"Clair de lune", ("Moonlight") Op. 46 No 2, is a song by

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...

, composed in 1887 to words by

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine ( ; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolism (movement), Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''fin de siècle'' ...

History

Fauré's 1887 setting of the poem was for voice and piano; but in 1888, at the instigation of the Princesse de Polignac, he made a version for voice and orchestra, first performed at the

Société Nationale de Musique Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

in April of that year, with the

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

Maurice Bàges as soloist.Nectoux, p. 338 In its orchestral form the song was included in Fauré's incidental music '' Masques et bergamasques'' in 1919. The original published version (Hamelle, Paris, 1888) is in B-flat minor. The song is dedicated to Fauré's friend the painter Emmanuel Jadin, who was a talented amateur pianist.Nectoux, pp. 67 and 540 The pianist Graham Johnson notes that it closes Fauré's second period and opens the doors into his third. Johnson notes that it is "for many people the quintessential French mélodie".Johnson, Graham (2005). Liner notes to Hyperion CD CDA 67334

Lyric

The lyric is from

's early collection ''Fêtes galantes'' (1869). It inspired not only Fauré but

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

, who set it in 1881 and wrote a well known piano piece inspired by it in 1891.

Notes references and sources

Notes

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clair de lune (Faure) Compositions by Gabriel Fauré Mélodies 1887 compositions Musical settings of poems by Paul Verlaine