A stylistic incongruity exists between Claude Debussy's songs and piano music in the first half of his life. Out of the eighty-five songs he composed, roughly three-quarters appear in his early period (1880-1893). Conversely, his solo piano works were almost non-existent before 1888 and did not reach maturity until 1901. This document studies representative works from his early, transitional, and mature periods to show a correlation between his songs and piano music at an approximate eight-year interval over several years. This allows us to trace his stylistic evolution and provide explanations for the delayed maturity of his solo piano music relative to other genres.

Because Debussy's songs developed sooner than his solo piano music, we are provided a useful measuring stick for purposes of comparison, analysis, and development. Chapter two presents analyses of several of Debussy's earlier songs (Nuit d'etoiles, Beau soir, and Fete galante) and piano compositions (Premiere Arabesque and Suite bergamasque), establishing similarities across the temporal gap. Chapter three continues into his transitional period, specifically examining songs from the Ariettes oubliees (and Apparition) and the Images ( oubliees) for piano. I examine his mature works in chapter four. There, I demonstrate that the Proses lyriques song cycle and the Pour le piano for solo piano are not only stylistically related, but represent a culmination of their respective predecessors, sometimes borrowing directly from earlier works.

Two trends emerge when surveying Debussy's songs and solo piano works: the incorporation of external features into compositions early in his career and the adoption of new compositional techniques later in life. The songs are representative of the former situation. Symbolist literature and baroque-influenced keyboard writing form the basis of Debussy's early output. The latter tendency to embrace other compositional styles, such as Wagnerian and Javanese gamelan, manifests itself in the piano works. However, trends in Debussy's song output directly influence his later solo piano works. The gradual inclusion of his songs' expressive imagery into solo piano works highlights Debussy's growing affinity with the instrument and provides a working timeline of the composer's stylistic growth.