Maurice Ravel’s Pièce en forme de Habanera was actually originally written as a Vocalise-étude in 1907. In its original form, it is a particularly demanding and virtuosic piece with staccato passages, portamenti, trills and sweeping scales. Yet, it brilliantly displays Ravel’s ability to compose for and demonstrate the possibilities of the human voice. It appeared in a collection of vocalises assembled by A. L. Hettich and it may have been for this specific purpose that Ravel composed the piece. Perhaps as a means of making it more accessible, Ravel transcribed the Vocalise for cello and piano. Since then, it has appeared in transcriptions for several other instruments.
The fascination of French composers for Spanish music dates back to Bizet’s Carmen and Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole, and was explored even more by Chabrier, Debussy and Ravel. Ravel’s connection to Spanish music, however, was less a fancy and more a matter of heritage. His mother was of Basque descent and grew up in Madrid. She often sang to him folk songs as a child. Interestingly, the habanera which Ravel here chose as the Spanish influence of this piece actually has its origins in France itself. The French contradanza was the basis of the development of the habanera in Cuba during the 19th century, from whence it traveled back to France via Spain. The distinctive habanera rhythm is present throughout much of the piece in the piano accompaniment, principally in the left hand, and accompanied by variants in the right hand as well as at times in the voice. Against this accompaniment from the piano, the voice weaves its seductive melody, whose character demands that the performer mask its difficulties in ease of execution.Joseph DuBose
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Pièce en forme de Habanera
Ravel, Swiss by paternal ancestry and Basque through his mother, combined these two strains into a very French synthesis. His Habanera, well known in a number of arrangements, was originally a piano piece making use of a Cuban dance-form. D. Skoraczewski
Classical Music | Cello Music
Maurice Ravel
Pièce en Forme de Habanera Play
Recorded on 10/16/2007, uploaded on 01/19/2009
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Maurice Ravel’s Pièce en forme de Habanera was actually originally written as a Vocalise-étude in 1907. In its original form, it is a particularly demanding and virtuosic piece with staccato passages, portamenti, trills and sweeping scales. Yet, it brilliantly displays Ravel’s ability to compose for and demonstrate the possibilities of the human voice. It appeared in a collection of vocalises assembled by A. L. Hettich and it may have been for this specific purpose that Ravel composed the piece. Perhaps as a means of making it more accessible, Ravel transcribed the Vocalise for cello and piano. Since then, it has appeared in transcriptions for several other instruments.
The fascination of French composers for Spanish music dates back to Bizet’s Carmen and Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole, and was explored even more by Chabrier, Debussy and Ravel. Ravel’s connection to Spanish music, however, was less a fancy and more a matter of heritage. His mother was of Basque descent and grew up in Madrid. She often sang to him folk songs as a child. Interestingly, the habanera which Ravel here chose as the Spanish influence of this piece actually has its origins in France itself. The French contradanza was the basis of the development of the habanera in Cuba during the 19th century, from whence it traveled back to France via Spain. The distinctive habanera rhythm is present throughout much of the piece in the piano accompaniment, principally in the left hand, and accompanied by variants in the right hand as well as at times in the voice. Against this accompaniment from the piano, the voice weaves its seductive melody, whose character demands that the performer mask its difficulties in ease of execution. Joseph DuBose
__________________________________
Pièce en forme de Habanera
Ravel, Swiss by paternal ancestry and Basque through his mother, combined these two strains into a very French synthesis. His Habanera, well known in a number of arrangements, was originally a piano piece making use of a Cuban dance-form. D. Skoraczewski
More music by Maurice Ravel
La Valse
Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Faure
Noctuelles from Miroirs
Daphnis and Chloé, Suite No. 2
Une barque sur l'océan, from Miroirs
Alborada del Gracioso, from Miroirs
Pièce en Forme de Habanera
Cinq Mélodies Populaires Grecques
Rhapsodie espagnole
Concerto No. 2 in D Major for Piano and Orchestra
Performances by same musician(s)
Nocturne in c-sharp minor Op. Posth.
Seven Variations on “Bei Mannern, welche Liebe fuhlen” from Die Zauberflote by Mozart
Goyescas: Intermezzo
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