Nocturne in D flat major (c 1890)

Much though Debussy admired Chopin, he did not imitate him. Even in a work as early as the Nocturne in D flat major - which one might expect to relate in some way to that most exquisite Nocturne in the same key, Op.27, No.2 - Chopin is not the major inspiration. It is true that the slow introduction echoes something of Chopin in ballade mode but there is just as much of Liszt in the piano writing, and the expressive main theme is unmistakably reminiscent of Fauré. The exotically melodious middle section, marked “dans le caractère d’une chanson populaire,” no less clearly derives from Debussy’s interest in contemporary Russian composers - Balakirev, perhaps, or Rimsky-Korsakov. These outside influences are, on the other hand, well integrated into Debussy’s developing harmonic language, just as the structure of the piece is firmly secured by the recurrring material of the slow introduction.

First issued under the title of Interlude in 1890 , the Nocturne in D flat acquired its present title on its republication three years later.