Maurice Ravel
Une barque sur l’océan
The title of Ravel’s Miroirs (1904/05) can be interpreted as “reflections” of the human world of experiences. Among the nature pictures in this cycle, “Une barque sur l’océan” is particularly popular, forming a pianistic complement to Debussy’s orchestral work “La mer”, which was written at about the same time. The spacious arpeggios, with fifths, fourths and seconds hovering above them in subtle rhythms, paint a maritime tableau that is in a genre all of its own: on the one hand we have a stylised picture of a boat at the mercy of the wind and the waves, while on the other hand an allegory of the volatile nature of human life. This is the second, separate edition of a piece from Ravel’s “Miroirs” to be published by G. Henle Publishers, after “Alborado del gracioso” (HN 1295).
About the Composer
Maurice Ravel
Together with Satie and Debussy, Ravel numbers among the innovators who had a falling out with academic education and created their own avant-garde tonal languages – inspired, in Ravel’s case, by Russian and Spanish music, but also by exoticism – without abandoning tonality. This master of orchestration begins with piano works, which he orchestrates; songs with piano and piano compositions exist on an equal footing in orchestral versions.
| 1875 | Born in Ciboure on March 7; the family moves to Paris that same year. |
| 1882 | Lessons in piano, theory, and composition. |
| 1889 | Beginning of his studies at the Conservatoire de Paris, from which he will never graduate.around 1893 Influence of Chabrier and Satie. |
| 1901 | “Jeux d’eau” for piano, in a new “Impressionist” tonal language, as is “Miroirs” (1904–05). |
| 1903 | “Shéhérazade” for voice and piano/orchestral accompaniment with orientalist tonal elements. |
| 1905 | Scandal surrounding Ravel’s third application for the Prix de Rome. |
| 1907 | Premiere of the “Histoires naturelles” after Jules Renard provokes astonishment in audiences and critics. |
| 1907–08 | Rhapsodie espagnole for orchestra. |
| 1908/10 | “Ma mère l’oye” (“Mother Goose”) for piano, four-hands, as a ballet in 1911. |
| 1911 | Premiere in Paris of his opera “L’Heure espagnole.” |
| 1911/12 | “Valses nobles et sentimentales” for piano/orchestra. Premiere of the ballet “Daphnis et Chloé” in 1912. |
| 1914/19 | “Le tombeau de Couperin” for piano/orchestra anticipates the coming neoclassicism. |
| from 1920 | Many concert tours through Europe and the United States. |
| 1925 | Premiere of his opera “L’Enfant et les sortilèges.” |
| 1928 | Conferral of an honorary doctorate from Oxford University. “Bolero” for orchestra. |
| 1929–31 | Piano Concerto in G major with elements of jazz. |
| 1937 | Death in Paris on December 28. |
About the Authors
Peter Jost (Editor)
Dr. Peter Jost, born in 1960 in Diefflen/Saar, read musicology, German and comparative studies at Saarland University in Saarbrücken. He did his PhD in 1988 with a thesis on Robert Schumann’s Waldszenen.
From November 1991 to April 2009 he was a research associate at the Richard Wagner Complete Edition in Munich, and since May 2009 has been an editor at G. Henle Publishers. His Urtext editions comprise predominantly French music of the 19th and 20th centuries, including works by Lalo, Saint-Saëns and Ravel.
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