''Suite bergamasque'' ( L. 75) () is a

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

suite by Claude Debussy. He began composing it around 1890, at the age of 28, but significantly revised it just before its 1905 publication. The popularity of the 3rd movement, "Clair de lune", has made it one of the composer's most famous works for piano, as well as one of the most famous musical pieces of all-time.Guo, Shulin.
A Study of Claude Debussy's Suite Bergamasque: Prelude, Menuet, Clair de Lune and Passepied
'. Diss. University of Kansas, 2019. Web. 19 May 2020.

Background

The composer was initially unwilling to use these relatively early piano compositions because they were not in his mature style, but in 1905 he accepted the offer of a publisher who thought they would be successful, given the fame Debussy had gained in the intervening fifteen years. While it is not known how much of the ''Suite'' was written in 1890 and how much was written in 1905, it is clear that Debussy changed the names of at least two of the pieces. "Passepied" had first been composed under the title "Pavane", while "Clair de lune" was originally entitled "Promenade sentimentale". These names come from poems by

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

. The title of the third movement of ''Suite bergamasque'' is taken from Verlaine's poem " Clair de lune", which refers to bergamasks in the opening stanza:

Structure

''Suite bergamasque'' consists of four

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

: # Prélude (Moderato tempo rubato, F major, ) # Menuet (Andante, A minor, ) # Clair de lune (Andante très expressif, D major, ) # Passepied (Allegretto ma non troppo, F minor, )

Movements

1. Prélude

The first piece in the suite, entitled "Prélude", is in the key of F major and marked ''moderato

tempo rubato Tempo rubato (, , ; 'free in the presentation', literally ) is a musical term referring to expressive and rhythmic freedom by a slight speeding up and then slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist or the conductor. Rub ...

''. Its legato phrases give it a smooth, flowing feel.

2. Menuet

The second movement of ''Suite bergamasque'' is the "Menuet", in A minor. Rather than mimicking the articulations of a baroque

minuet A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''. The term also describes the musical form that accomp ...

from the start, Debussy eschews the accent on the downbeat of the first measures. The light, fluttery embellishments Debussy writes throughout the movement give it the character of an

arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...

3. Clair de lune

The third movement of ''Suite bergamasque'' is "Clair de lune", in D major. It is written in

meter The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...

and marked ''andante très expressif''. Its title, which means "moonlight" in French, is taken from Verlaine's poem " Clair de lune". It is not to be confused with the two settings of the poem composed by Debussy for voice and piano accompaniment.

4. Passepied

The final movement, entitled "Passepied", is in F minor, marked ''allegretto ma non troppo''. A

passepied The passepied (, "pass-foot", from a characteristic dance step) is a French court dance. Originating as a kind of Breton branle, it was adapted to courtly use in the 16th century and is found frequently in 18th-century French opera and ballet ...

is a type of dance that originated in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

. This movement is fast and light, with the left hand playing an almost continuous quaver accompaniment. The movement includes the use of 3 against 4

polyrhythm Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music ( cross-rhyt ...

Arrangements

''Suite bergamasque'' has been

orchestrated Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

and arranged by many people, both for concert performance and for use in other media. In particular, "Clair de lune" has been arranged for a wide variety of instrumental combinations, including notable orchestrations by

André Caplet André Caplet (23 November 1878 – 22 April 1925) was a French composer and conductor of classical music. He was a friend of Claude Debussy and completed the orchestration of several of Debussy's compositions as well as arrangements of sever ...

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...

, and Lucien Cailliet. "Clair de lune" was originally intended to be included as a fully orchestrated piece in the 1940

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

animated film '' Fantasia''. However, due to runtime issues, it was eventually not included in the final cut of the film. Instead, the footage for its intended segment (featuring

herons The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

in the Florida

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissim ...

at night) was recycled for the "Blue Bayou" segment of the subsequent film ''

Make Mine Music ''Make Mine Music'' is a 1946 American animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the eighth Disney feature animated film, released on April 20, 1946. During World War II, much of Walt Disn ...

''. However, the "Clair de lune" segment was later restored after a

workprint A workprint is a rough version of a motion picture, used by the film editor(s) during the editing process. Such copies generally contain original recorded sound that will later be re-dubbed, stock footage as placeholders for missing shots or speci ...

of it was rediscovered in 1992, complete with an original score by Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. It is included as a bonus feature in some later releases of ''Fantasia''. "Passepied" was arranged by the

Punch Brothers Punch Brothers is an American band consisting of Chris Thile (mandolin), Gabe Witcher (fiddle/violin), Noam Pikelny (banjo), Chris Eldridge (guitar), and Paul Kowert (bass). Their style has been described as "bluegrass instrumentation and sponta ...

for bluegrass instrumentation for their album '' The Phosphorescent Blues''. A synthesizer arrangement of "Clair de lune" was used at the Closing Ceremony at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

on August 8, 2021, as children prayed for peace and as the

Olympic Flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olymp ...

was put off. This was the version produced by the Japanese electronic music pioneer

Isao Tomita , often known simply as Tomita, was a Japanese composer, regarded as one of the pioneers of electronic music and space music, and as one of the most famous producers of analog synthesizer arrangements. In addition to creating note-by-note realiz ...

for his 1974 album '' Snowflakes Are Dancing'', consisting of arrangements and renditions of compositions by Debussy, including ''Passepied''.

Notes

External links

* *
''Suite bergamasque: "Clair de Lune"''
a
www.wikisource.org''Suite bergamasque''
at Cantorion.org {{authority control Suites by Claude Debussy Compositions for solo piano 1905 compositions Orchestral suites Piano