La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair) Claude Debussy

Wonderful edition of Debussy’s wonderful piece has been edited to reflect the subtle grace and profound delicacy of the composition. A welcome addition to the performance literature.

LA FILLE AUX CHEVEUX DE LIN is from Debussy’s first book of Preludes for piano. The title was taken from a poem of that name by Leconte de Lisle/ Debussy’s mastery of delicate romance and understatement is everywhere evident in this charming work, beginning witht he repose of the opening phrase. The theme outlines an E-flat minor 7th chord, but is never harmonized as such. It opens as a pentatonic solo voice that ends with a IV-I, the cadence in the key of G-flat major. When restated, the theme is accompanied by parallel dominant 7th chords which obscure the tonality and suggest the uplifting C-flat major harmony of measure 16. Suffused with subtle grace and profound delicacy of expression, the piece requires fine dynamin discrimination.