Jeux d'eau

Program Note:

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) scored one of his biggest successes, compositionally speaking, with Jeux d’eau (Fountains), which first appeared in 1901. The details of that piece need not concern us, but its general virtuosic texture and interest in the sounds and images of playing water help prepare his later work, Ondine. Ondine is the opening salvo of Gaspard de la Nuit (1908), a set of three piano pieces inspired by Aloysius Bertrand’s stories. Bertrand’s tales about medieval Dijon were republished in 1895 and caught the attention of Ravel, who enjoyed the macabre and mystical elements he found therein. Gaspard is Ravel’s most intentionally virtuosic collection. He wanted to outdo Mily Balakirev’s fantasy for piano, Islamey, but the parallels point equally to the influence of Chopin’s four Ballades. Poetic ties are closest to Ballade No. 3, which takes a Polish poem on the Ondine myth as its inspiration. Under Ravel’s capable fingers, Ondine offers seven minutes of nearly unrelenting arpeggios—and not just arpeggios of single notes, but also chord clusters. The texture is sparkling, while the harmonies sound mysterious and almost antique.

(c) Jason Stell