Syrinx was written in 1913 by Debussy for the flute as incidental music to Gabriel Mourey's play, Psychí©. It was first performed by and dedicated to Louis Fleury. It has become a staple of the flute repertoire and subsequently of the solo classical saxophone repertoire too. It works beautifully on the bass clarinet; the timbre of the instrument really resonates with the haunting melancholy of the melody.
The story of Syrinx is from classical mythology and has inspired many wonderful works of art, literature and music. It tells of a beautiful and chaste nymph who is transformed into water reeds that sing sweetly in the breeze as she attempts to escape the amorous advances of the Greek God Pan. Pan, on hearing the enchanting melody of the reeds, cuts them down to make pan pipes, thereby unwittingly killing his love but keeping her with him forever.
For flautists, Syrinx and the French flute tradition have played an important role in inspiring players to find and explore the full palette of ethereal and evocative tone colours. The subtle flexibility with which it is possible to craft the sound is a feature of wonderful flute playing today and from which I feel there is much we bass clarinettists can learn.
