Jan 27, 2020 Debussy’s “Girl With the Flaxen Hair” January 27, 2020 by The Classical Girl Claude Debussy’s “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair” ranks right up there alongside his “Clair de Lune,” “Beau Soir” and “Afternoon of a Faun” on my “favorite short classical pieces” list. Listen to The Girl with the Flaxen Hair on Spotify. Claude Debussy Song 2008.

1. Claude Debussy A The Girl With The Flaxen Hair Analysis Movie
2. Claude Debussy A The Girl With The Flaxen Hair Analysis Pdf
3. Claude Debussy A The Girl With The Flaxen Hair Analysis Book
4. Claude Debussy A The Girl With The Flaxen Hair Analysis Summary

Claude Debussy’s “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair” ranks right up there alongside his “Clair de Lune,” “Beau Soir” and “Afternoon of a Faun” on my “favorite short classical pieces” list. In spite of their brevity, all of them immediately transport you, taking you to a vivid, sensual, evocative place that, once you’ve returned to the “real world” and the slog of daily life, you feel the piece’s presence still, a deep vibration in your core. I’ve blogged about the above three pieces before; you can find them HERE, HERE and HERE, respectively.

“The Girl with the Flaxen Hair,” or “La fille aux cheveux de lin” in its original French, is the eighth piece in Book I of Debussy’s solo piano Préludes, written around 1910. The title was inspired by an 1852 poem by Charles-Marie René Leconte de Lisle, which I’ll post below.

Although it was written for solo piano, different arrangements abound. The first version I heard, actually, was Joshua Bell on violin with orchestral accompaniment. I discovered it a dozen years ago, mid-December, where Bell’s compilation CD slotted in nicely with the Christmas music I play regularly around that time. Best of all, once the holidays had passed, the Christmas CDs shelved for the year, Bell’s “Romance of the Violin” was still there for me. It’s a lovely CD, the perfect musical touch for those early January days when, much as the holidays exhausted you, you find yourself still yearning to light candles and plug in festive lights. (Or is that just me? Tell me some of you do the same.) Each year, now, it is my favorite January CD, and “Girl with the Flaxen Hair” my favorite. It always sounds fresh, nuanced and ephemeral. Within it, there’s a sense of space, of simplicity, and yet, it’s got all those trademark nuances that makes me adore Debussy’s music — its unexpected intervals, parallel chords, exotic scales, ethereal harmonies.

Here’s the arrangement — and the CD — I love so much (and HERE is the link to peruse and/or buy the CD yourself).

I was going to post Leconte de Lisle’s poem next, but before that, let’s pause to hear one more rendition that is amazing. The group is the Los Angeles based cello quintet, SAKURA (Michael Kaufman, Benjamin Lash, Gabriel Martins, Yoshika Masuda, and Peter Myers). This arrangement, for five cellos, is just stunning, fascinating to watch and listen to. Such a rich sound, from cellos alone. Who knew?! (Note to self: research SAKURA for a potential future blog.)

Now for the poem. English translation follows below.

La fille aux cheveux de lin
by Charles-Marie René Leconte de Lisle

Sur la luzerne en fleur assise,
Qui chante dès le frais matin ?
C’est la fille aux cheveux de lin,
La belle aux lèvres de cerise.
L’amour, au clair soleil d’été,
Avec l’alouette a chanté.

Ta bouche a des couleurs divines,
Ma chère, et tente le baiser !
Sur l’herbe en fleur veux-tu causer,
Fille aux cils longs, aux boucles fines ?
L’amour, au clair soleil d’été,
Avec l’alouette a chanté.

Ne dis pas non, fille cruelle !
Ne dis pas oui ! J’entendrai mieux
Le long regard de tes grands yeux
Et ta lèvre rose, ô ma belle !
L’amour, au clair soleil d’été,
Avec l’alouette a chanté.

Adieu les daims, adieu les lièvres
Et les rouges perdrix ! Je veux
Baiser le lin de tes cheveux,
Presser la pourpre de tes lèvres !
L’amour, au clair soleil d’été,
Avec l’alouette a chanté.

And now, the English version

Sitting amidst the alfalfa in flower,
Who sings in the cool morning hour?
It is the girl with the flaxen hair,
The beauty with cherry lips so fair.
Love, in the summer sun so bright,
Sang with the lark for sheer delight.

Your mouth has colors so divine,
It tempts a kiss, o, were it mine!
Come chat with me in the flow’ring grass,
Girl with the long lashes, silken tress.
Love, in the summer sun so bright,
Sang with the lark for sheer delight.

Do not say no, o cruel girl!
Do not say yes, far better still
To read your large eye’s longing gaze,
Your rosy lips which I so praise!
Love, in the summer sun so bright,
Sang with the lark for sheer delight.

Farewell to deer, farewell to hare!
And to red partridges! I shall dare
a kiss of your crimson lips to steal,
your flaxen locks to caress and feel!
Love, in the summer sun so bright,
Sang with the lark for sheer delight.

And, okay, I suppose I should include a solo piano arrangement, since that’s how Debussy composed it.

Which one is YOUR favorite?

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La fille aux cheveux de lin is a musical composition by French composer Claude Debussy. It is the eighth piece in the composer's first book of Préludes, written between late 1909 and early 1910. The title is in French and translates roughly to 'The Girl with the Flaxen Hair'. The piece is 39 measures long and takes approximately two and a half minutes to play. It is in the key of G♭ major.

The piece, named after the eponymous poem by Leconte de Lisle, is known for its musical simplicity, a divergence from Debussy's style at the time. Completed in January 1910, it was published three months later and premiered in June of that same year. The prelude is one of the most recorded pieces of Debussy's, both in its original version and in subsequent various arrangements.

Background and influence

The title La fille aux cheveux de lin was inspired by Leconte de Lisle's poem by the same name, one of his Chansons écossaises (Scottish songs) from his 1852 collection Poèmes antiques (Ancient Poems).^[1][2] The image of a girl with flaxen-coloured hair has been utilized in fine art as a symbol of innocence and naivety.^[1] Musical writers have suggested that Debussy's successful portrayal of these emotions was tied in with the musical simplicity of the prelude—specifically, the technical and harmonic elements.^[1][3] His choice of simplicity for this piece was highly unusual, since it deviated from his style at the time and brought back the simple harmonies that he had utilized in his earlier musical compositions, which were more traditional.^[1][4]

Debussy had previously utilized the title for a mélodie he wrote from 1882 to 1884.^[5] However, it does not feature any similarities to the 1910 prelude,^[2] and merely has a 'distant familial relationship' with the prelude at most according to James R. Briscoe in the music journal 19th-Century Music.^[5] The song, which is one of his earlier works and remains unpublished, was dedicated to Marie-Blanche Vasnier.^[6] She had an affair with Debussy at the time, and he dedicated most of the compositions he wrote from 1880 to 1884 to her.^[7]

Poem

Claude Debussy A The Girl With The Flaxen Hair Analysis Movie

Leconte de Lisle's original poem was written in French. In English, it is translated as:

On the lucerne midst flowers in bloom,
Who sings praises to morning?
It is the girl with golden hair,
The beauty with lips of cherry.
For, love, in clear summer sunlight,
Has soared with the lark and sung now.
Your mouth has such colours divine,
My dear, so tempting to kisses.
On grass in bloom, talk to me, please,
Girl with fine curls and long lashes.
For, love, in clear summer sunlight,
Has soared with the lark and sung now.
Do not say no, cruel maiden.
Do not say yes. Better to know
The long lasting gaze of your eyes
And your rosy lips, oh, my belle.
For, love, in clear summer sunlight,
Has soared with the lark and sung now.
Farewell, you deer, farewell you hares
And the red partridge. I want
To stroke the gold of your tresses
Smothering lips with my kisses.
For, love, in clear summer sunlight,
Has soared with the lark and sung now.^[1]

1. ^de Lisle, Leconte. 'Poems in Translation - Charles-Marie René Leconte de Lisle'. Poems Without Frontiers. David Paley. Retrieved 24 October 2016.

History

The prelude was completed on 15–16 January 1910,^[2] and was first published in April of that same year, along with the rest of his preludes from Book I. Its first performance was given by Franz Liebich at the Bechstein Hall in London two months later, on 2 June.^[8] This was followed by an American premiere at the Stockbridge Casino in Stockbridge, Massachusetts on 26 July 1910, performed by Walter Morse Rummel.^[9] Subsequently, the French premiere took place the following year on 14 January at the Société Nationale de Musique in Paris, with Ricardo Viñes performing the work.^[8]

A transcription of the prelude for violin and piano was created by Arthur Hartmann—a close friend of Debussy^[10]—and released in May 1910.^[11]

La fille remains one of the most recorded musical compositions of Debussy's.^[12] Despite its performance on a recurring basis, the prelude remains popular among audiences,^[4] partly because of its 'memorable tune' which is juxtaposed with a 'mellow accompaniment'.^[13] It has received acclaim for its expansiveness of emotion,^[3] with the Richmond Times-Dispatch's Clarke Bustard describing the piece as 'perhaps the most delicately characterful' out of all his twenty-four preludes.^[14]

Musical analysis

Placement within Preludes, Book I

Debussy was known for his meticulousness in the arrangement of his preludes.^[15] Pianist and musical writer Paul Roberts asserts that this prelude, along with the two that immediately precede it, forms 'the central arch'^[2] of Book I's structure, since the three pieces provide the most 'dramatic contrast'^[2] out of all the preludes in the first book. The sixth prelude, Des pas sur la neige (Footprints in the Snow), evokes a feeling of sadness and isolation,^[15] while Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest (What the West wind saw)—the seventh—exudes a violent and tumultuous nature.^[16] In stark contrast to these two, La fille brings about a sense of gentle 'lyricism' and 'warmth', which is uncharacteristic of Debussy's music of this kind.^[16] By placing these three preludes in this particular order, Debussy ensured that arguably the most technically challenging prelude of the collection (Vent d'ouest) was situated in-between the two that are the simplest to play out of the twenty-four.^[16]

Composition

The prelude's central idea takes after its title – a girl with golden hair in a pastoral setting in Scotland.^[3] Thus, it is one of many examples of Debussy's Impressionist music, since it conjures up images of a foreign place. His utilization of pentatonic scales throughout the piece achieves this, and by blending this in with harmonizing diatonic chords and modal cadences, he creates a folk-like tune.^[4] This prelude uses more plagalleading tones than any other piece composed by Debussy, and the prelude's melody alternates between conjunct and disjunct movement throughout.^[17]

The piece begins with its well-known opening theme consisting of three-note phrases,^[16] grouped together as one eighth note and two sixteenth notes. It finishes with chords that form a plagal cadence between bars 2 and 3,^[17] an element that is not featured in his previous preludes. The second part of the melody enters in bars 3–4, evoking a Scottish ballad or resembling a tune in the style of Edvard Grieg.^[16] The melody from the opening returns in bar 8 with added harmony in the left hand. At bar 19, the melody begins its ascent to the climax of the piece, gradually building up through the use of crescendo to propel it to peak at the end of bar 21. Near the end of bar 22, the melody decrescendos to the subsequent measure, where the theme of the climax is repeated an octave lower. A pianissimo drone-like part that moves in parallel motion—featuring consecutive fifths in some places—comes in at bars 24 to 27. In the next measure, the prelude's coda sees the return of the opening theme one last time—albeit at an octave higher—followed by the droning motif.^[13] Finally, the melody ascends in parallel movement and makes use of a final plagal leading cadence to get to the home key chord in root position. This cadence neither 'melodically anticipates the arrival pitch'^[17] nor does it include the tonic in the left hand. Thus, it has been described as 'the ideal harmonization of the plagalleading tone.'^[17] The melody ends with two arpeggiated octave chords (D♭ in the left hand followed by G♭ in the right), bringing the prelude to a close.^[13]

References

Footnotes

1. Bruhn, Siglind (January 1, 1997). Images and Ideas in Modern French Piano Music: The Extra-musical Subtext in Piano Works by Ravel, Debussy, and Messiaen. Pendragon Press. pp.166–172.
2. Roberts, Paul (2001). Images: The Piano Music of Claude Debussy. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp.242, 252, 256–257.
3. Kolb, Danielle. 'Recital Program'(PDF). UF School of Music. University of Florida. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
4. Weiss, Christopher (2003). 'Debussy Préludes Books I & II'(PDF). Ivory Classics. Ivory Classics Foundation. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
5. Briscoe, James R. (Autumn 1981). 'Debussy 'd'après' Debussy: The Further Resonance of Two Early 'Mélodies''. 19th-Century Music. University of California Press. 5 (2): 110–116. JSTOR746401.(registration required)
6. ↑ 'La Fille aux cheveux de lin'. Debussy.fr. Centre de documentation Claude Debussy. 2007. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
7. ↑ Lederer 2007, p.16.
8. 'Préludes (Premier livre)'. Debussy.fr. Centre de documentation Claude Debussy. 2007. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
9. ↑ Timbrell, Charles (August 1992). 'Claude Debussy and Walter Rummel: Chronicle of a Friendship, with New Correspondence'. Music & Letters. Oxford University Press. 73 (3): 399–406. doi:10.1093/ml/73.3.399. JSTOR735295.(registration required)
10. ↑ Hartmann, Arthur (2003). 'Claude Debussy as I Knew Him' and Other Writings of Arthur Hartmann. University of Rochester Press. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
11. ↑ 'Claude Debussy – Biography: 1910–1914 — From Préludes to Jeux'. Debussy.fr. Centre de documentation Claude Debussy. 2007. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
12. ↑ 'Debussy: 20 facts about the great composer'. Classic FM. Global Group. 2007. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
13. Lederer 2007, p.99.
14. ↑ Bustard, Clarke (January 27, 1997). 'Debussy Influence Felt Far And Wide In Musical Journey'. Richmond Times-Dispatch. p.E3. Retrieved August 29, 2013.(subscription required)
15. Lederer 2007, p.97.
16. Lederer 2007, p.98.
17. Day-O'Connell, Jeremy (Fall 2009). 'Debussy, Pentatonicism, and the Tonal Tradition'. Music Theory Spectrum. University of California Press on behalf of the Society for Music Theory. 31 (2): 248–255. doi:10.1525/mts.2009.31.2.225. JSTOR10.1525/mts.2009.31.2.225.(registration required)

Bibliography

• Lederer, Victor (2007). Debussy: The Quiet Revolutionary. New York: Amadeus Press. ISBN978-1-57467-153-7.

Claude Debussy A The Girl With The Flaxen Hair Analysis Pdf

External links

• La fille aux cheveux de lin by Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli on YouTube

Claude Debussy A The Girl With The Flaxen Hair Analysis Book

Claude Debussy A The Girl With The Flaxen Hair Analysis Summary