In this page, the left hand switches between bass clef and treble clef. The first chord is an Ebm9, with the F providing the 9th. The highest note in this extract is the top note of the first chord in bar 11, an Ab. The lowest note in this extract is the bottom note of the first chord, an Eb. The intervals of the melody line aren't very big e.g. the first 5 intervals are: a descending major 2nd, descending major 2nd, descending minor 2nd, ascending minor 2nd, descending minor 3rd. Debussy decided to the melody straightforward and homophonic with it's accompaniment in order to focus on the rich harmonies rather than an attention-grabbing melody.
Rhythms:
This piece is in 9/8, so triplets aren't marked because they naturally fall in line with the beat, but duplets are marked in (2 notes in the space of three) e.g.the 4th and 5th note in bar 4. The rhythms suddenly change at bar 13 from being very rubato to being quite a bit stricter, and involving the use of fast flurrying semiquavers. There is also a grace note - in this case an acciaccatura - in bar 4 at the beginning of the secnd quaver in the duplet, which Debussy put in to accent the next chord.
Tonality and Playing Directions:
The tonality of this piece is loosely major (Db major to be exact), but Debussy uses a lot of chromatic tonality, and french impressionistic features (e.g. whole-tone scale). This extract should be played at a quiet volume, with plenty of pianissimo and piano dynamic markings. The 'tempo rubato' above bar 1 indicates this rubato feel throughout this particular section - loose tempo, open to interpretation. It was obviously important to the composer that he didn't want his work to be rushed.
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