem. It does not follow the poet's conception exactly, but describes the successive scenes among which the wishes and dreams of the Faun wander in the heat of the afternoon. Then, tired of pursuing the fearful flight of the nymphs and naiads, he abandons himself to the delightful sleep, full of visions finally realized, of full possession amid universal nature.”

~ Program Notes by Charley Sampson, copyright 2022