Did Neurological Damage Lead To Ravel's Masterpiece?
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- Опубликовано: 18 окт 2021
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Ravel wrote his orchestral masterpiece, Boléro, towards the end of his life and it quickly became his most popular piece of music. But behind the infectious rhythms lies a story that might explain why he wrote the piece in the way that he did.
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FURTHER READING
Unravelling Boléro: progressive aphasia, transmodal
creativity and the right posterior neocortex: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18057...
Formal Music Representation; a Case Study: the Model of Ravel's Bolero by Petri Nets: www.semanticscholar.org/paper...
Ravel’s Boléro Factory: The Orchestration of the Machine Age: search.informit.org/doi/10.33...
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I REALLY like how you have Bolero in the background during the entire length of this; it being uninterrupted. This turned this video from a 10/10 to a 20/10. Great video mate.
Oh yeah? And I really, really, really like this image
6:05 here the music synchronizes with the content, which makes it even better
@@nicholastessier8504 I like it too.
Me too. Like a minute in I noticed it was just playing uninterrupted in the background, and I though to myself, I sure hope this keeps playing the whole way through
Like the video by Polyphonic on Walk On By by Isaac Hayes. I really love this style.
Bolero is like OCD in music form. Its like the tetris effect, where you see and think about tetris pieces falling when in stress. Its those nightmares that arent scary, but are weird and repetitive and it never ends
I've read that people with PTSD find Tetris quite therapeutical.
I half agree half disagree. Bolero feels like OCD in that it feels like you only need another repetition for it to sound right, but then it just feels more and more and more wrong, but you still can't stop yourself from listening to the next one in case that one finally feels right (even when you know it won't). It's extremely stressful to listen to. Gives me the wrong type of chills. Skin-crawling.
@@S_Carol As someone with clinical OCD, I think that's a great explanation
Monet’s growing cataracts contributed to Impressionism and now I find Revel’s disability led to this masterpiece. Yet we still think the disabled have nothing to contribute.
Yes, this is a very important point. Ravel also composed the two piano concertos as a disabled composer, which are considered masterpieces as well.
I had though Beethoven had squashed that prejudice. Artists take their struggles and translate it into other forms. Van Gough suffered major depression and The Nutcracker was written while grieving the death of a much beloved sister. Stephen Hawking's confined to a wheel chair became one of our greatest thinkers. We should all realize that disability does not set people back. Personality does, if a person faces a setback and quits or uses their setback as an excuse. One does not have to be disabled to be a quitter.
Milton was blind when he wrote Paradise Lost too.
@@mr.boogerbutt6667 Unfortunately, Ravel's increasing disability prevented further composition and he died a few years later.
@@Skitdora2010 slight correction, Van Gogh was actually bipolar/manic depressive and also experienced transient psychotic episodes as a byproduct of mania.
I'm a great fan of your work and videos and this one particularly struck my interest because I'm a neurologist. With absolutely no disrespect intended to your work, your video, or your research, I'd like to clarify a few points.
1. Wernicke's aphasia is a symptom, not a cause or a diagnosis. Language localizes to several regions of the brain, and the area known as Wernicke's area (which in most people is in the left posterior temporal-occipital area) is specifically dedicated to the comprehension of received language, usually in spoken or written form. Aphasia is a disruption of language skills, so Wernicke's aphasia is specifically a disruption of the comprehension of language. We can't say with certainty what happened to Ravel as we have no post-mortem data, but something that afflicts a specific region of the cortex suddenly as it did in him is almost certainly a stroke. In addition, Wernicke's aphasia does not typically cause motor symptoms, as the motor cortex is in the frontal lobes. While it's possible for a stroke to affect Wernicke's area and the motor cortex, we would expect all the areas in between to be affected as well. The fascinating thing about aphasia however is that usually musical abilities ARE preserved, so it would be very unusual for his aphasia to be the cause of his amusia (loss of musical ability). This suggests he had other symptoms, specifically alexia and agraphia (loss of reading and writing respectively), independent of his Wernicke's aphasia. There are other things about Ravel's case that are interesting, specifically as you alluded to in your video...
2. He had other symptoms besides aphasia, specifically apraxia (inability to perform complex purposeful movements) and memory deficits. When a person begins to suffer this collection of symptoms, the most likely diagnosis becomes dementia - which is a group of illnesses that all gradually rob cognitive faculties, usually slowly and in multiple domains, as was Ravel's case. He most likely developed a particular form of dementia which could be anything from frontotemporal dementia (characterized by loss of inhibition and executive function), corticobasal degeneration (multifactorial decline including of body functions) or even something as simple as post-stroke dementia (if it is true that he lost his Wernicke's area due to a stroke). Dementia is a particularly interesting diagnosis for Ravel because one of the features of dementia is a symptom called perseveration - that is, dementia patients will often repeat themselves even when completely inappropriate to do so otherwise. Of course all of this is made more complicated by...
3. Traumatic brain injury. Ravel suffered from a moderate traumatic brain injury as a result of a motor vehicle accident in 1932, before his decline. TBIs are dramatic injuries and on top of someone who already has signs and symptoms of dementia and stroke, it certainly didn't do him any favors. Long story short; Ravel's cognitive faculties were grievously injured likely by multiple mechanisms, making complex tasks such as composition increasingly difficult. For someone with an artist's spirit like Ravel, who struggled to write complexity for these reasons, a piece that is simple in its conception, composition, and execution like Bolero becomes very attractive and even inevitable.
The conclusion of your video is particularly striking and powerful. For someone to create immortal music the way Ravel did with the deficits imposed on him by cruel circumstances speaks volumes about the human spirit and the passion for music he possessed. It will be fascinating to see the future of neurology entangle with music therapy and use the art that the brain generates as a way to heal it.
Wow, this is fascinating! Thank you for the insight!
What always impresses me are the many artists with various disabilities that persevere and create some of the greatest pieces of art despite everything
But the vehicle accident 1932 , the bolero was already composed 1928 ?
Thank you for your medical explanation of these brain conditions....so complex and so mis-understood
@@denisebremridge8329 But not totally clear . After all he composed his 2 piano concertos a few years later.
L, arte non vienne generata dal cervello,.. ne musica , ne altro ! Il cervello, se e sanno, esecuta quello che l, anima spirituale le indica ( in altre parole TRADUCE in linguaggio comprensivo, anche ad altri, uno stato d,animo dell, autore).
6:10 as an organist I immediate recognize this! Ravel is treating the piccolos as mutation stops, which don't sound at octaves but at fifths or thirds to the fundamental. They are listed as stops with some kind of fractional length to make it immediately obvious to the organist that they don't sound at octaves (as opposed to standard stops which are usually listed in powers of two - e.g. 8 foot (which sounds at concert pitch), 4 foot, 2 foot stops. Mutation stops are usually 2-2/3, 1-3/5, etc
Yes, they are simply multiples of the fundamental frequency.
I like your funny words magic man 👍
An orchestral version of the cornet stop
"As an organist I immediate recognize this!" was all I was able to understand, from that point on you were speaking a whole different language
I've only just come across your videos and, while the visuals are unavailable to me (I'm blind), your description and synchronisation with the music are amazing. That relentless snare makes me grind my teeth; it almost seems torturous. My late father was a drummer (mainly in brass bands) and he said that piece was one of the most difficult for him and I now see what he means. Everyone and anyone looking for more than a passing appreciation of music should see your videos.
I myself cannot stand the piece. I’ve only listened to it once in its entirety, and by the end I felt like stabbing my eyeballs. I’m being serious.
I’ve read that when this piece premiered, there was a woman who ran to the stage and yelled at Ravel, “ This piece is madness!” Or something along those lines. I completely understand how that woman felt.
The side drum part is mind-numbing but needs great precision, I agree it wouldn’t be great to play. He probably didn’t like playing the Floral Dance either.
@@cthulhutentacles4994 Agree. The first time I listened to this was at a concert when I was 6 and I was frightened almost to the point of crying (and they'd played The Rite of Spring earlier on and I loved it, so it's not that I was easily scared).
I still can't quite put my finger on why, but this piece just makes my skin crawl. Like there's some sort of itch inside my head that just gets worse the more I hear. It's extremely stressful.
@@S_Carol, it is the horror being betrayed by mind and body as your intellect and essence are gradually devoured and you are forever lost to yourself while being fully cognizant of it happening and powerless to save yourself.
My god, your works just keeps getting better and better. It has always been very good, but just the visuals alone are extraordinary and more so with every new video.
It's almost like the channel is one giant crescendo.
I still remember the first time I listened to the Boléro. I couldn't believe someone had actually written something like that, how just a tune repeated over and over could be so amazing.
This has to be one of the most beautifully crafted videos I’ve ever seen. The music, the in-depth narration, the setting, backdrops, animation, the music’s winding trail in the background telling the very same story we see and hear from the screen and narrative.
Your work is excellent, and tells the story that has often crossed my mind with a touch of mystery.
For many years I had heard and believed the old wive’s tale that Bolero was conceived as an orchestral composition exercise, never meant for the stage. Could there be some truth to this? True or not, now I know with certainty that the story is far from that level of simplicity.
Hearing Bolero in person at a performance of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is an experience I remember vividly. I now understand the cause behind a subtle, yet unsettling tremor throughout the concert hall as the theme repeats. It is buried deep in the history and life of its composer.
This is truly the work of a man who grasped onto the feeling of having his life fade away inexplicably from an undiagnosed disease, and used that feeling to create something breathtaking. I choose to find the notion inspiring, that even on the threshold of oblivion one can find a path to greatness.
Thank you for creating such a masterful description the composer behind the music, and providing a glimpse of the inside of his mind.
I never realised what was so special about this piece. I always thought: "Ravel wrote so many wonderfull pieces like Daphnis et Chloé, his piano concerto, string quartet and Pavane. And THIS is his most well known piece?!"
You really opened my eyes with this video, thanks!
Maurice Ravel actually hated Bolero.
@@GreenBoy9000 Doesn't mean it isn't a great piece!
@@GreenBoy9000 He described it as a "long crescendo... consisting of orchestral tissue, without music."
@@dennischiapello7243 Heh.... Orchestral tissue.
You should do a video on the music of Tom and Jerry.
I definitely felt something dark was going on this piece long time ago, at several parts I felt his desperation, his madness and his anger, frustration and struggle. I’m impressed how music can actually paint the composer’s emotions so vividly. Thank you so much for this video!
As someone with neurological issues... Yes this inspires me to keep going, to keep dancing. ❤️
Brilliant explanation of this masterpiece, cleverly arranged on top of the music itself.
I had a brief discussion recently with my piano teacher recently about key changes and how effective they can be. He said listen to Ravel’s Bolero as a piece that demonstrates this to the fullest. It stays in C for almost it’s entire duration, before lurching into E Major (I think?) right at the end before crashing back down to C, and how incredible the effect is. Only having listened to this piece in relation to Torvill & Dean, I now see how amazing it really is
I thought it was odd that they played this in the japanese olympic opening ceremony - I've always associated the piece with a slow descent into madness, possibly because of what you described here. But it seems like you said, others see it as a triumphant march of perseverance, which appears to represent the olympics better!
I would absolutely love to see your analysis of the Rhapsody in Blue.
Wow Barnaby, this was deeply insightful. When the repetitive flat notes play in the "jazzy" melody, I hear a cry of craze, desperation, exhilaration and pain. Both melodic themes feel like a game between what we see and hear. The first theme as diatonic melody reminds me of the physical world around Ravel, all fitting nicely in the harmony, but the second one, may just be a glimpse of his ever-increasing grip loss on what was happening. A flow, even a ruptured dam of thoughts and dark emotions which only steadily opened for years... not so different from his bolero.
Repetition legitimizes. The repetitiveness and the catchy melody of Bolero is what makes it such a know and liked piece. It shows in many way Ravel's understanding of orchestration, harmony and melody. For Ravel melody was everything. But I think Bolero isn't in any way his best work and it's such a shame that it is viewed as his best or most known work. Though it is understandable due to its nature.
Look up Daphnis and Chloe, Piano concerto for Left hand and Le Tombeau de Couperin if you want more complex, but as (or even more) ingenious and beautiful music as Bolero.
For me, the melodies have already been very "legitimate".
+Alborada del gracioso
Ah yes, Ravel's "orchestral tissue without music" (The composer words himself).
Can't say I disagree but dang did it has some good tunes.
yeaaah
@@AsrielKujo yes
And still some of the most inventive orchestral colors.
@@danielduggan5405 "*Orchestral* tissue"
@@segmentsAndCurves Which, in the context of Ravel's quote, would include all the elements that make up the music, but nothing to make it enjoyable or interesting to the listener. You pointed out the melody as a something you enjoy about the work. I most enjoy the orchestration, which is a textbook of techniques composers use to this day.
This reminds me of the Unraveling Bolero Radiolab episode, which I recommend everyone listen to, which connects Ravel’s condition to that of a painter who made a visual representation of Bolero shortly before she passed away.
EDIT: Haha, he mentions it at 11 minutes in! Silly me for not waiting until the end to comment.
I listened to it also, Grace.It fascinated me at that time. Nowadays I think that their theory was just a theory and nobody is able to prove it. What we know fo sure is that he wrote absolutely amazing music pieces.
@@Soundcloud765 I see! It has been a long time since I've heard it.
Not silly at all, rather clever to think of that before it was even mentioned in the video. 😇
Interesting video, but remember Ravel composed his final two masterpieces, The Piano Concerto in G and The Concerto for the Left Hand, after Bolero. The piano concertos show Ravel in excellent creative form, with immaculate orchestration and hellish piano parts, especially the cadenza on the left hand concerto. Sadly, he only composed a short song cycle after the concertos.
Didn’t he also compose his opera “L’Enfant et les Sortiléges” around that time, too? Or was that before his Piano Concerti?
@@Hailey_Paige_1937 He composed that earlier
@@ezekielthiessen7080
Ah. Thanks!
Please never stop making these videos dude, they're fantastic
i read somewhere in the mid- 1980s that he was working with an orchestra that wouldnt cresendo gradually enough for him. so he wrote a piece that gets a bit louder with each phrase to make them need to. ive performed the soprano saxophone part with 3 orchestras over the years.
8:26 Adding to the inspirations of machines, I once read that in alborada del gracioso (no.4 from Miroir), the rhythm was also inspired by the clicking of machines.
Ravel: So I know computers don't exist yet, but I think one day maybe 80 years in the future, "Control+V" will be a thing.
The first time I consciously heard Bolero was in the Italian animated film Allegro Non Troppo, where it accompanied a heavy-handed but evocative allegory of evolution on an alien planet: a steady march of progress, becoming increasingly frenzied and obsessive, ending in paroxysms of ecological destruction. I’ve never been able to shake that imagery since, so Bolero has always felt “au fou” to me.
voltlife - Your connection of Bolero to a film allegory of evolution on an alien planet is how I always react to Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring."
I first heard music from "The Rite of Spring" in a Disney educational film. The animated film was an extended version of a section of "Fantasia," but with narration added. It was about the earth's evolution into a semi-stable planet, with land and seas, through multiple - and violent - encounters (water with lava; earthquakes with volcanic eruptions; unending gales of wind and water) and continues with the evolution of life: from one-celled creatures to dinosaurs. It finishes with the demise of the dinosaurs - followed by massive earthquakes. I cannot hear "The Rite of Spring" without concurrently "viewing" the animated film in my mind.
I first heard it at the end of Les uns et Les autres
I love the way you analyze the piece, present all the possible theories for this, and most notably edit and sync the music, visual, and script together.
And I love Ravel too!
Thank you!
This video is so well made. The music relentlessly playing in the background sync-ing perfectly with what you are describing at each moment allows for a much much deeper appreciation both of the insights about Ravel and of the piece itself.
Just found your videos last month, and they're fascinating! Beyond the knowledge of music and composing, I wanted to compliment you on the overall production. You have the "environment," the sheet music and orchestra synced to the music, and the animation. Fantastic work!!
INSANELY GOOD VIDEO. Really good research and an easy, digestable script. Escpecially loved how you had the music running the entire time in the background, which I thought was a really good idea. You deserve many more subscribers.
Awesome video! Love it! Was learning the bolero rudiment and felt compelled to investigate more history - glad to have found your channel!
Ive heard Bolero a few times over the years but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago when I watched a London Symphony Orchestra performance on YT that I fell in love with it. It’s quickly become one of my favorites and I’ve been thinking about it a lot. There’s a compelling beauty to the simplicity of each instrument/section slowly joining in and patiently building up to the crashing climax.
I was just looking for some more analysis on the work so this video was perfectly timed. Love your channel btw, keep up the amazing work!
It's actually crazy this is one of my favorite RUclips channels and recently I started listening to belero alot and learning to play the solo on from trombone and now you made a video it's crazy how things work
WOW superb. Ive been in tears at the end of many of your videos. Your editing, musical timing, knockout quality graphics, excellent research so well scripted and narrated are a joy. Thank you.
Bolero is my favourite piece of classical music, and this deep dive into the song and the composer has been lovely! Thank you for sharing your perspective, I really appreciate this video.
I guess what´s most remarkable about your videos is the amalgamation of precise analytics and music theory with the emotions the piece evokes as well as the historical, social and psychological background of the creation. You find the perfect balance of rational dissection and emotional impression and every video is a musical journey worth undertaking.
Barnaby from the moment I saw the title I was thrilled to see this video. The story of Ravel’s Frontal Temporal Dementia (I know you use a different term in the video which I think is a broader description of the effect) and its effect on this piece has been one of my favorite stories in music history. A working theory of the underlying cause of the repetition is that FTD tends to disturb and suppress the executive function in the brain, a portion of the brain that to some extent prevents ongoing repetitive thoughts. With that suppression set free, musically in the case of Ravel, or colors and patterns in the case Unravelling Bolero (an interesting play on words in its own right) in the case of Anne Adams, the end result is a maddening repetition in whatever medium in which the artist operates. The video itself - once again masterfully done. Thank you for creating such interesting and educational content.
The quality is so damn high for a channel this small. This needs to blow up!
Wow, I’m stunned by the quality of your work, bravo!
Thank you for creating such a wonderful video (as always) about this masterpiece. I love this piece, the orchestration is just phenomenal. I had the great pleasure to play this in an orchestra myself, which was a fantastic experience. You realise how each voice, each colour contributes to the creation of this great musical painting. It amount of concentration it requires can be daunting, but makes the finale the more satisfying!
Absolutely brilliant video! Looking foreward to watch the next one!
I was literally JUST hoping you'd upload a video on this profound piece!! Thank you for this!!!
I love the way you crafted the visuals, moving from room to room as we moved through each section of the music.
Awesome vid! Great to learn more about one of my favorite pieces of music!
Grosses Kino! Die visuelle Umsetzung in Kombination mit dem Sound der Stimme des Sprechers entwickelt bei mir einen ebensolchen hypnotischen Sog, wie die Komposition selber! Danke, grossartig gemacht!
Your videos are some of the best on the platform. I love them so much. You do an amazing job with the editing and presentation of the visual elements
This always sends shivers down my spine, so simple and yet so complex, gripping and humorous, just an amazing piece of art. And this video essay was incredibly illuminating and beautiful, thank you!
Your best video so far: a creative and compelling lecture!
You've outdone yourself. Congrats!! I hope you keep being inspired and that we can get more of its controlled exposition! Kind regards Barney, hope you're doing well. Take care!
Thank you for making this great video! It encapsulates how I've always felt about Bolero. Ravel is my favorite composer, and I love the piece to death. There's definitely an elitist attitude when folks dismiss the work. He managed to create one of the catchiest melodies ever written and builds it beautifully with the orchestration. Yes, Ravel was critical of his own piece, but I think him pretty much being a perfectionist (that's speculation on my part, but you can just see it in his other works) and the neurological damage he was experiencing contributed to those feelings. I often wonder what could have been if hadn't had aphasia, but at the same time, I would not change a thing about Bolero.
Wonderful video. Bolero has been a part of my life since I was little. I remember being bored with it early on, it's repeating pattern putting me to sleep and lasting way too long. Yet after rediscovering it recently, and now being much older this has become one of my favorite classical pieces. I did not know much about the composer himself, only that his music made me feel... strongly.
There is this tug of war going on within the instruments, I feel. A need to continue, but a driving need to complete as well. Nothing lasts forever does it. Like life itself, passion, artistry, and imagination all have an end. The disillusion of innocence and youth, or the feeling that I'll have enough time to get it all done. The trial of getting up and doing it all over again when one wants to let go and finally sleep, but contribute in a unique way that will immortalize one forever. The ending is a shout "This is all that I am". There is such sadness and yet joy in that reveal, but I could not hear it when I was younger.
When I read the title of your video, the first affliction that came to mind was Dementia. Dementia is the deconstruction of memories. I've worked with many dementia patients and they seem to go backwards in their psyche, losing what is most recent, returning to what is the beginning. It is a very sad and heartbreaking thing to witness.
Your video is beautifully done. It was engaging and artistically stunning. Thank you for doing it.
Another fantastic video! I dig your visual style. Very well done!! I mainly know Bolero through the 1972 Emerson, Lake and Palmer's rendition of it. And always associated the music with industrial machinery.
Wow! This is one of the best RUclips videos I've ever seen. Good job!
That's such an amazing content, incredible work, congrats!!
If possible, i would love to see something like this about Mozart's Requiem, it would help me so much to get in conducting school
Thank you for sharing this! Very insightful.
I really appreciate your approach in your works. Beside your wonderful technical analysis og storytelling (which is narrated perfectly) you make many technical editorial choices that reveals a sensibility of a high technical understanding of cinematic language itself. Thank you for educating and sharing knowledge. Cheers from Denmark.
Superb. Best breakdown of the piece I’ve ever seen.
I think this video is one of the most beautiful and compelling analysis of a musical piece I ever had opportunity to see. Thank you so much.
Well you've managed to drive me to sobbing through analysis of multiple favorite songs now (previously the Star Wars video). I *think* that's a good thing...
As for this one, around 11:54, seeing the order visually devolve into chaos at the close of the song, and at the end of his life, is what led to weeping.
hes great at explaining, the video is interesting, and I also like how the music kinda synchronizes with the content and your great voice.
Never stumbled upon your channel. Glad I did today. Thank you for this video (and I hope for more videos as good as this for a bit worse, because this one is hard to top)!
superb video as always!
A mind-blowing video...extraordinarily well done.
Your videos are such a journey. Thank you so much
One of my favorite pieces. Thank you
OMG as I have said before and will continue to say again, what you do is as important as the music itself. You open the mind to the music’s soul and how it does what it does to us as we listen. No longer do we just listen. Now we get to savor and become intimate with these amazing audio masterpieces. How can we ever thank you enough for what you do? You have put me in tears more than once as the music I love was shown to me in an entirely new way. Bless you young man. What you do has been needed for generations. Thank you!
PS. I have to ask if you have heard Keith Emerson’s Abadon’s Bolero that he composed back in the 70’s? He was the brilliant keyboard player from Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Would absolutely love to know what you think of it. Many thanks!
Thank you for creating this vid. Very interesting view on this masterpiece.
Wonderful presentation! Thank you.
Wow. What a beautiful piece and amazing video
You’re telling of this story is brilliant. Ravels predicament made tears in my eyes.
Thank you for this video!
Great essay 🙌 thank you
Just discovered your channel due to the almighty Algorithm, and I just want to give you many, many kudos for the PHENOMENAL job! Not only is your insight interesting and deep, but your editing skills are impressive. Loved the art in this video too and all the ways you combined both audio and visual. Kudos, mate!
This is an outstanding well produced video.
That was INSANE!!! I got chills like three times!
Ravel is my favorite composer (Seriously, I’ve never heard a piece of his I don’t like!). So, I walked into this video already knowing parts of the Boléro story, but the way you unraveled (pun totally intended) this piece and included anecdotes I haven’t heard yet, it made me fall in love with Boléro all over again. I do think it’s “crazy” yet sheer genius. Ravel’s obsession with mechanical things is totally apparent in here, and I love that. I love the obsessive repetition. I’m Autistic and have ADHD. Repetition/routine is my thing, and I often get lost in various rabbit holes of analyzing things in great detail (literature, psychology, History, and ESPECIALLY music). Classical Music is the biggest interest of mine; I constantly analyze scores, research composers for every scrap of info that’s available in their music and lives, and Ravel is the composer I can relate to the most; his meticulous nature and the surrealism of his world just... Invites me in. Like a friend saying they understand me. Though I love Ravel’s other works more than Boléro (seriously, his “Miroirs” Suite is just -- *AAAAHHH SOOOOO GOOD* and “Le Tombeau de Couperin,” “La Valse,” his Left-Hand Piano Concerto, “Ma Mére l’Oye”............. Etc, lol), I will always have a place in my heart for Boléro. It’s relatable to me as someone with my own disabilities, and it sums up how my mind works in one piece.
Thank you for this video. You’ve rekindled my love of this piece again. ❤️🎼
This is a wonderful video!
Amazing video!!
I have suffered brain damage myself 25 years ago and since then all my senses have gone way up and I could never listen to Bolero again without it triggering severe anxiety, a pounding heart and overall misery. I had no idea about Ravel and this particular health condition of his but hearing this Information now does explain a lot now.
Amazing video mate, I’m a fan of your content
Fabulous channel …I’m listening 🙏🏿🙏🎩
AMAZING VIDEO! KEEP DOING MORE!
Wow! Amazing video!
Beautiful video and music. Your videos make my day.
This is really a great video, thanks!
Me, after going onto RUclips: Ooh another Listening in video! On Bolero!
Me, after seeing how long it is: Ah, I see where this is going :)
Honestly, after seeing this video on Bolero it opened up a lot of thoughts in my mind, I knew Bolero was incredibly popular and I loved it, but I always thought it a bit overrated compared to his other work. However, after watching it and how the simplicity masks the incredibly orchestration, and why he may have chosen to write it, I'm reminded once again of how powerful this piece is.
Thanks for this video! I'm in tears!
Great video. It explained a LOT of things about the song and author.
Wow, what a wonderful video about wonderful music. Bravo to you and Ravel
I forgot how GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD the quality of your videos is
Woaw, such a good content... ! Thank you for those 15minutes !
These interesting thoughts and questions made me love even more this music!
In 2018, I marched in a group called the Cavaliers DBC with the show titled "On Madness and Creativity" and we used Bolero as the musical foundation on the show. I remember being told the story of Ravel's neurological issues before we got into the heart of the show and then in college I ended up writing a paper on Ravel and this video just reminded of the whole thing. Amazing work!!
Big fan of this channel! Love your video essays. I hope at some point you'll take a look at A Silent Voice. There are some really interesting/creative music and sound direction, some of which lean into the same kinds of intradiegetic relationships like what you talked about in your Up essay. There are already video essays on the movie, but I'm curious about your take on it
The second melody and the sudden modulation at the end are in the Phrygian Mode (a scale whose whole and half steps are based on the white-note scale running from E up to E), which is a hallmark of Spanish music.
I associate Bolero with the Blake Edwards film 10, having seen it when I was a kid. I've always thought the music was intense in it's relentless build up throughout the piece, but I never knew the history behind it and what it really means.
Thank you for continuing to make such incredible videos.
I always thought this particular piece was inspired by all the wars Europe fought all the damn time.. it sounds like a marching tune that’s been adapted for a theatre house
This video is simply very very entertaining, just love it!
I just wish you had picked one of Celibidache's recordings so the video could be longer. Amazing work.
I could not make it through that Documentary on Curiosity Stream. As a performer of this piece multiple times (even back to back weeks with different orchestras), I can't stand this piece, but this video is the best thing this piece could ask for. Very well done!