Google celebrates Claude Debussy’s birthday with moonlit musical doodle

Google’s recent interactive doodles have involved everything from bacteria to Ferris Wheels, but today the tech giant proved it could also bring some subtle beauty to your search page. Its latest animation is all about moonlight and shadows, celebrating the memory of Achille-Claude Debussy.

For Debussy’s 151st birthday, the Google team put together a doodle to the tune of the French composer’s famous ‘Clair de Lune.’ The song, which is named after the French name for moonlight, plays out to a backdrop of a shadowy city scape where boats, vintage cars and the occasional blimp pass by in the night.

As the song progresses, flickering lights, clouds and rain appear in time to the music, which ends with the appearance of Google’s name.

The composer, who was born on 22 August 1862 and died after a battle with cancer in 1918, is one of the most prominent names associated with Impressionist music and wrote the song used in the doodle near the turn of the century. While you’re not able to shoot some hoops or share a high score to Google Plus with this animation, the quiet piano tune makes this a fitting addition to Google’s rapidly expanding gallery of doodles.