Alongside Robin Bowman on piano, this lecture recital will explore the connection between the flute and Pan, the Ancient Greek god of the wild.
ABSTRACT:
Pan is everywhere in flute music. The Ancient Greek god of the wilderness holds a persistent presence over the instrument's repertoire doubtlessly in no small part due to Debussy's work for the flute. Published as Syrinx, although originally titled La Flûte de Pan, the piece is a staple of modern flute repertoire, and is often credited as having single-handedly revised the unaccompanied flute solo as a form; the only work frequently played today in that style of anywhere near Syrinx's notoriety being Bach's Partita in A minor. Its reputation is, as can be seen, suitably mythological for its subject matter.
However, the literary context for Debussy's piece has generally been misunderstood. Commonly cited as telling the story of the death of the nymph Syrinx and subsequent transformation into a set of playing pipes by Pan himself, the mythological backdrop to this piece is far less clear than commonly told. Nonetheless, the impact of this work has doubtless left an enduring impact on the interest of writers for the flute in the story and mythology of Pan.
One might imagine, however, that there must be reason beyond the popularity of Syrinx for the sheer amount of music dedicated to the depiction of Pan since the early 20th-century. Pan is a nature deity, but also one inherently bound to music through the symbol of the pipes named after him. Exploring Pan's mythology and mythography through discussion and performance of key works in this body of music will seek to shed light on the relationship between Pan and the flute, and how that relationship has been interpreted by composers of the last century.
