2. Maurice Ravel: Oiseaux Tristes (Sad Birds) This is the second piece from his suite called Miroirs (Mirrors), composed between 1904 and 1905. Interestingly, this piece is also dedicated to Ricardo Vines. This movement is a mininature, lasting about 3 minutes to perform, written in the melancholic key of e flat minor. It does not only depict birdsong, but captures an emotional state too, from a human point of view. The tempo is rather slow, making the listener associate it with the location of the actions being a large, open space, maybe a forest clearing during winter.
At the beginning we hear a lonely birdsong in the upper register of the keyboard, using a very delicate rhytmic pattern. Later, other voices join, and the birdsong gets a repetitive, almost minimalist accompaniment.
The polyphonic structure of the piece is similar to Gibet, an other, haunting piece by Ravel from Gaspard de la Nuit. Dinamically, this movement almost never goes above pianissimo, although it has a loud, noisy climax at the end of the first half.
I chose a recording by Jean-Yves Thibaudet, who is one of the best pianist when it comes to French music.
@une-barque-sur-l-ocean - Baki-Szmaler Noémi, guest editor
