Thank you for uploading this wonderful (and almost unknown) final work of Ravel's - orchestrated very deliberately I think as a final signing off from the great composer. That is a last chord to die for!
Ravel's final composition: beautiful and touching in its simplicity. A wonderfully understated Spanish serenade in alternating 6/8 3/4, is followed by a religious song, full of mystic passion and, to capture the religious fervour, Ravel chose to have a vibraphone - one of the first uses of the instrument in orchestral writing). Finally, the brilliant and cackling joviality of the finale. It's extraordinary how rich the score sounds with the most economical touches of orchestration: the sign of a total master. Ravel was suffering from his final brain-degenerative condition when he worked on the songs, and had to rely on the assistance of two of his students to help him notate the piece. The songs were commission by the director G.W.Pabst for a film starring the legendary Russian bass, Chaliapin. However, Ravel took too long to compose them and Pabst fired him and employed Jaques Ibert instead - a fine example of a great artist being treated abominably by the film industry.
i didnt know about the full orchestra version! its AMAZING! I have more connection to the organ choir trumpet and strings but this version is so majestic.. the sanctus is my favorite:)
It’s refreshing to see so many people just recently discovering this music. I vividly remember buying this CD from Tower Records back in 1998. Listening to it now brings me back to that clear night when I first played it, completely mesmerized and full of hypnotic reveries.
I heard that the property prices of houses along the railway line decrease for this reason. Perhaps the surrounding residents have already gotten used to it.
Some otherworldly moments to make you fall in love with Ravel: 6:58 - an enchanting love spell 12:37 - tender fragrant chords 27:17 - a monstrous buildup to a colossal climax to the very end, along with jaw-dropping harmonic changes
Darn good, indeed! I just wish the choral voices were a teensy bit more translucent, like amateurs. The Ambrosian Singers clearly are professionals, and perhaps their engaged singing technique is what's needed to penetrate the louder orchestral moments. Duruflé himself had a fondness for the reduced orchestration he created, listed by a retailer as being for organ and string quintet [2 cello parts?] with harp, 3 trumpets, timpani, and double bass ad libitum.
@@Mezzotenor Duruflé allows for a high degree of variety (from the preface of the score): Il a été prévu l'adjonction possible, en totalité ou en partie et par ordre de priorité, d'une harpe, de 2 ou 3 trompettes et de 2, 3 ou 4 timbales suivant le cas. Certaines pièces pourront se contenter de l'orgue et d'un quatuor à cordes [...] D'autres demanderont au moins 2 premiers violons, 2 seconds, 2 altos 2 violoncelles, 2 contrebasses [...] des cordes plus nombreuses seront même préférables à cause de l'èquilibre sonore, surtout s'il y a adjonction de trompettes et timbales. [...] En général, les nuances du quintette à cordes ont été indiquées pour un nombre minimum de 22 instrumentistes (6-6-4-4-2).
Appreciate the upload. It's technically well done, and the performance has rhythmic vitality others are lacking in. The tempo of some passages I'd do differently. Also the sound mixing is a bit unbalanced towards the piano.
The prelude seems current version (or movie version), but not the version pre 1970. Here is the version recorded in 1967 to compare (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wiUR8esz3nQ.html). In 1968, I watched ballet Red Detachment of Women first time, and noticed that music had been changed since early of 1970.
