Jeux d'eau (pronounced[ʒødo]) is a piece for solo piano by Maurice Ravel, composed in 1901 and given its first public performance the following year. The title is variously translated as "Fountains", "Playing Water" or literally "Water Games". At the time of writing Jeux d'eau, Ravel was a student of Gabriel Fauré, to whom the piece is dedicated. The work is in a single movement, typically lasting between four and half and six minutes in performance.
Ravel in 1906, five years after the composition of Jeux d'eau
Jeux d'eau has a claim to being the first example of impressionism in piano music.[1] The piece is known for its virtuosic, fluid, and highly evocative nature, and is considered one of Ravel's most important works for piano. [2] The piece is characterized by its fast, shimmering, and cascading piano figurations, which are meant to evoke the sound of flowing water. The overall atmosphere of "Jeux d'eau" is one of lightness, playfulness, and sensuousness, and the piece is often described as a musical depiction of the joy and beauty of nature.[3] "Jeux d'eau" is considered a masterful example of Ravel's distinctive style, which is characterized by its clarity, precision, and sensitivity to color and texture.
In 1901 Maurice Ravel was aged 26 and had yet to make an impression on the French musical scene. He had failed to win any prizes as a student at the Paris Conservatoire and was expelled on that account. As a former student he was permitted to attend the classes of his teacher Gabriel Fauré, who thought highly of him and encouraged him.[4] Ravel dedicated Jeux d'eau and his String Quartet "à mon cher maître Gabriel Fauré".[5]
Jeux d'eau represented what Ravel's biographer Gerald Larner calls "a sudden surge in Ravel's imagination" after the mostly unremarkable compositions that preceded it.[6] The piece was partly inspired by Franz Liszt's Les jeux d'eau à la Villa d'Este (from his Années de pèlerinage).[7] Another inspiration may have been the poem "Fête d'eaux" by Ravel's friend Henri de Régnier. It contains the line "Dieu fluvial riant de l'eau qui le chatouille" ("river god laughing at the water that tickles him"), which at the composer's request the poet inscribed on Ravel's manuscript, and is the heading in the printed score.[8]
Ravel gave the first performance of the work at a gathering of the avant-garde artistic group Les Apaches of which he was a member.[9] The pianist Vlado Perlemuter quoted one of those present as saying, "There was a strange fire, a whole panoply of subtleties and vibrations which none of us could previously have imagined". Perlemuter commented that the piece "opens up new horizons in piano technique, especially if one remembers that Debussy's Jardins sous la pluie was not written until two years later, in 1903".[10] The work was published by Eugène Demets in 1901. It was quickly denounced by musical conservatives, including Camille Saint-Saëns − who dismissed it as "total cacophony" − and most of the faculty of the Conservatoire.[11]
The first public performance was given by the pianist Ricardo Viñes in a concert presented by the Société nationale de musique on 5 April 1902, at which Ravel's Pavane pour une infante défunte was also premiered. Pierre Lalo, the music critic of Le Temps (who later became persistently hostile to Ravel) was favourably impressed. After commending Viñes's "singular virtuosity and delicacy" he praised the two Ravel works as "orderly, composed with great clarity and measure, while keeping the same refinement in harmony".[12] He continued:
The ideas have grace, and they are extremely dextrously and pleasingly written. We can see here and there the influence of Chabrier, and more often that of C. Debussy; it is natural that M. Ravel is still being influenced. But the progress he has made is worth noting.[12]
Ravel's biographer Arbie Orenstein comments that among the other critics and the public the Pavane was found elegant and charming, but Jeux d'eau was thought to be cacophonic and excessively complicated. "It now appears that the Pavane is a minor work, as the composer himself acknowledged, while Jeux d'eau is firmly established as an important landmark in the literature of the piano".[13]
The piece, in E major, is in a single movement. It opens "tres doux", with a metronome marking of ♪=144.[14] The duration of the piece varies considerably in performance, from 4½ minutes to more than 6.[n 1]. Orenstein summarises the structure: "the opening and closing sonorities of Jeux d'eau are the chord of the major seventh, which enjoys a privileged position throughout". In Orenstein's analysis the work is based on two themes, the second of which is pentatonic, "treated quite freely". After an extensive development section, the two themes return and the work ends in "a sweeping cascade" of hemidemisemiquavers.[15] Ravel makes pronounced use of the higher and lower register of the keyboard.[n 2][n 3]
^Timings from a sample of the performances listed in the recordings section include: 4.31 (Casadesus), 4.35 (Cortot), 4.40 (Richter), 4.47 (Gieseking), 5.10 (Grimaud), 5.14 (Perlemuter), 5.32 (Thibaudet), 5.40 (Fevrier), 5.48 (Rogé), 6.02 (François) and 6.03 (Aimard).
^According to the piano makers Bösendorfer, Ravel intended the work for an instrument with an extended keyboard, allowing lower bass notes than standard models.[16] Orenstein comments that it is possible that at one point in the development section Ravel would have wanted a low G♯ "(which of course does not exist on the piano), as the following two pages and the recapitulation are underpinned by a pedal point on G♯".[17]
^There are also general questions as to whether French pianos such as those of Erard have advantages when playing Ravel over the more frequently recorded Steinways. In 2012 Paolo Giacometti made parallel recordings of some of Ravel's piano music on a Steinway and an Erard; reviewers found this release (which did not include Jeux d'eau) interesting.[18]
ReferencesEdit
^Park (2012). "Elements of Impressionism evoked in Debussy and Ravel's 'Reflets dans l'eau' and 'Jeux d'eau': The theme of water".
jeux, ravel, jeux, pronounced, ʒø, piece, solo, piano, maurice, ravel, composed, 1901, given, first, public, performance, following, year, title, variously, translated, fountains, playing, water, literally, water, games, time, writing, jeux, ravel, student, ga. Jeux d eau pronounced ʒo do is a piece for solo piano by Maurice Ravel composed in 1901 and given its first public performance the following year The title is variously translated as Fountains Playing Water or literally Water Games At the time of writing Jeux d eau Ravel was a student of Gabriel Faure to whom the piece is dedicated The work is in a single movement typically lasting between four and half and six minutes in performance Ravel in 1906 five years after the composition of Jeux d eauJeux d eau has a claim to being the first example of impressionism in piano music 1 The piece is known for its virtuosic fluid and highly evocative nature and is considered one of Ravel s most important works for piano 2 The piece is characterized by its fast shimmering and cascading piano figurations which are meant to evoke the sound of flowing water The overall atmosphere of Jeux d eau is one of lightness playfulness and sensuousness and the piece is often described as a musical depiction of the joy and beauty of nature 3 Jeux d eau is considered a masterful example of Ravel s distinctive style which is characterized by its clarity precision and sensitivity to color and texture Contents 1 Background and first performances 2 Music 3 Recordings 4 Notes references and sources 4 1 Notes 4 2 References 4 3 Sources 5 External linksBackground and first performances EditIn 1901 Maurice Ravel was aged 26 and had yet to make an impression on the French musical scene He had failed to win any prizes as a student at the Paris Conservatoire and was expelled on that account As a former student he was permitted to attend the classes of his teacher Gabriel Faure who thought highly of him and encouraged him 4 Ravel dedicated Jeux d eau and his String Quartet a mon cher maitre Gabriel Faure 5 Jeux d eau represented what Ravel s biographer Gerald Larner calls a sudden surge in Ravel s imagination after the mostly unremarkable compositions that preceded it 6 The piece was partly inspired by Franz Liszt s Les jeux d eau a la Villa d Este from his Annees de pelerinage 7 Another inspiration may have been the poem Fete d eaux by Ravel s friend Henri de Regnier It contains the line Dieu fluvial riant de l eau qui le chatouille river god laughing at the water that tickles him which at the composer s request the poet inscribed on Ravel s manuscript and is the heading in the printed score 8 Ravel gave the first performance of the work at a gathering of the avant garde artistic group Les Apaches of which he was a member 9 The pianist Vlado Perlemuter quoted one of those present as saying There was a strange fire a whole panoply of subtleties and vibrations which none of us could previously have imagined Perlemuter commented that the piece opens up new horizons in piano technique especially if one remembers that Debussy s Jardins sous la pluie was not written until two years later in 1903 10 The work was published by Eugene Demets in 1901 It was quickly denounced by musical conservatives including Camille Saint Saens who dismissed it as total cacophony and most of the faculty of the Conservatoire 11 The first public performance was given by the pianist Ricardo Vines in a concert presented by the Societe nationale de musique on 5 April 1902 at which Ravel s Pavane pour une infante defunte was also premiered Pierre Lalo the music critic of Le Temps who later became persistently hostile to Ravel was favourably impressed After commending Vines s singular virtuosity and delicacy he praised the two Ravel works as orderly composed with great clarity and measure while keeping the same refinement in harmony 12 He continued The ideas have grace and they are extremely dextrously and pleasingly written We can see here and there the influence of Chabrier and more often that of C Debussy it is natural that M Ravel is still being influenced But the progress he has made is worth noting 12 Ravel s biographer Arbie Orenstein comments that among the other critics and the public the Pavane was found elegant and charming but Jeux d eau was thought to be cacophonic and excessively complicated It now appears that the Pavane is a minor work as the composer himself acknowledged while Jeux d eau is firmly established as an important landmark in the literature of the piano 13 Music Edit nbsp Jeux d eau source source source Played by Martha Argerich 1962 Problems playing this file See media help The piece in E major is in a single movement It opens tres doux with a metronome marking of 144 14 The duration of the piece varies considerably in performance from 4 minutes to more than 6 n 1 Orenstein summarises the structure the opening and closing sonorities of Jeux d eau are the chord of the major seventh which enjoys a privileged position throughout In Orenstein s analysis the work is based on two themes the second of which is pentatonic treated quite freely After an extensive development section the two themes return and the work ends in a sweeping cascade of hemidemisemiquavers 15 Ravel makes pronounced use of the higher and lower register of the keyboard n 2 n 3 Recordings EditRecordings of Jeux d eau include From the 78 r p m era Robert Casadesus 1928 19 Benno Moiseiwitsch 1929 20 Alfred Cortot 1931 21 Eileen Joyce 1941 22 From the mono LP era Vlado Perlemuter 1955 23 Sviatoslav Richter 1954 24 Walter Gieseking 1955 25 From the stereo LP era Martha Argerich 1961 26 Samson Francois 1967 27 Jacques Fevrier 1971 28 Pascal Roge 1975 29 Jean Philippe Collard 1980 30 From the CD era Jean Yves Thibaudet 1985 31 Louis Lortie 1989 32 Pierre Laurent Aimard 2011 33 Helene Grimaud 2016 34 Bertrand Chamayou 2016 35 Notes references and sources EditNotes Edit Timings from a sample of the performances listed in the recordings section include 4 31 Casadesus 4 35 Cortot 4 40 Richter 4 47 Gieseking 5 10 Grimaud 5 14 Perlemuter 5 32 Thibaudet 5 40 Fevrier 5 48 Roge 6 02 Francois and 6 03 Aimard According to the piano makers Bosendorfer Ravel intended the work for an instrument with an extended keyboard allowing lower bass notes than standard models 16 Orenstein comments that it is possible that at one point in the development section Ravel would have wanted a low G which of course does not exist on the piano as the following two pages and the recapitulation are underpinned by a pedal point on G 17 There are also general questions as to whether French pianos such as those of Erard have advantages when playing Ravel over the more frequently recorded Steinways In 2012 Paolo Giacometti made parallel recordings of some of Ravel s piano music on a Steinway and an Erard reviewers found this release which did not include Jeux d eau interesting 18 References Edit Park 2012 Elements of Impressionism evoked in Debussy and Ravel s Reflets dans l eau and Jeux d eau The theme of water The Analysis of Maurice Ravel s Jeux D eau Ravel a La Cite des Eaux a literary and musical analysis Orenstein pp 19 and 28 Ravel reverse of title page and Orenstein pp 223 Larner p 69 Orenstein p 154 Larner pp 68 69 and Ravel p 1 Orenstein p 29 Jourdan Morhange p 5 Orenstein p 36 a b Lalo Pierre La Musique Le Temps 22 April 1902 p 2 column 6 Orenstein p 37 Ravel p 1 Orenstein p 154 Compositions Intended for Bosendorfer Extended Keyboard L Bosendorfer Klavierfabrik 2005 Retrieved 7 April 2022 Orenstein p 153 Compared Presto Music Casadesus The complete French Columbia recordings Retrieved 7 April 2022 Naxos 8 110689 Biddulph LHW 006 Sackville West and Shawe Taylor p 613 Vox CDX2 5507 Archipel ARPCD0248 OCLC 1135190601 OCLC 850014486 Erato 190295191016 OCLC 18567495 OCLC 42679024 OCLC 24503367 OCLC 81257590 Chandos CHAN8620 OCLC 81257590 OCLC 933282589 Erato 2564 60268 1 Sources Edit Jourdan Morhange Helene 2005 Ravel According to Ravel London Kahn amp Averill ISBN 978 1 871082 78 4 Larner Gerald 1996 Maurice Ravel London Phaidon ISBN 978 0 7148 3270 8 Orenstein Arbie 1991 Ravel Man and Musician London Constable ISBN 978 0 486 26633 6 Ravel Maurice c 1901 Jeux d Eau London Schott OCLC 503193531 Sackville West Edward Shawe Taylor Desmond 1955 The Record Guide London Collins OCLC 474839729 External links EditJeux d eau Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Jeux d eau performed by Beau Pluto Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jeux d 27eau Ravel amp oldid 1177510990, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
