From the Suite bergamasque. Moonlight in soft, overlapping chords, then a flowing middle section, then the moon again.
The story
Debussy sketched the Suite bergamasque around 1890 and published it, much revised, in 1905. The title of the third movement comes from a poem by Paul Verlaine.
It begins with quiet chords in which the beat is hard to feel, as if time itself is blurred by moonlight, then opens out into a rippling, flowing middle.
Two things to know
- It is written in 9/8: nine eighth notes to a bar, felt in three groups of three.
- The marking at the start is pianissimo, and most of the piece stays soft.
How to play it
Hold the sustain pedal through each harmony and lift it cleanly when the chord changes, so the sound blurs but never muddies.