The piece
The eighth of the twelve Préludes of the first book, published by Durand in 1910, takes its title from a poem by Leconte de Lisle. Debussy wrote it in G-flat major, to be played "very calm and softly expressive". The tune opens alone, with no accompaniment, then comes back harmonised, grows livelier for a moment up to a mf, passes through a run of very soft parallel chords, and fades away in rolled chords high on the keyboard. The version played here follows Durand's original edition, note for note.
Nothing here is fast: the challenge is reading. Six flats in the key signature, chords of three or four notes moving together, and a tune that must sing above them. The first four bars, for the right hand alone, are played sans rigueur, freely: take your time to let them breathe. In bars 24 to 27 the chords of both hands glide in parallel: practise them slowly, hands separately, then together, without heaviness.
