Fantoches- Debussy

Fantoches (Marionettes)

The song is a story about all of these marionettes, and so Debussy intends for these characters to not be taken seriously, and therefore writes all sorts of crazy things to let the audience always remember that we're talking about puppets here, not a real story.

The song starts with a very chromatic sixteenth-note piano intro when the singer jumps in and starts telling about the first two characters {Scaramouche et Pulcinella, qu'un mauvais dessien rassambla...Scaramouche and Pulcinella, whom an evil plot brought together} anyway, they're gesticulating black against the moon

After he explains about these two characters, Debussy throws in some "la, la, la" action. I think it's great, it sort of separates these characters from the ones that are yet to come. The next character (Bologna doctor) is separated from his daughter's introduction with la's. She then, with saucy countenance, takes part in "half-naked la la la" with a handsome Spanish pirate. after a nightingale sings the lovelorn tune, there's more "la-ing".

it's a nice setting of a verlaine poem (it's actually the second musical setting by Debussy, but the first was never published).