French, of paternal Swiss and maternal Basque
descent, Ravel combined skill in orchestration with meticulous technical
command of harmonic resources. He wrote in an attractive musical idiom that was
entirely his own, in spite of contemporary comparisons with Debussy, a composer
his senior by some twenty years.
Orchestral Music
In addition to the scores for ballet and arrangements of piano works for
the same purpose, Ravel wrote an evocative Rapsodie espagnole (Spanish
Rhapsody). Orchestrations of original piano compositions include a version of
the very well known Pavane pour une infante dfunte (Pavane for a Dead
Infanta), the Menuet antique, 'Alborada del gracioso' from Miroirs
and pieces from Le tombeau de Couperin. Ravel wrote two piano concertos,
the first, completed in 1930, for the left hand only, commissioned by the pianist
Paul Wittgenstein, who had lost his right arm in the war, and the second, completed
in 1931, for two hands.
Vocal Music
Songs by Ravel include the remarkable Shhrazade, settings of a
text by Tristan Klingsor for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, and the Don Quichotte
Dulcine (Don Quixote to Dulcinea) songs, originally written for a film
of Don Quixote in which the famous Russian bass Chaliapin was to star. Songs
with piano include settings of the Jules Renard Histoires naturelles,
with its instinctive sympathy with the birds and the cricket portrayed.
Chamber Music
Ravel's chamber music includes the evocative nostalgia of the Introduction
and Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet, a violin sonata
with a jazz-style blues movement, a piano trio and a string quartet. Tzigane,
written for the Hungarian violinist Jelly d'Arnyi, is a remarkable excursion
into extravagant gypsy style.
Piano Music
Ravel was himself a good pianist. His music for the piano includes compositions
in his own nostalgic archaic style, such as the Pavane and the Menuet
antique, as well as the more complex textures of pieces such as Jeux
d'eau (Fountains), Miroirs, and Gaspard de la nuit, with its
sinister connotations. The Sonatine is in Ravel's neo-classical style
and Le tombeau de Couperin is in the form of a Baroque dance suite.
