Le Tombeau de Couperin, arr. for winds

Program Note:

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was a master pianist, and most of his compositions developed from thoughts worked out directly at the keys. Such is the case with Le Tombeau de Couperin composed for solo piano between 1914 and 1917. Ravel began the piece shortly after war erupted; the six movements became tributes to six friends who died in battle. This Tombeau is actually a double memorial. In addition to his friends, Ravel also pays tribute to the Baroque dance suite and forms that inspired François Couperin centuries earlier. It joins works by Stravinsky, Poulenc, Satie, and others that escaped political and social upheavals of the time by seeking a neo-classical sound. The six movements range from spirited technical material (Prélude and Toccata) to strict counterpoint (Fugue) to Baroque dance (Forlane, Minuet, and Rigaudon). The second movement, dedicated to Jean Cruppi, is a Fugue in E minor. Its subject is quite simple, even unremarkable, essentially just outlining a triad. But that simplicity allows Ravel to manipulate later appearances in various ways, including turning it upside-down, reharmonizing it, and pressing multiple statements of the theme close upon one another (a technique called stretto). Chromatic touches also help enliven the tone, which is nevertheless more subdued than the preceding Prelude and more introspective than the following dances. The arrangement for wind quintet heard this evening was made in 1994 by American composer Gunther Schuller.

(c) Jason Stell