The moon as a muse - Debussy's Clair de Lune.

Many things in life and in the world inspire me; some elements are more marked than others, but the muse of many artists, and mine, has been the moon for as long as I can remember. I have written poems based on her that are too embarrassing to show openly, but the fact is that she gives me a sense of serenity and devotion so deep that I could admire her for hours (and I have). Muses always inspire us to look for them everywhere, as when the object of pleasure surpasses our thresholds and becomes an addiction.


This photograph was taken by @naitreart

Of course, I do not suffer from some disease in which, if I find myself deprived of the moon, I will burst or something like that, but at night I like to look for it, and during the day I am secretly thrilled to be able to see its distant face in the blue sky. The moon, protagonist of so many novels, paintings and poems, could not escape the sensitive ears that have immortalized their admiration for it in musical compositions. Thus we have "Clair de Lune" by Claude Debussy.


Almost every time (not to say always) that I am doing some task that demands my concentration, or I am reading for pleasure, or I want to sleep and I can't fall asleep, and so many other cases, the sweet and enveloping notes of Debussy wrap my brain in a mystical, light and absorbing veil, where I can listen to the hot music but also move to a stage outside my reality. I know that the moon has more works of which it has been a source of inspiration, whether composed or written directly for it or as a symbol representing femininity, like Beethoven's Moonlight.


And that is what the moon also represents: femininity, or at least it is something I have noticed (and more expert people have better bases to say something about it) and that we can see in how it is represented in mythologies, like the goddess Selene of the famous Greek myths. Something I love about the moonlight that eventually accompanies my sleepless nights, is that Debussy was inspired by a poem of the same name by Paul Verlaine to compose this piece where the main voice comes from the piano. The piano seems to me to be such an elegant and energetic instrument when it wants to be, because to say that it only evokes nostalgia is to deny that it can produce fast-paced and voluminous pieces like Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee".

Even so, it is in its parsimonious, delicate and soft version where I feel most moved. Debussy's piece is so sublime without trying to be ostentatious that it overwhelms you with a feeling so deep that it makes you want to cry, or at least that has been my case. Music, like an actress, has the power to transmit such real feelings and awaken them in you without asking for permission, but with Clair de Lune I don't feel invaded, on the contrary, I feel as if something is asking for permission to feel.


Paul Verlaine described in his poem "With the still moonlight, sad and beautiful..." a silent, beautiful and melancholic companion, witness of troubadours, lovers, compassionate and wretched souls. If some artists finds themselves without a source of inspiration, I would definitely recommend they to let themselves be enveloped by the feminine and maternal aura of the moon, a borrowed light because it is a mere reflection of the sun, but which does not detract from the brilliance of this silent observer suspended in the sky, even if you do not see her all the time. Debussy will always be my calling card (and my sleep cure) of this muse, who makes me wonder:


Is it so poignantly beautiful that it makes you sad? Or is it so melancholy and sad that that's what makes it devastatingly beautiful? Maybe these questions don't make sense, but what can I say? The beauty of the moon stuns me.


All photographs used are from my personal gallery.
Sort:  

There is no doubt that everything in the universe is beautifulI also like the moon very much and when I sleep at night I keep looking at the moon and I like to talk with moon .Blue clouds in the sky look very beautiful and we feel that this world is very beautiful

awesome skills I appreciate your work ❤️

It's a wonderful thing to be so sensible t the beauty of the universe, right? Thanks to you for your comment, i appreciate it!

There is so much beauty in nature and creation.

The skies always leave me in a very pleasant mood when I take note of their beauty.

These images are so nice. Well done.

Thank you! I have the same feeling as you. Skies hold an immeasurable beauty.

It's a pleasure

...and the funny thing is: The Moon doesn't have a light in the literal sense. Its the reflection of the light transmitted by the sun, but that's likely not a 'stranger' to you. I just find it funny 😆

Am not too often out in the countryside where our artificial lights aren't reaching, making whatever we can see when the clouds decide to sleep, but when I am, while the clouds are asleep, all the stars we can see, the Milkyway itself, makes such an impression on me that I can spend hours and house watching...just watching. The moon can do that to me as well, especially when it sits just above the horizon in the middle of the night. When it feels like it is at least twice, or trice its normal size (which it isn't, just an illusion 😎).

The piece you shared, the Debusy one. It's exquisite 🙇

I wonder how many beautiful moons have you seen by admiring it hours and hours. I hope you have enjoyed the piece, thanks for appreciate it, i also things it's exquisite!

Not too many since I live in a city with lots of city light, polluting/hiding the mastery in the sky.

I understand, here where i live it's happens too, but sometimes if i'm lucky enough i can see a starry night and a full bright moon, that always makes me think of Debussy's piece.