In 1903, the Ballade was released (four hands was also offered for sale by Debussy's publishers). Although the work is almost totally monothematic, and also features much repetition of the basic motifs, it is tangibly Russian in character, and remarkably for Debussy, it is also constructed around the principles of variation technique. But as despite the Russian flavour of the theme, the pianistic lay-out more often recalls the early style of Fauré, though there is a hint of Debussy's great sea music in the section marked 'animez peu à peu', with its wide-flung left hand arpeggios.

Ballade

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Yamada-Scriba, T.