The Suite bergamasque (IPA: /'bɛʀgamask/) is one of the most famous piano suites of Claude Debussy, and is widely regarded as the most fascinating. It was likely named after Paul Verlaine's poem "Clair de lune", which references a bergamask. It was published in 1903 and consists of four parts, or movements.
- Prélude
- Menuet
- Clair de lune
- Passepied
The Prélude is played in the key of F, tempo rubato. It is full of dynamic contrasts with a very spectacular beginning and ending. The second movement is entitled Menuet, according to the typical Baroque suite form. It is quite mysterious, yet playful during its pianissimo parts and shows interesting harmonies. It is followed by the well-known Clair de lune (Moonlight), a very soft and tender masterpiece of Debussy, played mostly pianissimo. Finally, the Passepied is played in F-sharp minor, allegretto ma non troppo; it is again playful and ends with a very quiet part after going through a section in C minor.
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Clair de lune de la Suite Bergamasque
The third movement of Suite bergamasque is its most famous; titled "Clair de lune," it is heard widely in movies, television shows, advertisements, and the like. The piece is mostly played pianissimo, and the variations between intensity and distance make this masterpiece one of the most beautiful from the Impressionist epoch. It is played in D-flat major, with the exception of its climax which modulates to E major.
Use in film
- Walt Disney had planned to use Clair de lune for a segment of the 1940 film Fantasia, but the sequence was deleted from the film at 70% completion because of Fantasia's excessive length. The animated Clair de lune sequence, which illustrates the flow of the music with the movements of egrets, was later restored from a workprint in 1996 and included on a 2000 Fantasia DVD box set.
- Terrence McNally's play and film Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune uses Clair de lune both in the title and as a key plot element.
- In Federico Fellini's 1983 imaginative fable E la nave va (English title: And the Ship Sails On) Clair de lune is played in many scenes.
- Nick Nolte's character plays a portion of Clair de lune at a piano in the Paul Mazursky film Down and Out in Beverly Hills while boasting to Jenny Whiteman that he "...opened with this piece back when [he] toured the concert circuit..."
- Clair de lune is used as a theme in the 1997 film Seven Years in Tibet, specifically as the music box first given to the Dalai Lama.
- Clair de lune is used in David Fincher's The Game in the restaurant scene and contains a hint to Christine's real name.
- An orchestral arrangement of Clair de lune by Lucien Cailliet is featured in the concluding part of the 2001 film Ocean's Eleven, presented as part of the Bellagio Resort's fountain show. The song remains a part of the show's musical rotation. Also, a solo piano arrangement can also be heard, albeit extremely quietly, in the background of the scene where the characters meet for the first time in Reuben's backyard. In its second sequel, Ocean's Thirteen, a slight echo of Isao Tomita's electronic version of "Clair de lune" is heard when the characters Danny and Rusty meet again in front of the Bellagio and in the scene where Reuben is reading the get-well-letters.
- A solo piano arrangement is used on the soundtrack of "Man on Fire."
- Another orchestral arrangement is found in the 1983 film The Right Stuff, during an apocryphal scene set in the early 1960s in which exotic dancer Sally Rand performs a flower dance in honor of the Mercury Seven astronauts during a Texas barbecue hosted by then-Vice President Lyndon Johnson.
- Different portions of Suite Bergamasque are used in the Japanese film All About Lily Chou-Chou.
- Also portions of Suite Bergamasque have been found in a Japanese drama by the name of "Orange Days."
- Recently, Clair de lune has been used in a Chanel commercial starring Nicole Kidman, as well as an NFL Network commercial starring Chad Johnson.
- Clair de lune is also mentioned in Stephenie Meyer's first novel, Twilight and might appear in the movie which will be released on December 12, 2008.
- "Clair de lune" was used in two episodes in the first season of Nip/Tuck. In the "Cara Fitzgerald" episode, Sean plays it while he does the breast reconstruction surgery of Megan O'Hara. In the "Adella Coffin" episode, it is played in the background of the restaurant Sean and Megan are eating at, and Megan says how she used to play the piece all the time.
- "Clair de lune" features in The Simpsons episodes "A Star Is Born-Again" and "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs".
- "Clair de lune" is used in two of Diane Eskenazi's Golden Films animated productions: In the cozy opening at Gepetto's toy shop in Pinocchio (1993) and as the old gentleman rides home in the rain in Beauty and the Beast (1993).
- "Clair de lune" appears in the film and soundtrack for Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited.
- "Clair de lune" appears in the film "Atonement" after 18 year old Briony, who has become a nurse, speaks to a dying patient in a hospital in the midst of World War II.
In Other Media
- the beginning of the seccion 4: Passepied is used at the sixth stage of the Game Boy game Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge
- Clair de lune was one of the MIDI sequence RMI files included in Windows 95 and Windows 98.
External links
- Complete Recording of Suite Bergamasque on Piano, at Piano Society.com - Free Classical Piano Recordings
- Clair de lune on theremin by Lydia Kavina
- Downloadable sheet music of Debussy's piano music, including Clair de lune
- String Quartet Arrangement of Prelude
- String Quartet Arrangement of Menuet
- Orchestral Arrangement of Passepied
- Orchestral Arrangement of Prelude
- Clair de lune played by Tom Hazleton on the Wurlitzer theatre organ at the Alabama Theatre
- Suite bergamasque was available at the International Music Score Library Project.
- Debussy at IMDB
- (Italian) An essai on the Suite bergamasque
