Classical Music Inspired by Clouds

Whether it’s water, summertime, or cold weather, nature is a huge inspiration to artists of all kinds. In today’s post, let’s take a look at some classical music inspired by clouds.

Nuages by Debussy

This beautiful work uses harmonies, melodic motifs, and subtle changes in the music to create an image of clouds. Read my in-depth analysis of this piece here:

“Nuages” by Debussy

Shapes in the Clouds

And here’s a piece by yours truly:

Shapes in the Clouds tells the story of a constantly changing imagination through soft, dark harmonies, empty space, and emotion. The slowly moving lines depict the subtle shift in the clouds, telling a unique story to each observer. The texture starts pretty close and tightly knit, but it gradually spreads out through layers of low bass and high echoes.

The harmony is mostly minor until a brief glimpse of sunlight at 1:05 and 3:48, which – to me – represents sadness and deepness. But just like clouds are different to each person watching their path across the sky, my music can mean different things to everyone who hears it.

Nuages gris by Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt, known for his virtuosic piano skills, wrote some pretty beautiful and heartbreaking music. Nuages gris (“Gray Clouds”) is no exception. But unlike his most flashy and technically challenging music, Nuages gris uses color and texture to create a haunting atmosphere. The melody is made of the Hungarian minor scale (a natural minor scale with a raised 4th), while the harmonies are based on augmented triads (major thirds stacked on top of each other).

Do you have any favorite pieces inspired by nature?