February 6, 2011

Debussy's "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair"

If I was asked to name the most beautiful melody I'd ever heard, I would probably say, "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair" by Debussy. There is such exquisite longing in this piece of music. It's the entire human experience packed into three short minutes. It haunts me.

And it also haunts the folks in Xmas Carol. I'm not ready to reveal the exact role the song plays in the book, but every potential reader is hereby commanded to familiarize him- or herself with the melody. This way you can play it back in your head when it comes up in the book. Think of this as your prep-work.

I scoured YouTube yesterday to find the best video of "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair" and I lucked out. This one provides a perfect visual accompaniment for the piece. Enjoy.

2 comments:

Anna Guess Pick said...

Very nice start to my Sunday morning. Thanks Keith.

writenow said...

Glad you liked it. It's a simple song yet it means so much to me.
K