Suite Bergamasque, L. 75

It seems that by the time a publisher came to Debussy in order to cash in on his fame and have these pieces published, the composer loathed their earlier piano style. While it is not known how much of the Suite was written in 1890 and how much was written in 1905, it is clear that Debussy changed the names of at least two of the pieces. "Passepied" had first been composed under the name "Pavane", while "Clair de lune" was originally titled "Promenade sentimentale". These names also come from Paul Verlaine's poems. The final title of Suite bergamasque comes from Verlaine's poem "Clair de lune", which refers to bergamasks in its opening stanza: Votre âme est un paysage choisi / Que vont charmant masques et bergamasques / Jouant du luth et dansant et quasi / Tristes sous leurs déguisements fantasques.