syrinx

le syrinx (FR N-M) In Greek mythology, pan-pipes, musical instrument named after the nymph Syrinx. One day Pan was chasing her when they reached a river. Unable to cross it, she asked the other nymphs to make her into a reed bed. Pan cut the reeds into different lengths and made a wind instrument from them. Debussy wrote a solo flute composition called Syrinx (1913) that is evocative of this story. The prominent role of the flute in Debussy's orchestral »Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune« (1892…