Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest

Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest ("What the west wind saw") is a musical composition by French composer Claude Debussy.

The title of the piece was inspired by "The Garden of Paradise", a fairy tale[1] by Hans Christian Andersen that was translated into French and published in 1907.

[2]: 194  Debussy was known to have an affinity towards Andersen's stories, and it has been theorized that the author's character Zephyr – the West Wind – would have "appealed" to the composer when he was writing the prelude.

[2]: 194 [3] This is evident in Debussy's utilization of "sweeping arpeggios" at the beginning of the piece, which lead towards loud booming chords and extreme dissonance.

The sixth prelude, Des pas sur la neige (Footprints in the Snow), exudes a feeling of sadness and isolation,[8] while the La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair)—the eighth—brings about a sense of warmth and gentleness.