Having survived a bout of cholera in Paris, the convalescent 23-year-old Massenet eased back into normal life by composing his Opus 10, Dix pieces de genre for piano. A "chip from the workbench" proved to be more than that and took on a life of its own, for often a trifle created in a moment of relaxation can reveal more of its creator's essence than many a more ambitious work. In this case it was the piece which went on to become the famous Elégie, later arranged for cello as instrumental music to de Lisle's play Les Erinnyes. It gained even greater renown as a song for voice and piano, O doux printemps d'autrefois (O spring of days long ago blooming and bright), to words by Louis Gallet.

The melody of the Elégie seems to have cried out for words from the beginning and is a study in deeply felt yet restrained Romanticism, of resigned longing for the past. In structure and mood it is reminiscent of Chopin's E minor prelude, with which it shares a common key (in most arrangements). The main phrase consists of a yearning octave leap and sighing descent, and on this germinal idea the song is built. A brief excursion into the relative major aspires to relieve. Toward the end there is an intriguing suggestion of bitonality but this tension quickly resolves back to melancholy to close this perfectly formed miniature.

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