project07:P1
La Valse - Maurice Ravel (1920)
Short Analysis
Originally titled 'Wien', the music describes the setting of a ballroom dance in Vienna, as we can conclude from Ravel's own introduction to the work: "Through whirling clouds, waltzing couples may be faintly distinguished. The clouds gradually scatter: one sees at letter A an immense hall peopled with a whirling crowd. The scene is gradually illuminated. The light of the chandeliers bursts forth at the fortissimo letter B. Set in an imperial court, about 1855." - Maurice Ravel. However, we will find the music to be much deeper than the single illustration as described. Many see the work as a commentary on the socio/economic situation of Europe at that time. It is a waltz cloaked in the musical language which is not unlike a nightmare. Even though the entire piece is entirely written as a waltz, that is in 3/4 measure, one often feels a more steady 4/4 measure. The essential waltz, as we well know it in the form of the classic 'Straussian' waltz, appears arguably only twice in the entire piece. As the piece unfolds from a quiet void of darkness and mist, it dies in an epic crash of chaos, as the "[...] whirlwind of destiny", as described by Ravel himself.
Structure
The opening of the work paints a most mysterious picture. Dark clouds, mist and couples of waltzing shadows are the first thing that come to mind. However not much later little sparks of light enter the scene and as the melodies get more and more clear we find that the shadows are dancing in what we find out is a great and majestic hall, lit by huge chandeliers. At this point in the work we hear for the very first time a 'classic' waltz, reminiscent of those we know from Strauss. From this point on the waltz takes on many different forms and mutates through various moods and colors. After 9 different variations, the works suddenly falls back into the same darkness from which it came into being. We hear the same variations of the waltz we heard before, however they are now cloaked in a layer of darkness, as melodies, harmonies and rhythms seem to clash with one another. The variations seem to be structured like a collage, as they seem to quickly appear and disappear without any sense of indication or predictable structure. After a loud statement, the music suddenly falls quiet and piercing chromatic scales rise steadily but ominously to a grand finale, which is beautifully described by famous pianist Boris Giltzburg: Malevolent shrieks and whistles in the woodwinds and trumpets, beastly roars in the trombones and horns, collapsing blows in the timpani, tam-tam and cymbals – there is nothing human there, not a sliver of melody; this is the advent of mindless aggression, which has the sole aim of destroying everything on its path. And that’s it, our waltz – with all its melodies, so beautiful and elegant at first, so worried and determined later – goes under."
Relevance to Architecture
The work originated with the purpose to be a ballet. However, when Ravel performed the piece with colleague pianist Marcelle Meyer in an arrangement for 2 pianos for the famous ballet impresario Serge Diaghilev, Diaghilev rejected the piece as a ballet, claiming: "[the work is] a masterpiece... but it's not a ballet. It' a portrait of a ballet — a painting of a ballet.". Ravel famously was severely upset by the comment, took the music and left the room. However we interpret these events, we can very well conclude that the music is originally intended to, in one way or another, paint a picture. This clear visual statement by Ravel is something very close to the visual impression we have from architecture. The boundaries between what we hear, see and feel is blurred. This is not unlike the work 'Tableaux d'une exposition' by Modeste Moussorgsky, written based on the experiences he had while visiting a museum full of paintings. There are many other such works with the same purpose: 'Etudes Tableaux' (visual studies) by Sergei Rachmaninoff, or the 'Années de pèlerinages' by Franz Liszt, based on his experience from trips to various locations in Europe. However all these works are based on single images, like Mussorgsky's and Rachmaninoff's paintings, or Liszt's landscape impressions. What Ravel has achieved is a much more exploratory journey through actual architectural gestures. We may even go so far as to guess what specific ballroom he had in mind: one that must be very similar to those found in the Belvedere Palace in Vienna. Through his music, we may experience what the depicted dancers experienced, dancing through the various rooms in such a palace. Each of the rooms has a unique character, corresponding to that of the correlating waltz variation. With this study we can attempt to recreate the atmosphere and experience of whatever these dancers heard, saw and felt during the unfolding of the waltz.
