The development and synthesis of foundational ideas in four Debussy Prludes

This study examines specific themes, called foundational ideas, in four of Claude Debussy's Prludes. These foundational ideas are presented as discrete pieces, then developed, and finally form a previously unforeseen synthesized whole. The two general conditions for the synthesis of foundational ideas are (a) the presence of common tones and (b) the occurrence of foundational ideas either simultaneously or consecutively.