Ravel's Ondine (MUSI 3041 Assignment 5)------- Yunrui Zheng

Introduction

Ondine is the first of the piano suites from Gaspard de la Nuit composed by the French composer Maurice Ravel in 1908. The suite was inspired by the poet Aloysius Bertrand's prose poem of the same name, written in 1835. The title of "Ondine" is dedicated to the pianist Harold Bauer, and this piece actually describes a story of a water elf who lives in an underwater palace and falls in love with a mortal man. Ravel uses romantic and varied melodies and harmonies to present many descriptions of “nature”, especially water. Meanwhile, the music is programmatic, since its vivid title is showing that the object it depicts is water. The obvious title and the fabulous acoustics easily conjure up a distinct image in the mind.

Analysis of key points

The piece is divided into three parts, including exposition, development, recapitulation. In what follows, I will distill the techniques that Ravel uses to represent nature in this piece and explain them in more depth.

In the opening section (see Example 1), with the intensity of the ppp, the major triad and the upper minor second interval are performed in a repeating trill, giving the overall atmosphere a sense of colour and extension, as if a vague mist is covering the calm waters under a quiet starry sky. From the second bar, the main melody emerges with “tres doux et trex expressif ”(meaning very soft, sweet and expressive), sounding like the mysterious chant of a water demon swirling in the valley.

Example 1

When the texture changes from a percussion-like style to an arpeggio-like style (see Example 2), not only do the timbre and dynamics change, but the range also becomes wider, which sounds like water waves spreading out in all directions. At this point, I feel like I am seeing a picture of calm water rippling slightly under the breeze, and the bright moonlight penetrating through the mist on the water's surface, reflecting the sparkling light like stars. I can even feel the water plants in the clear water light and elegant sway.

Example 2

In the next section (see Example 3), Ravel uses arpeggios that imitate flowing water to create a lighter texture, whilst the range is further broadened and accented by a sustained bass, creating a three-dimensional picture of vivid colour. In particular, the rapid downward movement of the intervals of thirds interspersed with fourths and fifths, as if thick clouds are gathering with raindrops falling lightly and quickly into the water, splashing dense droplets of water. The rapid up and down of the double tone mimics the rising of the water. And through the dark and steady feeling resulting from the drone effect, I could smell the soil and trees drenched by the rain.

Example 3

As the climax of the piece approaches, the music describes the grief and anger of the water elf who has fallen in love but has not been able to do so. Thus the music portrays a change in the shape of the water, which is one of the sections that has left the deepest impression on me. 

In the bars I have chosen (see Example 4), the dynamics vary intensely (from p to ff), and the arpeggios in the lower part of the piece feel like a whirlpool from the bottom of the water to the shore, gentle and powerful. At the same time, the melodic voice transitions from parallel chords to a melody hidden in a large span of arpeggios, like a water elf giving vent to her emotions in a violent storm, or like a howling wind whipping through trees and valleys. This part gives me a particularly strong and graphic feeling, as if the black waves of the night are coming to me one after another, accompanied by thunder and lightning. The dense notes and the reverse arpeggios of the high and low voices create a tense musical atmosphere with the rhythms of “retenez” (which means to slow down) and “Un peu plus lent” (which means to slow down a little), creating an atmosphere of agitation, as if the daffodils and willows at the water's edge are powerless to withstand such furious waves. This compositional technique actually, in my opinion, not only imitates the acoustics of an orchestra by keeping the melody distinct for each voice part, but also by altering the harmony with each beat to make the waves feel more impressive and intense.

Example 4

Summary

This piece is composed mainly with water. From the music, I can imagine the different patterns of water and the scenery of nature from its acoustics. Simply put, the ability of this piece to express the changing properties of nature and the light and dark colours of water is actually determined by the range of the music, the thickness of the texture, the harmonic configuration, and other factors. 

For example, the range of this piece reaches six octaves and a minor seventh, which is a wide range among many water-themed works. The range of the tone affects the timbre, and the different timbres can express the contrast between the light and the darkness of the water. In addition, the texture of the piece is like the intensity of colour. The more dense the texture, the more intense the colour is, and the more intense the flow of water and the degree of fury. 

At the same time, the depth of this piece's depiction of nature is combined with the poetry (the original content of the poem is below), making the depiction of the scenery richer and more diverse. Accordingly, it is the combination of these elements that allows me to experience the water as if it is "calm as a mirror" and "sparkling" at the beginning, "rippling" in the middle of the development, flowing and undulating, and "choppy" in the climax, and as if I could smell the fragrance of earth and resin, and hear the murmur of the wind.

Gaspard de la Nuit ( written by Aloysius Bertrand)

...I thought I heard a vague harmony 

enchanting my slumber and, near me, 

spreading, a murmur like the interrupted

songs of a sad, tender voice.

C. Brugnot—The two Genii 

“Listen! Listen! It is I, it is Undine brushing with these drops of water the resonant diamond-panes of your window illuminated by the dull moonbeam; and here, in a dress of moiré, is the lady of the castle on her balcony gazing at the beautiful starry night ans the beautiful slumbering lake. 

“Each wave is a water sprite swimming in the current, each current is a path winding toward my palace, and my palace is of fluid construction, at the bottom of lake, within the triangle formed by fire, earth and air. 

“Listen! Listen! My father is beating the croaking water with a branch f green alder, and my sisters are caressing the cool islands of grasses, water lilies and gladioli with their arms of foam, or are laughing at the tottering, bearded willow that is angling 

After murmuring her song, she besought me ti accept her ring on my finger, to be the husband of an undine, and to visit her palace with herm to be the king of the lakes. 

And when I replied that I was in love with a mortal woman, she was sulky and vexed; she wept a few tears, burst out laughing and vanished in showers that formed white trickle down my blue windowpanes 

References:

1. Becker, Alan. “Ravel: Gaspard de La Nuit; Miroirs; Jeux d’eau.(Guide to Records).” American Record Guide 70, no. 5 (2007): 147.

2. Bruhn, Siglind. Images and Ideas in Modern French Piano: The Extra-Musical Subtext in Piano Works by Ravel, Debussy, and Messiaen. Aesthetics in Music ; No. 6. Stuyvesant, N.Y: Pendragon Press, 1997.

3. Howat, Roy. The Art of French Piano Music: Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, Chabrier. New Haven, Conn. ; Yale University Press, 2009.

4. Su Zhiping. "la wei er《jia si ba zhi ye 》—〈shui yao〉zhong shui yu shi de yi xiang biao da zhi zhuan hua shou fa fen xi."[Analysis of the Approach Combining the Image of Water and Poem Translations Present in Ravel’s Ondine of Gaspard de la Nuit]. Yuandong Xuebao 28, no. 1 (2011): 077–086.