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Suite bergamasque

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The Suite bergamasque (IPA: /'bɛʀgamask/) is one of the most famous piano suites of Claude Debussy. 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.

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

The Prélude is 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, as in the Baroque suite form. Its playful main theme contrasts with an alternatively mysterious and dramatic middle section. It is followed by the famous Clair de lune (Moonlight), played mostly pianissimo. The final movement is Passepied in F-sharp minor, allegretto ma non troppo; it is again playful and ends quietly.

"Clair de lune" from Suite bergamasque

Excerpt from "Clair de lune"

The third movement of Suite bergamasque is its most famous; titled "Clair de lune", meaning moonlight. It is heard widely in movies, television shows, advertisements, and the like. It was written with Paul Verlaine's poem by the same name in mind. It is mostly played pianissimo and is in D-flat major, with the exception of its climax which modulates to E major (spelled as F-flat 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. The song When You Wish Upon a Star, from the 1940 Walt Disney film Pinocchio, borrows liberally from "Clair de lune".[citation needed]

Terrence McNally's play and film Frankie and Johnny in the Clair 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 (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..."

In the film Seven Years in Tibet, Brad Pitt's character has a music box which plays "Clair de lune".

"Clair de lune" is used in David Fincher's The Game in the restaurant scene and contains a hint to Christine's real name.

In an episode of Media:The Pretender entitled Meltdown, Claire de Lune was played on the piano by the television series main character, Jarod, as he was feigning insanity.

"Clair de lune" is used in the film Pleasantville.

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.

In 2005, "Clair de lune" has been used in a Chanel No. 5 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 three of Diane Eskenazi's 1993 Golden Films animated productions: As Haseem, Aladdin and his mother dine together in Aladdin (1993); 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 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. Before dying the patient had remembered a girl who always played a Debussy piece.

"Clair de lune" appears in the English horror film Dog Soldiers. After a failed attempt to escape the farm house in a Land Rover and Bruce is killed by the werewolves Megan sits by the piano and starts playing off the sheet music which is Debussy's "Clair de lune".

"Clair de lune" may also be heard in the 1956 movie Giant during the scene where Uncle Bawley is playing the organ in the Benedict living room while Leslie Benedict (Elizabeth Taylor) waxes nostalgic.

"Clair de lune" is also played in Japanese romance Majo no Jouken (Forbidden Love) in the final episode in the Hirose's household by Michi's mother Motoko.

In Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited "Clair de lune" is featured after Peter, Jack, and Francis are kicked off their train. While sitting with their luggage in the desert Jack plays "Clair de lune" on his iPod as the three brothers proceed to get high.

In other media

The beginning of the section 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.

"Clair de lune" serves as the introduction to the song "Ballerina" on the 1976 album Crystal Ball by Styx.

In several of the Nintendo Zelda games, Clair de lune seems to have had a great deal of influence on the fairy and fairy fountain theme music.

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