close
Home > Ravel, Maurice > Gaspard de la nuit

Ravel, Maurice : Gaspard de la nuit

Work Overview

Music ID : 333
Composition Year：1908　
Publication Year：1908
First Publisher：Durand
Instrumentation：Piano Solo　
Genre：pieces
Total Playing Time：22 min 00 sec
Copyright：Public Domain
pieces

Commentary (1)

Author : PTNA Piano Encyclopedia Editorial Department

Last Updated: January 1, 2010
[Open]
Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

"Gaspard de la Nuit" is the title of a collection of 64 prose poems by the short-lived, unknown poet Aloysius Bertrand (1807–1841), who is said to have influenced Baudelaire. Ravel selected three highly fantastical and macabre poems from this collection and, weaving in immense technical skill, transformed them into passionate piano pieces.

1. Ondine / "Ondine"

In "Ondine," the first piece, an elegant and fantastical melody emerges amidst the finely articulated tremolos of the right hand. Ondine (a water spirit), who has fallen in love with a human man, asks him to marry her and become king of the lake. When the man refuses, Ondine is vexed and weeps for a while, but then laughs loudly and vanishes into a torrential rain. The aquatic world is masterfully depicted through an exceptionally meticulous compositional style.

2. Le gibet / "The Gibbet"

The sound of a bell, announcing the death of a hanged man, is consistently marked by a B-flat throughout. As night falls, mingling with the sound of the bell, one hears either the wind, the weeping of the dead, or perhaps a scarab beetle tearing blood-soaked hair from a skull... The eerie world of night and death is realistically portrayed with a keen sense of harmony and rhythm.

3. Scarbo / "Scarbo"

"Scarbo" refers to a mischievous goblin that whirls frantically around a room, constantly playing tricks. This scene is vividly expressed through the incorporation of virtuoso technical difficulties, including highly specialized techniques. It is known as one of the most technically challenging pieces to play among all piano compositions.

Writer: PTNA Piano Encyclopedia Editorial Department

Movements (3)

"Ondine"

Key: Cis-Dur  Total Performance Time: 6 min 30 sec 

Videos 9

Explanation 1

Sheet Music 7

Arrangement 0

"Le gibet"

Key: es-moll  Total Performance Time: 6 min 30 sec 

Videos 8

Explanation 1

Sheet Music 5

Arrangement 0

"Scarbo"

Key: gis-moll  Total Performance Time: 9 min 00 sec 

Videos 22

Explanation 1

Sheet Music 6

Arrangement 0

Reference Videos & Audition Selections(4items)

近藤　由貴
三原　未紗子
夜のガスパール スカルボ（第10回福田靖子賞）
演奏：泉　麻衣子
View on IMSLP
Japanese