Faccini Piano Duo - Maurice Ravel: Music for Piano 4-hands (2024)
BAND/ARTIST: Faccini Piano Duo
- Title: Maurice Ravel: Music for Piano 4-hands
- Year Of Release: 2024
- Label: Da Vinci Classics
- Genre: Classical Piano
- Quality: flac lossless (tracks)
- Total Time: 01:07:06
- Total Size: 201 mb
- WebSite: Album Preview
Tracklist
01. Introduction et Allegro (Transcription for Piano 4-hands by Léon Roques)
02. Rapsodie espagnole: No. 1, Prélude à la nuit – Très modéré
03. Rapsodie espagnole: No. 2, Malagueña – Assez vif
04. Rapsodie espagnole: No. 3, Habanera – Assez lent et d’un rythme las
05. Rapsodie espagnole: No. 4, Feria – Assez animé
06. Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 (Transcription for Piano 4-hands by Léon Roques)
07. La Valse (Transcription for Piano 4-hands by Lucien Garbàn)
08. Boléro
It is the early 1900s and Ravel is going through a very productive period in his life as a composer. These are the years of Jeux d’eau, of Miroirs, of Sonatine, of Shéhérazade. In the same period the manufacturer Erard was endeavouring to promote and emphasize the potential and expressiveness of the double-action harp, an instrument they had invented. Their aim was to contrast the diffusion of the chromatic harp which had been introduced into the market by Pleyel, for which Claude Debussy had written in 1904 the Danses pour harpe chromatique et orchestre d’instruments à cordes. It is in these circumstances that in 1905 the piece Introduction et Allegro pour harpe, flûte, clarinette et quatour à cordes comes to life, septet published by the editor Durand in 1906 and performed for the first time in Paris in 1907. Composed in two movements but performed without a solution of continuity, Introduction et Allegro, is characterized by an extreme refinement and delicacy, even in those parts which were forte and allegro. Furthermore, the work was completed in a very brief space of time, about eight days. Ravel was invited by the then owner of the French newspaper LeMatin, and by his friend Misia Sert to take a river cruise in June and July 1905. The precious timbres chosen are stimulus for the performer to enhance the instrumental chiselling in which Ravel distinguished himself in intelligence and craftsmanship of the highest level.
Rapsodie espagnole – Prélude à la nuit, Malagueña, Habanera, Feria
In 1907 Ravel receives an unexpected visit at his home in Paris, a Spanish composer of all respect: Manuel de Falla. Ravel performs his latest creation, a composition for one piano 4 hands, Rapsodie espagnole. It arouses such admiration in De Falla that he comments:
“It surprises one by its genuinely Spanish character. This hispanization is not achieved merely by drawing upon popular or folk sources but rather through the free use of the modal rhythms and melodies and ornamental figures of our popular music, none of which has altered in any way the natural style of the composer.”
The composition is formed by four movements. The opening Prélude à la nuit blanketed in pale shades of colour and beams of light in a slow movement, almost immobile, which is achieved by the repeated sounds of the four initial notes. Malagueña comprises a sparkling and lively rhythm, counterbalancing Habanera, languid and sensual. Both are based on dance rhythms as is the last movement, Feria, sparkling finale to this refined composition in perfect ravellian style.
La Valse
“Through whirling clouds, waltzing couples may be faintly distinguished. The clouds gradually scatter: one sees an immense hall peopled with a whirling crowd. The scene is gradually illuminated. The light of the chandeliers bursts forth at the fortissimo. Set in an imperial court, about 1855”.
It is with these words that the composer introduces one of his greatest masterpieces. It is the end of 1919. The famous impresario for Russian ballets, Sergej Djagilev, asks Ravel to compose a new work to be performed the following year. The piece, performed in public for the first time in 1920 in the version for two pianos, would have the title: La valse, poème choréographique pour orchestra. Djagilev, present at the performance, comments:
“It’s a masterpiece, but it is not a ballet. It’s a portrait of a ballet.”
According to witnesses the impresario says, “the score does not permit any spectacular development and paralyzes all forms of choreography.”
The ballet would be performed only many years later, thanks to Ida Rubinstein, and was never put on stage by Djagilev. Ravel leaves us with a key to the interpretation of his piece, by expressing himself thus in a letter in 1922:
“While some discover an attempt at parody, indeed caricature, others categorically see a tragic allusion in it – the end of the Second Empire, the situation in Vienna after the war, etc…. This dance may seem tragic, like any other emotion… pushed to the extreme. But one should only see in it what the music expresses: an ascending progression of sonority, to which the stage comes along to add light and movement.”
Daphnis et Chloé, Suite n.2 – Lever du jour, Pantomime, Danse générale
Inspired by the novel of the Greek poet Longo Sofista, Daphnis et Chloé is composed originally as a ballet for the Company of Sergej Djagilev with choreographies by Michel Fokine.
“My intention in writing it was to compose a vast musical fresco in which I was less concerned with archaism than with faithfully reproducing the Greece of my dreams, which is very similar to that imagined and painted by the French artists at the end of the eighteenth century. The piece was constructed symphonically, according to a strict plan of key sequences, out of a small number of themes, the development of which ensures the music’s homogeneity.”
The origins of this work are, for various reasons, rather hard-fought. The finale is rewritten several times by the composer and there are numerous misunderstandings between Fokine and Ravel on how to interpret the subject “Greece”. The former seeing it primarily from an archaeological point of view as opposed to the latter, Ravel, who interprets it rather from an Eighteenth-Century ideological viewpoint. Motive for conflict then continues with Djagilev, who, after having seen the rehearsals, reduces the performances to two, clearly in disagreement with Ravel. On seeing the poor success of the performance, the French composer decides to transform the work into two suites for orchestra. The second is particularly famous today. Composed of three united movements (Lever du jour, Pantomime, Danse générale), it is based on the final scene of the ballet where the two lovers, Daphnis and Chloé reunite and celebrate amidst a final bacchanalia.
Boléro
In 1927 Ida Rubinstein asks Ravel to compose a score for a short ballet with a Spanish setting. The Basque origins of the composer make the choice much easier and, despite being very busy in that period, he decides to accept the commission. In some letters written while working on the composition, Ravel often mentions the name Fandango, but the final choice goes to Boléro, the name of a typical Spanish dance characterized by a slow and danceable cadence. The first performance of the ballet takes place in 1929 while in 1930 the première of the renowned version for orchestra is performed, conducted by the composer himself. Through the years, Boléro has become one of the most performed and most transcribed works in the literature of music, capable of finding a place in the world of jazz and as a film score. The basis of the composition is the famous theme in C Major, which may have been written during one of his journeys through the Pyrenees. The principal elements are the ternary time (typical of this Iberian dance), the rhythm and the long melodic idea divided into two phrases. Ravel works only on sound, timbres and orchestral combinations, repeating the theme eighteen times. Thus, creating a piece which is distinguished by a single large crescendo which he achieves by gradually adding new instruments, both in the melodic line and in the accompaniment.
01. Introduction et Allegro (Transcription for Piano 4-hands by Léon Roques)
02. Rapsodie espagnole: No. 1, Prélude à la nuit – Très modéré
03. Rapsodie espagnole: No. 2, Malagueña – Assez vif
04. Rapsodie espagnole: No. 3, Habanera – Assez lent et d’un rythme las
05. Rapsodie espagnole: No. 4, Feria – Assez animé
06. Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 (Transcription for Piano 4-hands by Léon Roques)
07. La Valse (Transcription for Piano 4-hands by Lucien Garbàn)
08. Boléro
It is the early 1900s and Ravel is going through a very productive period in his life as a composer. These are the years of Jeux d’eau, of Miroirs, of Sonatine, of Shéhérazade. In the same period the manufacturer Erard was endeavouring to promote and emphasize the potential and expressiveness of the double-action harp, an instrument they had invented. Their aim was to contrast the diffusion of the chromatic harp which had been introduced into the market by Pleyel, for which Claude Debussy had written in 1904 the Danses pour harpe chromatique et orchestre d’instruments à cordes. It is in these circumstances that in 1905 the piece Introduction et Allegro pour harpe, flûte, clarinette et quatour à cordes comes to life, septet published by the editor Durand in 1906 and performed for the first time in Paris in 1907. Composed in two movements but performed without a solution of continuity, Introduction et Allegro, is characterized by an extreme refinement and delicacy, even in those parts which were forte and allegro. Furthermore, the work was completed in a very brief space of time, about eight days. Ravel was invited by the then owner of the French newspaper LeMatin, and by his friend Misia Sert to take a river cruise in June and July 1905. The precious timbres chosen are stimulus for the performer to enhance the instrumental chiselling in which Ravel distinguished himself in intelligence and craftsmanship of the highest level.
Rapsodie espagnole – Prélude à la nuit, Malagueña, Habanera, Feria
In 1907 Ravel receives an unexpected visit at his home in Paris, a Spanish composer of all respect: Manuel de Falla. Ravel performs his latest creation, a composition for one piano 4 hands, Rapsodie espagnole. It arouses such admiration in De Falla that he comments:
“It surprises one by its genuinely Spanish character. This hispanization is not achieved merely by drawing upon popular or folk sources but rather through the free use of the modal rhythms and melodies and ornamental figures of our popular music, none of which has altered in any way the natural style of the composer.”
The composition is formed by four movements. The opening Prélude à la nuit blanketed in pale shades of colour and beams of light in a slow movement, almost immobile, which is achieved by the repeated sounds of the four initial notes. Malagueña comprises a sparkling and lively rhythm, counterbalancing Habanera, languid and sensual. Both are based on dance rhythms as is the last movement, Feria, sparkling finale to this refined composition in perfect ravellian style.
La Valse
“Through whirling clouds, waltzing couples may be faintly distinguished. The clouds gradually scatter: one sees an immense hall peopled with a whirling crowd. The scene is gradually illuminated. The light of the chandeliers bursts forth at the fortissimo. Set in an imperial court, about 1855”.
It is with these words that the composer introduces one of his greatest masterpieces. It is the end of 1919. The famous impresario for Russian ballets, Sergej Djagilev, asks Ravel to compose a new work to be performed the following year. The piece, performed in public for the first time in 1920 in the version for two pianos, would have the title: La valse, poème choréographique pour orchestra. Djagilev, present at the performance, comments:
“It’s a masterpiece, but it is not a ballet. It’s a portrait of a ballet.”
According to witnesses the impresario says, “the score does not permit any spectacular development and paralyzes all forms of choreography.”
The ballet would be performed only many years later, thanks to Ida Rubinstein, and was never put on stage by Djagilev. Ravel leaves us with a key to the interpretation of his piece, by expressing himself thus in a letter in 1922:
“While some discover an attempt at parody, indeed caricature, others categorically see a tragic allusion in it – the end of the Second Empire, the situation in Vienna after the war, etc…. This dance may seem tragic, like any other emotion… pushed to the extreme. But one should only see in it what the music expresses: an ascending progression of sonority, to which the stage comes along to add light and movement.”
Daphnis et Chloé, Suite n.2 – Lever du jour, Pantomime, Danse générale
Inspired by the novel of the Greek poet Longo Sofista, Daphnis et Chloé is composed originally as a ballet for the Company of Sergej Djagilev with choreographies by Michel Fokine.
“My intention in writing it was to compose a vast musical fresco in which I was less concerned with archaism than with faithfully reproducing the Greece of my dreams, which is very similar to that imagined and painted by the French artists at the end of the eighteenth century. The piece was constructed symphonically, according to a strict plan of key sequences, out of a small number of themes, the development of which ensures the music’s homogeneity.”
The origins of this work are, for various reasons, rather hard-fought. The finale is rewritten several times by the composer and there are numerous misunderstandings between Fokine and Ravel on how to interpret the subject “Greece”. The former seeing it primarily from an archaeological point of view as opposed to the latter, Ravel, who interprets it rather from an Eighteenth-Century ideological viewpoint. Motive for conflict then continues with Djagilev, who, after having seen the rehearsals, reduces the performances to two, clearly in disagreement with Ravel. On seeing the poor success of the performance, the French composer decides to transform the work into two suites for orchestra. The second is particularly famous today. Composed of three united movements (Lever du jour, Pantomime, Danse générale), it is based on the final scene of the ballet where the two lovers, Daphnis and Chloé reunite and celebrate amidst a final bacchanalia.
Boléro
In 1927 Ida Rubinstein asks Ravel to compose a score for a short ballet with a Spanish setting. The Basque origins of the composer make the choice much easier and, despite being very busy in that period, he decides to accept the commission. In some letters written while working on the composition, Ravel often mentions the name Fandango, but the final choice goes to Boléro, the name of a typical Spanish dance characterized by a slow and danceable cadence. The first performance of the ballet takes place in 1929 while in 1930 the première of the renowned version for orchestra is performed, conducted by the composer himself. Through the years, Boléro has become one of the most performed and most transcribed works in the literature of music, capable of finding a place in the world of jazz and as a film score. The basis of the composition is the famous theme in C Major, which may have been written during one of his journeys through the Pyrenees. The principal elements are the ternary time (typical of this Iberian dance), the rhythm and the long melodic idea divided into two phrases. Ravel works only on sound, timbres and orchestral combinations, repeating the theme eighteen times. Thus, creating a piece which is distinguished by a single large crescendo which he achieves by gradually adding new instruments, both in the melodic line and in the accompaniment.
Year 2024 | Classical | FLAC / APE
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