Debussy's sublime summer prelude, 'La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin'.

The indicated 'Très calm et doucement expresiff' (Very calm and gentle in expressiveness) is quietly asserting tranquility. This is a piece to be savoured and experienced like a summer's gentle breeze; incentivised by the source for the prelude - the poem that bears the identical title of the prelude, written by Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle in the mid-19th century (published in 1874). It is said that Debussy found the inspiration for the prelude within the poem, but for me, the prelude is almost a musical transcription of the poem. I include both the English translation (Laura L. Nagle, 2007) of Lisle's poem, and the original French version as well, below. Read the poem whilst listening to the recording and you will find more than a serendipitous likeness!  
____________________

The girl with the flaxen hair

Who sits upon the blooming lucerne,  
Singing from the earliest morn?  
It is the girl with the flaxen hair,  
The beauty with cherry-red lips.

Love, in the bright summer sun,  
Sang with the lark.

Your mouth has divine colours,
 My dear, and is tempting to kiss!
  Do you wish to chat upon the blooming grasses,  
Girl with long lashes and delicate curls?

Love, in the bright summer sun,  
Sang with the lark.

Do not say no, cruel girl!
  Do not say yes! I shall better understand  
A long gaze from your large eyes  
And your pink lips, o my beauty!

Love, in the bright summer sun,  
Sang with the lark.

Farewell to the deer, farewell to the hares  
And the red partridges!  I wish 
To kiss the flax of your hair,  
To press upon the crimson of your lips!

Love, in the bright summer sun,  
Sang with the lark.
  ____________________

La fille aux cheveux de lin

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.
  ____________________  
Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle (1818 - 1894), "La fille aux cheveux de lin", from Poèmes antiques, in 'Chansons écossaises'
illustration: Monet - Monet - 'Woman with a Parasol, facing right', 1886, Musée D'Orsay, Paris

Claude Debussy - Prelude in G flat major - no. 8 from Book 1: 'La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin'

Ouverture (les ballerines) - Spectacle de Belle-Île à Québec 2024

Composition : Laurentides Music
Arrangements : Laurentides Music
Photo : Valdislav83
Copyright : Laurentides Music 2024

Ouverture (Les Ballerines)

In bamboo forests, tall and strong
Whispers of resilience hum along
Through wind and storm, they bow but stand
A living strength within the land.

Composer and Pianist: Shirley Ly
Violinists: Joana Ly and Suzannah Quirke
Violist: Connor Quigley 
Cellist: William Lui

© SHIRLEY LY

Bamboo Forests 竹林 by Shirley Ly | Piano Quintet

In Kashgar’s ancient city, the bustle hums
Where Silk Road traders’ footsteps drums.
Spices, silks and stories blend. 
A vibrant pulse that has no end.

Composer & Pianist: Shirley Ly
Violinists: Joana Ly, Suzannah Quirke
Violist: Connor Quigley
Cellist: William Lui

© SHIRLEY LY

Kashgar Ancient City 喀什噶尔古城 by Shirley Ly | Piano Quintet

Solo Piano.  Created in Real-Time at Midwest Music Conservatory, St. Louis MO.

Key West Sunset Photo by Greg Carr, my brother.

Year of Music XIII

Year of Music: February 25, 2025

Szintra makes meditative music with flute improvisation. Her debut album, “Szintra – The Fragrance Of Memories”
is a melancholic and genre-bending fusion between new age, classical and neoclassical darkwave.
szintra.bandcamp.com/album/the-frag…ce-of-memories
www.szintramusic.com/
© 2024 Artfeeders
℗ 2024 Artfeeders

The Bond by Szintra (feat. Cecilio Perera)

watch; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0XKh9te9mU

Rihanna & Mikky Ekko - Stay | Piano Arrangement

Verejný koncert, 6.6.2017, NKS Konzervatória Žilina
Simona Lengyelová - klavír 2. roč.
z triedy PaeDr. Márie Pohunkovej

Verejný koncert, 6. 6. 2017, NKS Konzervatória Žilina

Claude Debussy: Valse "La plus que lente"

Shimizu Keiichi - Le Cygne by Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns

The famous piano collection: Kinderszenen (Scenes of Childhood), Op. 15: No. 7 in F Major,Traumerei (Dreaming)by Robert Schumann
Schumann wrote 30 movements for this work but chose 13 for the final version, Träumerei, is one of Schumann's best known pieces for piano.

Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 7 in F Major. Traumerei by Robert Schumann

An Evening With Leopold Stokowski

J. S. Bach - Overture Orchestra No. 3 in D major BWV 1068 II. Air - Leopold Stokowski

NEW ALBUM, WINDS OF THE EAST (2025) IS OUT NOW!

Instagram: @shirleylymusic

Shirley Ly is a self-taught British female contemporary classical music composer from Greenwich in London, United Kingdom, with Chinese and Vietnamese heritage. She has composed over 50 pieces for solo piano / violin / cello, duets, trios, quartets and quintets. She has produced 5 albums: Winds of the East (2025), 9 Lives (2023), Paradise (2023), Blossom (2021), and Impetus (2018) and released multiple singles i.e. Olive Tree (2024), Emerald (2023), and London Strive (2023). Her music has been played around a million times across more than 100 countries around the world spanning six continents, including by BBC radio. Shirley plays the piano in all of her pieces.
​
The pieces in her albums aim to capture her reflections on life experiences relating to nature (i.e., swallows' journeys to their nests, the seasons, swans), living in London, dance, relationships with family and other loved ones, travel (i.e. to Berlin, Amsterdam), and dreams. 

Winds of the East (2025) is inspired by Shirley’s Chinese and Vietnamese heritage, her grandfather who was a distinguished painter and poet in China and her recent travels in South East Asia particularly in areas of natural beauty. 

Paradise (2023) is inspired by her experiences of swimming, diving, sailing, and surfing in the ocean, and she hopes that her music can further emphasise its importance. 
 
9 Lives (2023) is inspired by the beauty, charm and mysteriousness of cats. She lives in London with her five cats, and gain a lot of inspiration from them. This album aims to raise money for animal charities in areas which need support the most.

All works are protected by copyright. Please do not use them without permission.

© Shirley Ly

Bamboo Forests 竹林 by Shirley Ly | Piano Quintet

Shirley Ly | Classical Music Composer & Pianist