Clair De Lune, Debussy's Masterpiece From Suite Bergamasque

In 1890, Debussy composed his famous, "Suite Bergamasque," which included the beautiful piece, "Clair de Lune" influenced by impressionist poets and artists.

Clair De Lune, is considered one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written. Debussy's genius shines throughout this piece. Debussy wrote this composition in 1890 at the age of 25. Claire de Lune (as we know it today) was not published until 1905. Its original name was “Promenade Sentimentale.” It underwent revision before it was published. The new title for the movement came from a poem written by Paul Verlaine that meant moonlight.

Clair De Lune is the third movement of Suite Bergamasque and is one of the most loved and revered piano suites of Debussy. It is a masterpiece from the Impressionist epoch, which indeed brings to mind moonlight, mist, and raindrops.

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Achille-Claude Debussy was a French composer working within the embrace of Impressionistic music. He was one of the most important composers and was a prominent figure in European music. His music encapsulates the transition from Romantic to Modernist music. In literary circles, his music was known as Symbolism.

• Debussy began piano lessons at the age of 7
• At 11 he entered the Paris Conservatoire
• He later received a scholarship to Academie des Beaux-Arts
• He met Franz Liszt and was exposed to Wagner
• Debussy challenged established norms and was criticized for "courting the unusual"

Debussy's Influences: Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Liszt, Verdi

As with all geniuses, Debussy thought outside the box and this was reflected in his music, which was unorthodox for the time and frequently utilized the whole tone scale and harmony, which gave his music a dreamlike quality.

Perhaps, Debussy said it best: "Let us at all costs preserve this magic peculiar to music . . . "

The four movements of Suite Bergamasque

1. Prelude
2. Menuet
3. Clair de lune
4. Passepied

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• Twilight
• Casino Royale
• Seven Years In Tibet
• Down and Out in Beverly Hills
• Ocean's Eleven
• Pinochio
• Beauty and the Beast

Claire de Lune has been used in many other movies, in TV series and in mini-series.

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Claude Debussy was one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. His harmonies would later influence other composers and different musical genres, his sensitive and emotionally charged music would transition well into movies--but, Claire de Lune is still considered one of his best offerings to the world.