Following Chopin’s example, Claude Debussy (August 22, 1862 – March 25, 1918) composed a series of piano pieces called “préludes.” Debussy, a pupil of Émile Durand and César Franck, gave a title to each prelude, including this one, La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin (Girl with the Flaxen Hair)With Debussy’s preludes, the title always appears after the musical score, because Debussy did not want listeners to have too many thoughts about what they were about to hear based simply on the title. The title is evocative, but the music stands on its own.