# Masterpiece Theatre: Part Fourteen - Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Masterpiece Theatre: Part Fourteen - Ravel's _Daphnis et Chloé_


















Many consider Daphnis et Chloé, a symphonie choréographique in three scenes to be Maurice Ravel's greatest work. The label may not really be a fair one; there were so many different Maurice Ravels throughout his life, each with a different set of musical goals, each exploring different musical worlds, that it is not right to assign the label of life masterpiece to the top work of any one of those periods, over the top works of all the others, just because it happens to be longer, more ambitious, and easier to access. But Daphnis et Chloé is certainly one of the most colorfully, intricately, and in a very immediate, almost physical sense, beautifully scored works ever written; if one were to assign pre-eminent status to any of Ravel's works solely on the basis of orchestration, this ballet would, without a doubt, be the one selected for the honor. There may be no more skillfully orchestrated work in all the twentieth century repertoire (Stravinsky's work included) and whole shelves of orchestration textbooks could be eliminated without loss by simply replacing them with an astute examination of this score.

Daphnis et Chloé was composed between 1909 and 1912, after a commission by Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, and is a setting of a scenario adapted by Mikhail Fokine from the Greek work of the same name by Longus. It was premiered on June 8, 1912. The performance was not well prepared, and few people took note of Ravel's piece. Two orchestral suites derived from the score, however, did make a splash when Ravel brought them out just a short time after (especially the Suite No. 2, which is probably still Ravel's most often-played work).

Ravel was always far more interested in reproducing traditional musical forms and structures than he was in achieving the kind of sonic soundscapes that get rather callously lumped together as impressionist music; Daphnis et Chloé is, section-by-section, built along firmly classical lines (Ravel was extremely proud of the fact). Even the famous sunrise music at the opening of the third scene, with its scintillating thirty-second notes strewn about the orchestra and bright chirrups from the flute and piccolo flute and ecstatic, rising melody, has nothing in it that might be called progressive or even especially innovative in a technical sense, though certainly nothing written before it sounds even remotely like it. This was the essence of Ravel's genius: the ability to take the old and make it somehow sound completely new and different. Whether Daphnis et Chloé is Ravel's greatest achievement may be an irrelevant question: from the very first call of the backstage choir, distant and brought forth from an ancient world of shepherds and nymphs, to the rhythmic revelry of the final dance, it is proof on paper of Ravel's astounding capacity to fuse diverse elements into an astonishing new whole.

[Article taken from All Music Guide]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't think this work needs any further commentary as most of the classical listening world (or, at least, those who love 20th Century music) will be aware of this masterpiece. What do you guys think of it? Any favorite performances?


----------



## John Zito (Sep 11, 2021)

Yeah, what's really to say? A few months ago I went to a performance of the second suite by a student orchestra. Maybe because it was a student group, and maybe because I was a little jaded by overfamiliarity, I was not expecting to have much of a reaction. Suffice it to say, I was thrilled throughout (heart literally pounding). It was nice to know I could still have a reaction like that to such a well-worn piece. Some years ago I heard the Cleveland Orchestra perform the complete ballet under Matthias Pintscher (stepping in for a recently MeToo-ed Charles Dutoit), but my memory of this is foggy.

It can sag in places, but on balance I do prefer to hear the complete thing. I have a soft spot for Chloé's dance of supplication. I imprinted on the famous Dutoit recording when I was in high school, but I've since migrated to Boulez or Chung, both on DG. My go-to recording for the second suite is Szell's, partly because I'm a bit of a partisan for the Cleveland Orchestra, and partly because I get a kick out of how well Szell pulls off such un-Szell repertoire.

As to the question of "Ravel's greatest work," I rank _Daphnis_ highly, but not as high as the Piano Trio, the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, or _L'enfant et les sortilèges_.


----------



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

John Zito said:


> Yeah, what's really to say? A few months ago I went to a performance of the second suite by a student orchestra. Maybe because it was a student group, and maybe because I was a little jaded by overfamiliarity, I was not expecting to have much of a reaction. Suffice it to say, I was thrilled throughout (heart literally pounding). It was nice to know I could still have a reaction like that to such a well-worn piece. Some years ago I heard the Cleveland Orchestra perform the complete ballet under Matthias Pintscher (stepping in for a recently MeToo-ed Charles Dutoit), but my memory of this is foggy.
> 
> It can sag in places, but on balance I do prefer to hear the complete thing. I have a soft spot for Chloé's dance of supplication. I imprinted on the famous Dutoit recording when I was in high school, but I've since migrated to Boulez or Chung, both on DG. My go-to recording for the second suite is Szell's, partly because I'm a bit of a partisan for the Cleveland Orchestra, and partly because I get a kick out of how well Szell pulls off such un-Szell repertoire.
> 
> As to the question of "Ravel's greatest work," I rank _Daphnis_ highly, but not as high as the Piano Trio, the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, or _L'enfant et les sortilèges_.


_Daphnis_ wouldn't make it to my 'Top 10' or even 'Top 20' favorite pieces by Ravel, but it's a great piece and, like you, I'm still surprised by it. Interesting you mention, the _Piano Trio_, _Piano Concerto for the left-hand_ and _L'enfant et les sortilèges_ as these are amongst my favorites from him as well. I'd also have to add the song cycles: _Shéhérazade_, _Chansons madécasses_ and _Trois poèmes de Mallarmé_, but also the _Piano Concerto in G major_, the _Violin Sonata in G major_, the _String Quartet in F major_, and the piano works _Miroirs_, _Le Tombeau de Couperin_ and _Sonatine_ to this list as well. Okay, I guess I should stop now.


----------



## Lisztianwagner (2 mo ago)

I love _Daphnis et Chloè_ very much, it is one of my favourite Ravel's works, so colourful and evocative, with splendid, floating melodies sometimes growing in gorgeous climaxes; I think it can be hardly equaled in Ravel's repertoire for timbric exploration and variety. Besides, it also shows what an amazing ability of orchestration he had, as it masterfully makes the best of the expressive possibilities of the instruments, standing out the tones colour and sonorities richness, always with extreme clarity and precision.


----------



## John Zito (Sep 11, 2021)

Neo Romanza said:


> _Daphnis_ wouldn't make it to my 'Top 10' or even 'Top 20' favorite pieces by Ravel, but it's a great piece and, like you, I'm still surprised by it. Interesting you mention, the _Piano Trio_, _Piano Concerto for the left-hand_ and _L'enfant et les sortilèges_ as these are amongst my favorites from him as well. I'd also have to add the song cycles: _Shéhérazade_, _Chansons madécasses_ and _Trois poèmes de Mallarmé_, but also the _Piano Concerto in G major_, the _Violin Sonata in G major_, the _String Quartet in F major_, and the piano works _Miroirs_, _Le Tombeau de Couperin_ and _Sonatine_ to this list as well. Okay, I guess I should stop now.


It's tough with Ravel, because from the String Quartet onward, he maintained a uniformly high level of quality until the end. I get so much pleasure from the little trifles like the _Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn_ or the _Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré,_ and even the stuff I don't like, I like. For whatever reason I've never looked forward to hearing the _Rapsodie espagnole _or _Ma mère l'Oye_, but I enjoy them while they're playing.

Of the works you listed, for sheer listening pleasure I'll reach for _Le Tombeau de Couperin _(piano or orchestrated), _Shéhérazade_, and the Sonatine before _Daphnis_, and I would add the _Introduction and Allegro_ and the _Valses nobles et sentimentales_ (piano or orchestrated). If I had to articulate why I don't enjoy _Daphnis_ more, it's perhaps because I find it over-the-top; it's too lush, too colorful, too beautiful, too long. It's excessive and indulgent in a way that's glorious if you're in the mood for it, but it won't become your daily bread. Also, I don't love the wordless chorus.

But nevermind. Time to shut up and watch this for the upteenth time:


----------

