It might sound over the top, but your videos (analyses & performances) are not only great, but also very creative (I mean the simplified reduction of Noctuelles, or the rewriting of passages from Wagner’s piano sonata, ect. are things I doubt I have stumbled upon in any other analysis on TH-cam). Thanks a lot!
Thank you so much for this very interesting analysis and for the brilliant performance. Nancy Bricard in the Alfred edition signals 4 errors: the one at measure 7, the erroneous time signature at measure 14, false note values in chord at measures 51 and 53.
'Noctuelles' by Ravel is new to me and I was truly mesmerized by your performance, Cole. Your sheer artistry is just stunning and listening while watching your hands weave their magic leaves me in absolute awe of your technique and musicality. Your illuminating commentary helped me appreciate what groundbreaking composing this was in1905. I have read how one of the more puzzling things about Ravel is the way he carefully concealed his emotions behind a rather cold exterior. It seems he was very secretive and hated any sort of vulgarity (“One doesn’t need to open one’s chest to show that one has heart.”). As a result of this behaviour, he was often accused of being insensitive, cold, and too cerebral. I would disagree, as how could an ‘insensitive’ person possibly write music such as his that is full of sensuality, tenderness, and voluptuousness? Ravel said of himself: “You know the somewhat ridiculous side of my character: my sensitivity. I am of the same type as the Romantics”. Of his music he said: “There are two kinds of music: cerebral music, such as that of Vincent d’Indy, and intuitive, emotional music - my own. Great music must come from the heart. Any music created by technique and brains alone is not worth the paper it is written on”. You, Cole, play Ravel's music so that we can sense his heart and his soul and his love for the world around him and those who were his close friends. B R A V O !❤
Beautifully put Graham! I think you sum up the peculiarities of Ravel’s personality perfectly. It’s extraordinary how clearly the person comes through the music.
Thanks for the explanation prior to your fantastic performance! Interesting to imagine the 'noctuelles', all this reminds me of Kapustin's rêverie (hint).
Thank you for the entire Miroirs set! It was especially intriguing to hear the version with all of the chromaticism taken away. It’s incredible how Ravel turned what would be a typical French piece to something far more colorful, not that I don’t enjoy the stripped down version as well. I’m curious where this strange bar of 5/4 is and what the misprints are in the rest of the music. This was definitely the biggest headache to read through for the reasons you stated, so many accidentals.
Thank you! The weird bar is m. 7 (and again when it repeats). It has a quarter rest, followed by 10 32nds in small notes, which one would assume would equal a quarter note beat, and then a sixteenth chord followed by a sixteenth rest. So only 5 eighth notes instead of 3 complete quarter beats. This could be intentional or it could be a mistake, it is hard to say for certain. The other spot which is definitely a misprint is at m. 14, where there is an erroneous 5/8 marked. At the analogous section in the recap it is already marked 6/8 3/4 here. The first time I read it, I kind of assumed that he was trying to write 3 regular 8ths followed by a triplet 8th etc... It was a mess until I noticed the 2nd time it was written 6/8. Much easier. I know what you mean about the score being a headache. Often times Ravel spells chords in a very unusual way that is hard to intuit at first. This is usually because of voice leading. For example, Alborada del gracioso m. 30 (the FF, 9/8 measure) he writes what sounds like a B major chord: F#, B-natural, E-flat! It looks very weird on the page and I was so confused when I read it through the first time, but of course, it's because he is about to resolve the F# to a G and the B-natural to a C in a C minor chord-so the E-flat is an anticipation of that. But a few bars later when the same pattern repeats up a 3rd, he just notates a normal D major chord followed by a normal E-flat minor chord-much clearer to the eye! Oh well... It reminds me of that joke score where happy birthday in C major is written almost entirely with double-flats and double-sharps! I love Ravel's music, but sometimes he was detailed and fastidious to a fault-sometimes there are easier ways...
Dear, I have a question/request for you for the future that I think is going to be a very useful series to add to the channel. Have you thought about doing Debussy's preludes? They are very interesting and many thing can be said about them, apart from the fact that they are one of the most relevant pieces of the music of the 20th century. Thank you in advance.
I’m planning to (basically) do everything Debussy wrote for piano in time. My plan was to start with the Images and Estampes etc, but the preludes and etudes would probably be next. I do have one prelude up already actually: La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune. Thank you for this suggestion! Maybe I will start weaving the preludes in a bit sooner.
@@TheIndependentPianist I see you are working hard and we are very thankful for it. Trust me, it is very useful to start pieces like those and listen to the things you say, together with a small analysis on them, taking into account the fact that normally there are more mainstream pieces and other ones that are forgotten and basically there is nothing about them. We'll be glad to wait
I am french, Ravel’s follower, and I appreciate when French artists are honored by non French people ❤
It might sound over the top, but your videos (analyses & performances) are not only great, but also very creative (I mean the simplified reduction of Noctuelles, or the rewriting of passages from Wagner’s piano sonata, ect. are things I doubt I have stumbled upon in any other analysis on TH-cam). Thanks a lot!
Thank you!
Your videos are seriously extremely qualitative ! Thank you very much !
Thank you so much for this very interesting analysis and for the brilliant performance.
Nancy Bricard in the Alfred edition signals 4 errors: the one at measure 7, the erroneous time signature at measure 14, false note values in chord at measures 51 and 53.
'Noctuelles' by Ravel is new to me and I was truly mesmerized by your performance, Cole. Your sheer artistry is just stunning and listening while watching your hands weave their magic leaves me in absolute awe of your technique and musicality. Your illuminating commentary helped me appreciate what groundbreaking composing this was in1905. I have read how one of the more puzzling things about Ravel is the way he carefully concealed his emotions behind a rather cold exterior. It seems he was very secretive and hated any sort of vulgarity (“One doesn’t need to open one’s chest to show that one has heart.”). As a result of this behaviour, he was often accused of being insensitive, cold, and too cerebral. I would disagree, as how could an ‘insensitive’ person possibly write music such as his that is full of sensuality, tenderness, and voluptuousness? Ravel said of himself: “You know the somewhat ridiculous side of my character: my sensitivity. I am of the same type as the Romantics”. Of his music he said: “There are two kinds of music: cerebral music, such as that of Vincent d’Indy, and intuitive, emotional music - my own. Great music must come from the heart. Any music created by technique and brains alone is not worth the paper it is written on”. You, Cole, play Ravel's music so that we can sense his heart and his soul and his love for the world around him and those who were his close friends. B R A V O !❤
Beautifully put Graham! I think you sum up the peculiarities of Ravel’s personality perfectly. It’s extraordinary how clearly the person comes through the music.
Thanks for making these videos! Miroirs is my favorite set in classical music!
I think it is mine too!
using this to help learn this piece during my undergrad! thank you so much for such a detailed analysis!
Wonderful work - great analysis specifically valuable is the reduction with NHT removed. Wonderful playing - what a great resources for all of us!
Hair is looking cool Cole. Great video
Thanks for the explanation prior to your fantastic performance! Interesting to imagine the 'noctuelles', all this reminds me of Kapustin's rêverie (hint).
Ah yes, Kapustin Reverie…. We will see if I can do that one 😅
Go str8 4 it 🤩
Just amazing
Thank you!
Incredible
Thank you for the entire Miroirs set! It was especially intriguing to hear the version with all of the chromaticism taken away. It’s incredible how Ravel turned what would be a typical French piece to something far more colorful, not that I don’t enjoy the stripped down version as well. I’m curious where this strange bar of 5/4 is and what the misprints are in the rest of the music. This was definitely the biggest headache to read through for the reasons you stated, so many accidentals.
Thank you! The weird bar is m. 7 (and again when it repeats). It has a quarter rest, followed by 10 32nds in small notes, which one would assume would equal a quarter note beat, and then a sixteenth chord followed by a sixteenth rest. So only 5 eighth notes instead of 3 complete quarter beats. This could be intentional or it could be a mistake, it is hard to say for certain. The other spot which is definitely a misprint is at m. 14, where there is an erroneous 5/8 marked. At the analogous section in the recap it is already marked 6/8 3/4 here. The first time I read it, I kind of assumed that he was trying to write 3 regular 8ths followed by a triplet 8th etc... It was a mess until I noticed the 2nd time it was written 6/8. Much easier.
I know what you mean about the score being a headache. Often times Ravel spells chords in a very unusual way that is hard to intuit at first. This is usually because of voice leading. For example, Alborada del gracioso m. 30 (the FF, 9/8 measure) he writes what sounds like a B major chord: F#, B-natural, E-flat! It looks very weird on the page and I was so confused when I read it through the first time, but of course, it's because he is about to resolve the F# to a G and the B-natural to a C in a C minor chord-so the E-flat is an anticipation of that. But a few bars later when the same pattern repeats up a 3rd, he just notates a normal D major chord followed by a normal E-flat minor chord-much clearer to the eye! Oh well... It reminds me of that joke score where happy birthday in C major is written almost entirely with double-flats and double-sharps! I love Ravel's music, but sometimes he was detailed and fastidious to a fault-sometimes there are easier ways...
@@TheIndependentPianist Thank you.
amazing! thanks
Dear, I have a question/request for you for the future that I think is going to be a very useful series to add to the channel. Have you thought about doing Debussy's preludes? They are very interesting and many thing can be said about them, apart from the fact that they are one of the most relevant pieces of the music of the 20th century. Thank you in advance.
I’m planning to (basically) do everything Debussy wrote for piano in time. My plan was to start with the Images and Estampes etc, but the preludes and etudes would probably be next. I do have one prelude up already actually: La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune. Thank you for this suggestion! Maybe I will start weaving the preludes in a bit sooner.
@@TheIndependentPianist I see you are working hard and we are very thankful for it. Trust me, it is very useful to start pieces like those and listen to the things you say, together with a small analysis on them, taking into account the fact that normally there are more mainstream pieces and other ones that are forgotten and basically there is nothing about them. We'll be glad to wait