Whatever faults Google may have, winning the heart of the internet via distractions is not one of them, with easter eggs for gay pride, the first snowfall– and today’s home page is a gorgeous animation set to Claude Debussy’s “Claire de Lune” in honor of what would be his 151st birthday.
Claire de Lune is the third movement of Debussy’s piano suite, Suite Bergamasque, and refers to a folk song which traditionally accompanied a love sick character in French pantomime. Debussy’s compositions hailed a new style of music, with a unique approach to structure and harmony, one that echoed the visual aesthetics of Symbolism and Impressionism and led to his unofficial title of “hedonist of sound.”
Even if you’re not a classical music nerd, you’ve probably heard “Claire de Lune” before– poet Paul Verlaine even referred to it as “fountains sobbing in ecstasy,” so, that’s pretty high praise. I think. This piece has been in movies ranging from Ocean’s 11 to The Darjeeling Limited to (oh, God) Twilight.
The doodle is of a gentle moonlit night on the Seine, with the lights of Paris flickering on and off and rain beginning to fall, and it ends with two people, in different boats, sharing a red umbrella. Below is a video of the doodle itself, should you want a nicer start to your day. And if you want to learn more about Debussy (because this is making you realize that the music history you learned in high school has completely leaked out of your brain), here is the Encyclopedia Britannica’s article on the composer.
And if you’re anything like me, the end of this lovely short reminded you of the insanely sweet and gorgeous Pixar short, “The Blue Umbrella,” of which, because I happened to adore it, there is a clip below.
(via The Telegraph, The Washington Post)
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