Suite bergamasque is a pianosuite by Claude Debussy, and one of the composer's most famous works for the instrument. He began composing it around 1890, at the age of 28, but significantly revised it just before its 1905 publication. 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 from a publisher who thought they would be successful given the fameDebussy 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 sentimental". These names come from poems by Paul Verlaine. The final title of Suite bergamasque is derived from Verlaine's poem "Clair de lune", which refers to bergamasks in its opening stanza: 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.
The first piece in the suite, entitled Prélude, is in the key of F major and marked moderato tempo rubato. Its legato phrases give it a smooth, flowing feel.
2. Menuet
The second movement of Suite bergamasque is a Menuet in A minor. This piece is particularly original, as it does not conform to the style shared by most minuets.
3. Clair de lune
The third and most famous movement of Suite bergamasque is Clair de lune, in D major. It is written in meter, 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 is a type of dance that originated in Brittany. This movement is fast and light, with the left hand playing staccato arpeggios throughout.
Arrangements
Suite bergamasque has been orchestrated by many conductors, including André Caplet, Leopold Stokowski, and Lucien Cailliet. In particular, Clair de lune has been arranged for a wide variety of instrumental combinations, one example being Dimitri Tiomkin's arrangement for organ in the score for the 1956 filmGiant. Clair de lune was originally intended to be included as a fully orchestrated piece in the 1940 Walt Disneyanimated filmFantasia. However, due to runtime issues, it was eventually not included in the final cut of the film. Instead, the footage for its intended segment was recycled for the "Blue Bayou" segment of the subsequent film Make Mine Music. However, the Clair de lune segment was later restored after a workprint of it was rediscovered in 1992, complete with an original score by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. It is included as a bonus feature in some later releases of Fantasia. The 1953 ballet L'ange gris used orchestrations of the Suite bergamasque by Caplet and Gustave Cloëz. Passepied has been arranged by the Punch Brothers for bluegrass instrumentation in their album The Phosphorescent Blues. Also, a shortened version of Passepied was re-arranged by Japanese composer Hidehiro Funauchi as a theme for the soundtrack of the 1991 Konami game, along with his original score, composed for this game.
