Classical Music | Music for Duo

Recorded on 04/22/2008, uploaded on 01/15/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

The music and sounds of the Iberian Peninsula inspired several of Paris’s most notable composers. Frédéric Chopin’s Bolero, op. 19, composed in 1833, was inspired by the dances he heard from Pauline Viardot’s father, the famed Spanish tenor Manuel Garcia. Hardly a single admirer of classical music is unfamiliar with the Habanera of Georges Bizet’s Carmen; then there is Franz Liszt’s Rhapsodie espagnole for piano and Claude Debussy’s Iberia. For Maurice Ravel, however, the Spanish influence was not a passing fancy but a matter of family heritage. As a child, he absorbed the musical language of Spain from the folk songs sung by his Basque mother.

In 1907, Maurice Ravel composed the first version of his Rhapsodie espagnole for piano duet, though the Habanera movement had been written much earlier in 1895. Upon publication of the work, Ravel adamantly demanded that the 1895 date be attached to the Habanera after he was accused of plagiarizing a passage from Debussy. While Ravel maintained a respect for the elder composer’s work, there was no doubt also a feeling of competition. Following the Rhapsodie’s composition, the orchestration took place over the following year, leading to its premiere on March 15, 1908.

In four movements, Rhapsodie espagnole opens with an entrancing Prélude à la nuit. An ostinato descending figure creates a mesmerizing effect, momentarily interrupted by cadenzas for the clarinets and bassoons, while the rest of the orchestra provides touches of color. Separated by only a brief pause, the second movement begins likewise with another ostinato figure. A malagueña, the second movement quickly develops atop a ground bass until the principal theme arrives forte with a decisive and energetic rhythm. A secondary theme of a more passionate character and slower in tempo provides a point of contrast to the fiery flamenco music.

Ravel subtitled the Habanera third movement “Au pays parfumé que le soleil caresse" (“In the fragrant land that the Sun caresses”). It is a brightly hued movement that seems at first to grow with burgeoning energy and vigor but yet maintains its relaxed and coaxing demeanor. Lastly, the Feria is a high-spirited and festive movement, concluding the Rhapsodie in a fury of excitement and joviality.      Joseph DuBose

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Rhapsodie espagnole                       Maurice Ravel

I. Prélude à la nuit; II. Malagueña; IV. Feria

La Rhapsodie Espagnole exists in two versions, as did many of Ravel's works for piano four-hands or two pianos: the piece was written in 1907 for piano four-hands, and later orchestrated by the composer for the premiere in Paris in 1908. Ravel was born in the Basque region on the border between France and Spain, and always had an affinity for Spanish music. This is a very colorful tribute to Spain, and the opening movement, "Prélude à la nuit" sets the stage with its sensual and mysterious descending four-note motive. This is followed by a "Malagueña," a typical Spanish dance in triple meter. The descending motive from the "Prélude" returns briefly before the movement closes with a soft flourish. The work ends with the "Feria": a musical depiction of a Spanish fair. The excitement of the fair builds to a wonderfully exciting fortissimo climax.      Westhuizen Duo

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.