Ariettes oubliées (Forgotten Songs) L. 60 is a song cycle for voice and piano by Claude Debussy, based on a poem written by Paul Verlaine. The poetry of Paul Verlaine had a profund impact on Debussy: both were inspired by subtlety and nuance. Each man sought to innovate by using rhythm and tone color as the basis for a new form of a pre-existing art. In the Ariettes oubliées, subtlety, nuance, rhythm and tone color, converged to create a mature compositional style for Debussy, which, in turn, gave a heightened level of understanding to Verlaine's poetry. This collection of songs sets the tone for all of Debussy's future vocal compositions in terms of rhythm, harmony, tone, color and attention to poetic detail.
