Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and Dvorak’s Song to the Moon are two instances of musical tributes to Earth’s enigmatic satellite. The moon has also inspired 19th century poets and famous filmmakers.
Who can forget the opening scene of Norman Jewison’s 1987 film Moonstruck, in which an elderly man takes his dogs for a wintry walk by the light of the full moon? With the strains of Puccini’s La Bohème warming the air, and the Manhattan skyline dominating the view, this one-minute tableau sets the romantic scene for the whole movie.
Fun fact: the actor in this scene is the late Feodor Chaliapin Jr., youngest son of the legendary Russian opera singer Feodor Chaliapin Sr.
Ah, the moon; no other celestial body has sparked the artistic imagination the way the moon has. It elicits madness, inspires love and in its full phase popular culture would have us believe it fills our emergency rooms.
19th century artists were fascinated by moonlight. In the opening lines of his poem Sun of the Sleepless, Lord Byron associates moonlight with sadness and restlessness:
"Sun of the sleepless! melancholy star!
Whose tearful beam glows tremulously far!"
Beethoven, Schubert and Dvorak have all penned famous odes to the moon, but for me the most wistful evocation of moonlight comes from Claude Debussy.
Listen Debussy's Clair de lune is played here by pianist Alain Lefevre, from his CBC Records album Cadenza.
What is your favourite piece of "moon music?" Let us know in the comments below.
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