Debussy's music is full of revelations. This afternoon a new definition of rubato was clarified by melodies in several works. One often hears his richly inventive, flowing melodies organized according to the meter. If, however, one allows melodic line to determine the articulation a shifting pulse emerges. This produces a more convincing realization of rubato than can be achieved by subjecting a rigid quarter-note-organized tune to some vague elasticity.
Just a thought--but a thought that came right out of his line.