Suite Bergamasque: Clair de Lune

Clair de lune (Moonlight) is the third movement of Debussy's Suite bergamasque, begun around 1890 and revised before its publication in 1905. Its title, and the hazy, moonlit mood of the whole piece, comes from a poem of the same name by Paul Verlaine, which pictures masked figures dancing in a strange, melancholy moonlight. Built from soft, floating chords rather than a conventional melody and accompaniment, it helped define the harmonic language later called musical impressionism. It has since been arranged for nearly every instrument imaginable and used in countless films.