Bolero - Maurice Ravel/Arr. Henk van Lijnschooten

This work was composed in 1928 for the ballet of Ida Rubenstein. The musical structure is very simple, so to say, but briljant in its simplicity. A Spanish-like theme is so often repeated – almost unaltered – by different instruments or instrumental groups, that the listener gradually becomes captivated by its intensity.

The strong point of this work is not formed by its melodic development – which is not there -, but almost exclusively by the orchestral colouring of the theme. This done over a sustained (ostinato) rhythm which froms the heartbeat of the entire work.
The arrangement by Henk van Lijnschooten follows Ravel’s original instrumentation as closely as possible; the stringparts however have been allotted to the woodwinds with due care.