Suite bergamasque (L. 75) (French pronunciation: [sɥit bɛʁɡamask]) is a pianosuite by Claude Debussy. He began composing it around 1890, at the age of 28, but significantly revised it just before its 1905 publication.[1] 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.[2]
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.[1] 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.[1] 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:[1]
Votre âme est un paysage choisi Que vont charmant masques et bergamasques Jouant du luth et dansant et quasi Tristes sous leurs déguisements fantasques.
Your soul is like a landscape fantasy, Where masks and bergamasks, in charming wise, Strum lutes and dance, just a bit sad to be Hidden beneath their fanciful disguise.[3]
Structure
Excerpt from "Clair de lune", the third movement of the Suite bergamasque
Clair de lune (Andante très expressif, D♭ major, 9 8)
Passepied (Allegretto ma non troppo, F♯ minor, 4 4)
Movements
1. Prélude
The first piece in the suite, entitled "Prélude", is in the key of F major and marked moderato tempo rubato.[4] Its legato phrases give it a smooth, flowing feel.[5]
2. Menuet
The second movement of Suite bergamasque is the "Menuet", in A minor.[4] Rather than mimicking the articulations of a baroque minuet 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.[2]
The third movement of Suite bergamasque is "Clair de lune", in D♭ major. It is written in 9 8meter and marked andante très expressif.[4] Its title, which means "moonlight" in French, is taken from Verlaine's poem "Clair de lune".[1] 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.[4] A passepied is a type of dance that originated in Brittany. This movement is fast and light,[5] with the left hand playing an almost continuous quaver accompaniment.[4] The movement includes the use of 3 against 4 polyrhythm.[2]
Arrangements
Suite bergamasque has been orchestrated 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, Leopold Stokowski, and Lucien Cailliet.[6]
"Clair de lune" was originally intended to be included as a fully orchestrated piece in the 1940 Walt Disney animated film Fantasia. However, due to runtime issues, it was eventually not included in the final cut of the film.[7] Instead, the footage for its intended segment (featuring herons in the Florida Everglades at night) was recycled for the "Blue Bayou" segment of the subsequent film Make Mine Music.[8] However, the "Clair de lune" segment was later restored after a workprint 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.[9]
A synthesizer arrangement of "Clair de lune" was used at the Closing Ceremony at the 2020 Summer Olympics on August 8, 2021, as children prayed for peace and as the Olympic Flame was put off. This was the version produced by the Japanese electronic music pioneer Isao Tomita for his 1974 album Snowflakes Are Dancing, consisting of arrangements and renditions of compositions by Debussy, including Passepied.[11]
Notes
^ abcdeRoberts, Paul (1996). Images: The Piano Music of Claude Debussy. Portland, Oregon.
^ abcGuo, 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.
^"Excerpt, One Hundred and One Poems by Paul Verlaine, a bilingual edition, translated by Norman R. Shapiro (1998)". University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
^ abcdefDebussy, Claude (2007). Debussy: Favorite Piano Works. New York, NY: G. Schirmer. pp. 185–211. ISBN978-1-4234-2741-4.
^ ab"Suite bergamasque | work by Debussy". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
^Daniels, David (2005). Orchestral Music: A Handbook. Scarecrow Press. p. 108. ISBN9780810856745.
^"Lost Disney Sequence Shown at Hollywood Bowl 'Fantasia' Concert". The Hollywood Reporter. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
^Ehrbar, Greg (2016-04-20). "Did You Know? Strike a Chord With 9 Notes From Make Mine Music". D23. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
^King, Susan (2000-11-16). "Triple Dose for 'Fantasia' Fans". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
^"Punch Brothers: The Phosphorescent Blues". PopMatters. 2015-02-05. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
^Tirebuck, Ben (August 11, 2021). "World Sport: Tokyo 2020 Olympics emerges as a winner". The Phuket News Com. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
Suite bergamasque: "Clair de Lune" at www.wikisource.org
Suite bergamasque at Cantorion.org
January 31, 2023
lang, suite, bergamasque, suite, bergamasque, french, pronunciation, sɥit, bɛʁɡamask, piano, suite, claude, debussy, began, composing, around, 1890, significantly, revised, just, before, 1905, publication, popularity, movement, clair, lune, made, composer, mos. Suite bergamasque L 75 French pronunciation sɥit bɛʁɡamask is a piano suite by Claude Debussy He began composing it around 1890 at the age of 28 but significantly revised it just before its 1905 publication 1 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 2 Suite bergamasqueby Claude DebussyCatalogueL 75Composed1890 1905Published1905 Paris France Contents 1 Background 2 Structure 3 Movements 3 1 1 Prelude 3 2 2 Menuet 3 3 3 Clair de lune 3 4 4 Passepied 4 Arrangements 5 Notes 6 External linksBackground EditThe 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 1 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 1 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 1 Votre ame est un paysage choisi Que vont charmant masques et bergamasques Jouant du luth et dansant et quasi Tristes sous leurs deguisements fantasques Your soul is like a landscape fantasy Where masks and bergamasks in charming wise Strum lutes and dance just a bit sad to be Hidden beneath their fanciful disguise 3 Structure Edit Excerpt from Clair de lune the third movement of the Suite bergamasque Suite bergamasque consists of four movements 4 Prelude Moderato tempo rubato F major 44 Menuet Andante A minor 34 Clair de lune Andante tres expressif D major 98 Passepied Allegretto ma non troppo F minor 44 Movements Edit1 Prelude Edit The first piece in the suite entitled Prelude is in the key of F major and marked moderato tempo rubato 4 Its legato phrases give it a smooth flowing feel 5 2 Menuet Edit The second movement of Suite bergamasque is the Menuet in A minor 4 Rather than mimicking the articulations of a baroque minuet 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 2 3 Clair de lune Edit Clair de lune source source Performed by Laurens Goedhart in 2011 5 04 Problems playing this file See media help The third movement of Suite bergamasque is Clair de lune in D major It is written in 98 meter and marked andante tres expressif 4 Its title which means moonlight in French is taken from Verlaine s poem Clair de lune 1 It is not to be confused with the two settings of the poem composed by Debussy for voice and piano accompaniment 4 Passepied Edit The final movement entitled Passepied is in F minor marked allegretto ma non troppo 4 A passepied is a type of dance that originated in Brittany This movement is fast and light 5 with the left hand playing an almost continuous quaver accompaniment 4 The movement includes the use of 3 against 4 polyrhythm 2 Arrangements EditSuite bergamasque has been orchestrated 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 Andre Caplet Leopold Stokowski and Lucien Cailliet 6 Clair de lune was originally intended to be included as a fully orchestrated piece in the 1940 Walt Disney animated film Fantasia However due to runtime issues it was eventually not included in the final cut of the film 7 Instead the footage for its intended segment featuring herons in the Florida Everglades at night was recycled for the Blue Bayou segment of the subsequent film Make Mine Music 8 However the Clair de lune segment was later restored after a workprint 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 9 Passepied was arranged by the Punch Brothers for bluegrass instrumentation for their album The Phosphorescent Blues 10 A synthesizer arrangement of Clair de lune was used at the Closing Ceremony at the 2020 Summer Olympics on August 8 2021 as children prayed for peace and as the Olympic Flame was put off This was the version produced by the Japanese electronic music pioneer Isao Tomita for his 1974 album Snowflakes Are Dancing consisting of arrangements and renditions of compositions by Debussy including Passepied 11 Notes Edit a b c d e Roberts Paul 1996 Images The Piano Music of Claude Debussy Portland Oregon a b c 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 Excerpt One Hundred and One Poems by Paul Verlaine a bilingual edition translated by Norman R Shapiro 1998 University of Chicago Press Retrieved 2017 07 08 a b c d e f Debussy Claude 2007 Debussy Favorite Piano Works New York NY G Schirmer pp 185 211 ISBN 978 1 4234 2741 4 a b Suite bergamasque work by Debussy Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 2020 05 18 Daniels David 2005 Orchestral Music A Handbook Scarecrow Press p 108 ISBN 9780810856745 Lost Disney Sequence Shown at Hollywood Bowl Fantasia Concert The Hollywood Reporter 24 August 2011 Retrieved 2020 05 26 Ehrbar Greg 2016 04 20 Did You Know Strike a Chord With 9 Notes From Make Mine Music D23 Retrieved 2020 05 26 King Susan 2000 11 16 Triple Dose for Fantasia Fans Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2020 12 03 Punch Brothers The Phosphorescent Blues PopMatters 2015 02 05 Retrieved 2020 05 03 Tirebuck Ben August 11 2021 World Sport Tokyo 2020 Olympics emerges as a winner The Phuket News Com Retrieved November 19 2021 External links EditSuite bergamasque Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Suite bergamasque Clair de Lune at the Mutopia Project Suite bergamasque Clair de Lune at www wikisource org Suite bergamasque at Cantorion org Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Suite bergamasque amp oldid 1108326321 22Clair de lune 22, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
