Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin (Milstein, Lortie)
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- čas přidán 19. 01. 2020
- Is there any composer whose music expends more craft, on a bar-by-bar basis, than Ravel?
Well, ok, so that isn’t really a sensible or meaningful question, but it’s hard to escape the feeling when you’re actually listening to Ravel that his music is put together with a level of care and precision that no other composer quite matches. Dedicated to 6 friends who died in WWI, Le Tombeau de Couperin is the last set of solo piano works Ravel wrote, as well as the last works he wrote in any “antique” form. Le Tombeau represents a fusion of classical discipline & economy with colouristic imagination of the highest order - each of these pieces could be the subject of a longish essay, and despite my best efforts any description will bust YT’s limit, so I’ve put it in the comments.
Prelude - ABA form [
Fun Fact: In French "tombeau" sounds like both "tomb" and "beautiful sound" --
Milstein:
Ravel’s just one of those composers that makes me proud to be human.
The section at
A TOMBEAU DE COUPERIN SCORE VIDEO WITH GOOD AUDIO. I swear this channel is a God send
I love Ravel. Very difficult to play I must say, BUT once you get the hang of how he wrote-- wasn't too bad.... very unique composer. He wrote "water" in music form. A total badass. I would have loved to hear him play in person....
Ravel does a masterful job of flirting with the edge of discordance, and then retuning to familiar, comforting resolution. All the while, melodically.
Truly one of the greatest works of music in history. I just keep coming back to it.
The Prelude tickles my ears perfectly. The way it morphs into this, moves over to that, and comes back to its original state so fluently is astonishing to listen to
Milstein:
I’ve always been so incredibly intrigued by Ravel, I mean, there’s no one quite like him. This makes for some pleasant listening. The Prelude and Toccata are probably my favourites, but the Forlane is just so rich in texture!
The fugue was a real ear-opener for me. Prior to Ravel's fugue, I had only played Bach fugues and a smattering by other classical composers. None affected me the way Bach's did. But Ravel's did. It showed me there was a way to do fugues with a 20th century sound. I went on a hunt for 20th century fugues and was rewarded with some great works. I love fugues and Ravel's holds a special place in my heart for opening this new aural landscape for me.
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Your descriptions are just AMAZING. Thank you for describing these pieces with so many details !!
The forlane is like a legend in my life. Too beautiful, too cheerful.
That Minuet is in Ravel's restrained-but-melancholy mode and I find it deeply touching. Beautiful performance of this wonderful set. gorgeous pieces.
Thank you for giving one of my favourite pieces of all time some attention.
Your descriptions are always marvelous.
This is marvelously played. I always prefer the piano version of this to the orchestrated version. This seems so much more suited to the piece. The tenderness of some of the smaller moments and the elasticity of the tempi. I'm going to get this piece back under my fingers.