Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin (Milstein, Lortie)

Is there any composer whose music expends more craft, on a bar-by-bar basis, than Ravel?

Well, ok, so that isn’t really a sensible or meaningful question, but it’s hard to escape the feeling when you’re actually listening to Ravel that his music is put together with a level of care and precision that no other composer quite matches. Dedicated to 6 friends who died in WWI, Le Tombeau de Couperin is the last set of solo piano works Ravel wrote, as well as the last works he wrote in any “antique” form. Le Tombeau represents a fusion of classical discipline & economy with colouristic imagination of the highest order – each of these pieces could be the subject of a longish essay, and despite my best efforts any description will bust YT’s limit, so I’ve put it in the comments.

[AshishXiangyiKumar]

Prelude – ABA form [0:00/1:28/2:07]. A vibrant perpetuum mobile whose circling semiquavers only pause once, 5 bars before the close. The 6-note RH Em pentatonic motif that opens the piece is the basis of much of the music – after we first hear it it’s immediately transposed a 5th down into the LH, while the RH plays a turn-like figure (typical of Ravel that this isn’t *quite* a turn, but something a more like a mordent, with a bit more bite) also derived from its first 2 notes. Lovely use of modal colour throughout – the dominant feel is Aeolian (/Dorian at points), but you also dip suddenly into B Mixolydian b6 in m.10 and C Lydian at 1:10 (and similar; note also the hemiola). There’s also washes of chromatic (the ultra-satisfying voice leading in the LH at 0:59) and quintal harmony (1:28), alongside some good old perfect cadences when Ravel wants to provide a bit more resolution (1:21; 2:11 & similar).

Fugue – Ridiculously good. Consider how minimalist the subject is – it contains only 4 notes, the Em triad plus an A, and all of them (if you don’t count the gaps) are quavers. And yet the tender fugue that extends out of this meek, almost wrong-footed material perfectly exploits the two features of the subject that _are_ interesting – its slur-to-staccato articulation, and the rhythmic displacement of the theme (it begins off the beat and without any lead-in, with its second half sort of phase-shifted forward by an quaver; notice how this lets the subject slip into the texture almost invisibly). On top of this, you get your first real rhythmic variation with the triplet in the countersubject (which also throws in the Dorian C#), and Ravel clusters the voices closely together to create some gorgeous contrapuntal interplay (two examples of this: the wonderful near-miss dissonance between the G/F# at 3:17; and polyrhythmic interplay of the countersubject stretto at 5:55). The fugue is also packed with familiar fugal techniques: inversions (4:10) stretti (4:50, inversion stretto at 5:02; inversion and original at 5:18, and a particularly close closing stretto at 6:03), false entries (4:34 and similar), and pedal points (4:37 and similar).

Forlane – The most harmonically sophisticated work of in the set, in rondo form [ABACADA; episodes are at 8:01; 9:51; 12:06]. The piece opens with a progression of three(!) different augmented chords* in the LH coloured by wry dissonances above, before landing on an E# half-diminished (over A). Then a minor third (B#/A) descends chromatically in the LH, while the bass leaps up in fourths from F# to E. In the meantime the RH picks up the E# introduced in LH in m.3, and slowly nudges it chromatically downward to B in m.5. The construction of the theme’s melody is unusually sly – when the open 5th appears in the bass (m.2) we hear the B#/D# as an enclosure of C#, but that note is delayed and forced to take a rather ragged leap to appear an octave lower than expected. There’s a lot more worth pointing out, but for space’s sake here are just two other highlights: the dissonances in the first episode; and Ravel’s frequent use of octave-span chords which have their lowest note hitched up a semitone (7:02 & similar; 12:33; RH at 12:55, LH at 13:24). [*Kind of fun to note how differently each of these augmented chords work -- the first is a rootless minor major 7th, the second is an E chord with an augmented 5th, and the last feels to me like a weird mix of an A and C# chord.]

Rigaudon – One of two pieces in the suite that isn’t in Em. ABA form [13:51/15:14/16:28]. Compared to the Forlane, this can almost sound harmonically conservative, though it features numerous extended chords (the second one you hear is a D13), planing, and sudden modulations to distant keys (e.g. F# in m.24). What’s probably most striking about this Rigaudon is its really weird phrase lengths – in the first 8 bars, there is a 2-bar intro, followed by a 5-bar phrase, and then a standalone closing bar (m.8) which repeats the opening gesture (but without the closing descent). After the repeat sign, oddly, the same standalone bar appears again in m.9 and 16 (in Mixolydian and Bb respectively), giving you a section phrased in 1+5+1+5. And after that, starting from m.23, you get material phrased in 2+4+6+2 (the last two bars are the opening gesture, now repeated in full). One other thing – the piece’s only pedal marking is found at the beginning in the B section and has no release sign, while the B section itself features multiple staccato phrases that would be impossible with a held pedal, so make of that what you will!

Menuet – ABA form [17:24/19:21 – Musette/20:30]. A lullaby-like piece filled with gentle dissonances – the opening 2 bars alone are a little masterclass in how to place them. The musette in the middle features some spectacular planing over a G drone (an unusual drone given the section is in Dm and doesn’t really have a Dorian feel). The musette melody starts out in Dm in one hand, becomes shared by two, and then suddenly shifts gear by borrowing various major and minor chords from various unrelated keys (the Ab chord at 19:56 is especially nice) to spell out the melody. A particularly poignant moment is at the return of the menuet (20:30), when the musette unexpectedly continues in the LH.

Toccata – sonata form (truncated recapitulation). [Exposition: 22:18, with B theme at 23:11; Development: 23:40; Recap: 25:49, just B theme]. Another gem – starts out tiptoeing around in E Dorian, and basically grows more menacing/grand as the material is developed. Three examples of this: (1) that dancelike figure in m.5, when it’s developed (23:40), becomes darkened not only by a move to Bm, but also tritone leaps in the bass, the use of the minor-ised Neapolitan, and chromatic movement; (2) the wistful B theme at the climax/recap moves into Mixo b6 and takes on a triumphant character; (3) the development theme at 23:48 (itself a development of the transitional material at 23:05) takes on eerie colours with a whole-tone harmonisation at 25:01. There’s also many nice harmonic tricks going on here – e.g., at 25:06 (m.173), the melody is in E Phrygian, but each melodic note is also harmonised with its own dominant 7th chord (E/G/E/F/D/C/A/C); and at 26:13, how an alternating series of Gm/Bb/Am/C chords leads beautifully into the final E chord.

[garyloewenthal]

Ravel does a masterful job of flirting with the edge of discordance, and then retuning to familiar, comforting resolution. All the while, melodically.

This piece got me interested in Ravel decades ago, and each time I listen to it, I understand why.

[AshishXiangyiKumar]

Milstein:
00:00 – Prelude
03:05 – Fugue
06:25 – Forlane
13:51 – Rigaudon
17:24 – Menuet
22:18 – Toccata

Lortie:
26:32 – Prelude
29:34 – Fugue
32:35 – Forlane
38:44 – Rigaudon
41:50 – Menuet
46:48 – Toccata

Milstein has playing of great suppleness and warmth – in quiet passages, especially those in the higher registers, she conjures up some gorgeous colours. There are some nice touches of rubato too, as in the faux-pompous slowing down of the opening gesture of the Rigaudon. And that articulation in the fugue! Compared to Milstein, Lortie is more “notey” – while Milstein sometimes trades in washes of harmony or colour, with him you can hear everything going on. In the prelude, for instance, Lortie actually takes the legato passages with a slight detached touch and articulates the accompaniment fairly prominently, producing a more finely hewn texture. And while Milstein plays the dotted rhythms in the Forlane as written, Lortie exaggerates them a little, making his Forlane spiky where Milstein is hazily sardonic. Similarly with the Rigaudon – Lortie’s is a thumping dance, while Milstein’s is childlike. And in the toccata, Lortie’s performance reminds me a bit of Scarbo – there’s a vein of aggression in it – while Milstein’s playing more readily calls into mind some kind of perfectly formed mechanical contraption, whirring away.

[johnphillips]

Ravel’s just one of those composers that makes me proud to be human.

[btceth]

I love Ravel. Very difficult to play I must say, BUT once you get the hang of how he wrote-- wasn't too bad.... very unique composer. He wrote "water" in music form. A total badass. I would have loved to hear him play in person....

[longhaulblue]

The fugue was a real ear-opener for me. Prior to Ravel's fugue, I had only played Bach fugues and a smattering by other classical composers. None affected me the way Bach's did. But Ravel's did. It showed me there was a way to do fugues with a 20th century sound. I went on a hunt for 20th century fugues and was rewarded with some great works. I love fugues and Ravel's holds a special place in my heart for opening this new aural landscape for me.

[Wuozlinga]

The Prelude tickles my ears perfectly. The way it morphs into this, moves over to that, and comes back to its original state so fluently is astonishing to listen to

[josephalvarez]

A TOMBEAU DE COUPERIN SCORE VIDEO WITH GOOD AUDIO. I swear this channel is a God send

Edit: and the usual amazing analysis. Thank you so much

[thefredericchopin]

I’ve always been so incredibly intrigued by Ravel, I mean, there’s no one quite like him. This makes for some pleasant listening. The Prelude and Toccata are probably my favourites, but the Forlane is just so rich in texture!

[browndoc]

Truly one of the greatest works of music in history. I just keep coming back to it.

[OdinComposer]

"it’s hard to escape the feeling when you’re actually listening to Ravel that his music is put together with a level of care and precision that no other composer quite matches"

And analysing it only reinforces this feeling. It's really incredible how everything fits together over longer lines too. New ideas flow naturally and refreshingly from previous ones, and then somehow end up exactly where they need to be in order for the next idea, or return of a previous one, to do the same.

[marcbalosmith]

That Minuet is in Ravel's restrained-but-melancholy mode and I find it deeply touching. Beautiful performance of this wonderful set. gorgeous pieces.

[Phi]

Fun Fact: In French "tombeau" sounds like both "tomb" and "beautiful sound" -- _tone beau_ -- so _Le Tombeau de Couperin_ can either mean "the tomb of Couperin" or "the beautiful sound of Couperin".

[dominicstorella]

Milstein:
00:00 – Prelude
03:05 – Fugue
06:25 – Forlane
13:51 – Rigaudon
17:24 – Menuet
22:18 – Toccata

Lortie:
26:32 – Prelude
29:34 – Fugue
32:35 – Forlane
38:44 – Rigaudon
41:50 – Menuet
46:48 – Toccata

[KingSchnarf]

Thank you for giving one of my favourite pieces of all time some attention.
Also, I'm convinced you're a musical analytical genius. I'll never get tired of reading your descriptions; they just make you hear... different.
Thanks for all this effort, it really makes a difference.

[lubato]

00:01 - prelude
03:05 - Fuque
06:25 - Forlane
13:51 - Rigaudon
17:24 - Menuett
22:18 - Toccata

[Florian-rdeb]

Les œuvre de Ravel sont d'une grandeur et d'une richesse écrasante. Je suis toujours surpris de redécouvrir tout ces détails à chaque écoute depuis des années; en admiration devant un tel soucis du détail dans son écriture.
Inégalable

[timward]

oh, this is marvelous. Thanks, as always, Ashish. There's a jewel-like elegance to Ravel that no other composer, except perhaps Mozart, matches. One of my piano teachers had a perfect comparison between Debussy and Ravel: "Debussy is Monet. Ravel is Seurat."

[bogpaddle]

Oh that Prelude. Ear candy. It doesn't matter if i listen to it orchestrated or piano. Ravel was magic.

[michaelalderete]

Took a number of years of intro piano as a child, then a mere one semester refresher at a junior college, so I'm less than an amateur player. BUT, I see the sheet music and hear the opening notes of my favorite Ravel composition, and know how difficult but beautiful this piece is. A crowning achievement of humanity, in my humble opinion.