Welcome to Desert Island Discs no 2! Today, I'm starting a journey of expressing one my loves: French Impressionist music - music by French composers of the late 19th/ early 20th century and we're starting with one the fathers of Impressionism, Maurice Ravel and the piece I would want to take with me to a Desert Island is Daphnis at Chloé Suite no. 2.
In all honesty I feel slightly reluctant to talk about this piece becasuse I have only discovered it recently, but I fell in love with the piece as soon as I heard it. Impressionism has a very unique sound as the harmony is more brilliant and some of the pieces are constructed by whole tone scales (when the notes of the scale are all one tone apart - for instance, a whole tone scale starting on C would be C D E F# G# A# for those who don't know). This piece embodies absolute orchestral genius.
A bit about the piece in context, the Russian art critic and ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev commisioned the piece Although its reception was generally tame, only reaching 2 performances, it was revived a year later with an incredible reception. Stravinsky called the piece 'one of the most beautiful products of all French music' and I completely agree with him.
I wanted to draw attention to why Ravel's orchestration is so brilliant. Here is the flute part that plays at the beginning of the Suite:
You can see that there are a lot of very quick notes and it looks like it should sound very loud and disruptive, but if you listen to the track, it is very subtly acting as a mystical accompaniment which creates an incredible atmosphere. When the piece gains some bass harmony, the piccolo line I believe in the lower register plays these wonderful wispy flicks (acciaccaturas or however you spell them, its late so I wont try). The flute part above is also played by the violins which add a beautiful timbre as if the music is flying, and is a bit more like flying water whereas the flutes create a sense of air flying. Strange analogy but thats how I picture it!
The harmony is this piece is absolutely mindblowing. When you get to around 5 mins you will feel your heart completely soar as the climax opens out into huge burst of harmony and timbre wonders. I guess the reason why I would take this track to a desert island is because of its ability to transport me to Wonderland, my heavenly place in my head. I can't stress the beauty of the harmony and the impressionist tonality. Around 6 mins, there is a very quiet part with two oboes playing the melody and a harmonised version, and the strange intervals between the two parts make an absolutely gorgeous phrase: it reminds me of a scene in which it is raining in the back garden of a chateau in France, it is light and there is a mass of flowers everywhere that are tickled by willow branches, and its such a pleasant image. That's why this piece is one to go on the desert island disc.
Daphnis et Chloe - Ravel
I really hope you all enjoy listening to it. It is absolutely stunning. Even if you are not enchanted by it straight away, just wait until around 5 mins 10 secs and be completely stunned.
I hope you have enjoyed this edition of Desert Island Discs and me going on a very passionate, visual journey of this piece. But until next friday!
Have a lovely weekend everyone. And I have another post about a record player we found the other day, but maybe tomorrow! I'm so tired! Night night!
Lots of love
Alice xxx
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