Claude Debussy’s (1862-1918) The Girl with Flaxen Hair is a composition from his collection titled ‘Preludes’ from around 1910. Some historians cite Debussy’s inspiration for the piece as Leconte de Lidle’s poem of the same name, written in 1852. This short piece uses a simple pentatonic based melody masked with rich diatonic chords and plagal cadences. The Girl with Flaxen Hair has been arranged for many instruments and ensembles over the years including guitar, flute choir, cello ensemble, violin and piano, and more. This arrangement by Rick Puzzo (b. 1960) takes advantage of the low end of the marimba and has been transposed to F major to make use of the entire lower four octaves of the instrument.

For more information about Rick, including his other published works, visit his composer page.