Debussy's Preludes

Debussy's Preludes consist of twenty-four pieces for solo piano divided into two books with twelve preludes in each book. Unlike previous collections of preludes, such as those of Chopin, Debussy's do not follow a strict pattern of key signatures. Various orchestrations have been made of various Debussy preludes, mostly of La fille aux cheveux de lin and La cathedrale engloutie.

La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair) is the eighth piece from Debussy's Preludes, Book I. It is one of the most recorded of Debussy's pieces, both in its original version and various arrangements.

La Cathedrale engloutie (The Submerged Cathedral) is the tenth piece from Debussy's Preludes, Book I. This piece is based on an ancient Breton myth in which a cathedral, submerged underwater off the coast of the Island of Ys, rises up from the sea on clear mornings when the water is transparent.

Des pas sur la neige (Footprints in the Snow) is the sixth prelude in Book I. It is perhaps the saddest and most moving of Debussy's preludes.

With a musical style in which impression matters more than direction, the revolutionary French composer Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) produced a body of magnificent music, strikingly different from that of previous composers and having profound influence on subsequent composers.