Here’s a quick rundown of what I was able to find out (or guess) about each fugue. I unfortunately don’t have access to any primary sources, so I can’t confirm with 100% certainty. 00:00 - I am pretty confident that the first fugue in this video is the Fugue in D major, M23, that Ravel wrote for the Prix de Rome in 1900. All the sources I found agree on the key, and it is consistent with the scores I found. 05:12 - According to Kiserlet, the Eb major fugue was written for a conservatory competion (not Prix de Rome) in 1900. It does not appear on Wikipedia’s or IMSLP’s lists of Ravel’s works. 08:51 - The F major fugue could be one of two, listed on the wikipedia list: Either the “Fugue à quatre voix” on a theme of Reber, M24, or the Fugue in F major, M27, written for the Prix de Rome. Marshev uses the M24 title in his publication. However, since the score I found, says it was submitted for the Prix de Rome in 1901, I am going out on a limb, and saying it probably is the M27 fugue. 13:56 - According to Wikipedia, the M32 fugue was published in the book “Irony and Sound” by Stephen Zank. Unfortunately, I have not been able to acces this book, so I have to trust Wikipedia here. IMSLP actually lists another fugue as being the M32, and even has a score uploaded. This one is in Eb major, but since it is unfinished, I doubt that it would have been used in the Prix de Rome. My guess is, that it was discovered after the M-catalogue was established, and as such does not have an M-number. - I also found a score which I am confident is the Fugue in C major, M44, written for Ravels last attempt at Prix de Rome in 1905. It has not been recorded as of writing, so I have not included it in this video. I have linked to the score in my list of sources. Full list of Sources: drive.google.com/file/d/1eMiCTqwfEYN5O2CuwRV4Ev1PeOIAoPBt/view?usp=sharing
See edit: Ayy I'm the person that uploaded the M32 fugue on IMSLP! I'll be honest I had no idea where to put the score, so it ended up at that number and is not the actual M32 fugue (more of just my best guess). It was taken from jumbled up scans on an auction website, and I don't even know if there are pages missing in the middle (which there very well may be). There is one fugue, though, that I've not yet been able to typeset because there aren't enough pictures and there's no way to access the manuscript. It's listed as "Lot 89: RAVEL FUGUE STUDY. RAVEL, MAURICE. 1875-1937" and says there is 11 pages of music starting in the key of D. However, the site only has a singular page, and no other auction site I've found has scans of the other pages. It doesn't seem to match the M23 fugue, so there is another unheard fugue out there that I'm hoping to bring to light somehow. Edit: It seems that Kiserlet was actually the first person to typeset the fugue that I had originally thought I had found. I did find another one that doesn't seem to have been uploaded or typeset, and I'm working on typesetting it now. It's in E major!
In the end, my attempt at identifying these are also a lot of guesswork, as I haven't got any confirmed sources... Really, i'm just happy, that more of these fugues are made available! Big thanks for your work with typesetting forgotten Ravel manuscripts!
Most of the credit goes to a user on Musescore named Kiselet, who uploaded some of the scores on their page. RUclips won’t let me put working links in the description yet, but here’s the link: musescore.com/user/18902116 I also compiled a Google docs with the info I found: drive.google.com/file/d/1eMiCTqwfEYN5O2CuwRV4Ev1PeOIAoPBt/view Also huge credit to Marshev, of course, for giving these a proper recording
It's interesting to hear him write scholastic fugue... there are so few examples of his use of this type of tightly controlled structural counterpoint in his work, otherwise. However, if anyone is curious to hear how Ravel's mature language handles fugue, there's a gorgeous example at the end of his opera "L'Enfant et les sortilèges." If anyone else can name some more examples of his use of fugal exposition in his more mature works I'd LOVE to hear about them. For now, none come to mind for me.
I agree - It’s a shame, because I really like the way he handles counterpoint in his mature style. Don’t forget the fugue from Le Tombeau de Couperin, though. He really goes all out and showcases a lot of contrapuntal techniques. Apart from that and L’enfant, I don’t think he did any other fugues in his own style. Outside of fugue, the Blues movement of the Violin Sonata features both a short canon in the second theme, and later a combination of the first and second themes in counterpoint.
Omg so thanks for this!!! It's not very beautiful or impressive works, but for me, it's very good for someone who collects all of Ravel's works on RUclips! It took a lot of effort to find the recordings of this pianist, now in a single video! Thanks so much again
Quite apart from the fact that these were written for a very traditionalist audience, I find Ravel's love of the baroque shines through these. The fact that you could be forgiven believing he was using and then stretching Bach's own technique is something of a revelation. These are IMHO stronger than the later Fugue which found its way into the Tombeau de Couperin.
Na, selbstgefällig vielleicht lächelt er nicht, aber er freut sich darüber, dass heute (einschließlich des 19./20. Jahrhunderts, also nach Bach) wieder Fugen geschrieben werden, nachdem er gedacht hatte, dass er der Letzte wäre, der welche schreibt. Deswegen schrieb er ja seine "Kunst der Fuge". Aber es wäre auch ein großer Verlust für die Musik und ihre Geschichte, wenn er diesen Zyklus nicht geschrieben hätte, weil er einer der faszinierendsten und perfektesten Werkreihen ist, die jemals geschrieben wurden. Aber Ravels Fugen hier sind auch wunderschön. Hätte ich Ravel mit seinen lauten, sinfonischen Orchesterwerken, die mir persönlich zu laut sind, nicht zugetraut. Welche Transparenz! Fast kammermusikalisch!
Le plan était en fait défini à l'avance : cela s'appelait la "fugue d'école". Ravel n'est donc pas responsable du "formatage" de ses fugues: elles sont simplement conforme à l'enseignement du Conservatoire de Paris à cette époque. On peut en trouver une description très détaillée dans le traité de fugue d'André Gedalge.
nice to hear fugues by ravel! definitely not his best work but interesting nevertheless. as far as I know there is also one in les enfants et les sortileges besides the one from tombeau :)
Here’s a quick rundown of what I was able to find out (or guess) about each fugue. I unfortunately don’t have access to any primary sources, so I can’t confirm with 100% certainty.
00:00 - I am pretty confident that the first fugue in this video is the Fugue in D major, M23, that Ravel wrote for the Prix de Rome in 1900. All the sources I found agree on the key, and it is consistent with the scores I found.
05:12 - According to Kiserlet, the Eb major fugue was written for a conservatory competion (not Prix de Rome) in 1900. It does not appear on Wikipedia’s or IMSLP’s lists of Ravel’s works.
08:51 - The F major fugue could be one of two, listed on the wikipedia list: Either the “Fugue à quatre voix” on a theme of Reber, M24, or the Fugue in F major, M27, written for the Prix de Rome. Marshev uses the M24 title in his publication. However, since the score I found, says it was submitted for the Prix de Rome in 1901, I am going out on a limb, and saying it probably is the M27 fugue.
13:56 - According to Wikipedia, the M32 fugue was published in the book “Irony and Sound” by Stephen Zank. Unfortunately, I have not been able to acces this book, so I have to trust Wikipedia here. IMSLP actually lists another fugue as being the M32, and even has a score uploaded. This one is in Eb major, but since it is unfinished, I doubt that it would have been used in the Prix de Rome. My guess is, that it was discovered after the M-catalogue was established, and as such does not have an M-number.
- I also found a score which I am confident is the Fugue in C major, M44, written for Ravels last attempt at Prix de Rome in 1905. It has not been recorded as of writing, so I have not included it in this video. I have linked to the score in my list of sources.
Full list of Sources:
drive.google.com/file/d/1eMiCTqwfEYN5O2CuwRV4Ev1PeOIAoPBt/view?usp=sharing
See edit:
Ayy I'm the person that uploaded the M32 fugue on IMSLP! I'll be honest I had no idea where to put the score, so it ended up at that number and is not the actual M32 fugue (more of just my best guess). It was taken from jumbled up scans on an auction website, and I don't even know if there are pages missing in the middle (which there very well may be).
There is one fugue, though, that I've not yet been able to typeset because there aren't enough pictures and there's no way to access the manuscript. It's listed as "Lot 89: RAVEL FUGUE STUDY. RAVEL, MAURICE. 1875-1937" and says there is 11 pages of music starting in the key of D. However, the site only has a singular page, and no other auction site I've found has scans of the other pages. It doesn't seem to match the M23 fugue, so there is another unheard fugue out there that I'm hoping to bring to light somehow.
Edit: It seems that Kiserlet was actually the first person to typeset the fugue that I had originally thought I had found. I did find another one that doesn't seem to have been uploaded or typeset, and I'm working on typesetting it now. It's in E major!
In the end, my attempt at identifying these are also a lot of guesswork, as I haven't got any confirmed sources...
Really, i'm just happy, that more of these fugues are made available! Big thanks for your work with typesetting forgotten Ravel manuscripts!
Omgggg i couldnt find the online copies and thought these are lost forever. Thanks so soooo much for the upload and the resource!
Most of the credit goes to a user on Musescore named Kiselet, who uploaded some of the scores on their page. RUclips won’t let me put working links in the description yet, but here’s the link: musescore.com/user/18902116
I also compiled a Google docs with the info I found: drive.google.com/file/d/1eMiCTqwfEYN5O2CuwRV4Ev1PeOIAoPBt/view
Also huge credit to Marshev, of course, for giving these a proper recording
He mastered tradition before he innovated. Thank you!
Lovely compositions of traditional form by innovator Ravel
It's fun to hear a more 'textbook' sound from ravel and compare it to his later works. Very interesting to hear the progression.
Indeed! By the time he wrote these, he had actually already experimented with counterpoint in his own style, as seen in the Menuet Antique from 1895
It's interesting to hear him write scholastic fugue... there are so few examples of his use of this type of tightly controlled structural counterpoint in his work, otherwise. However, if anyone is curious to hear how Ravel's mature language handles fugue, there's a gorgeous example at the end of his opera "L'Enfant et les sortilèges."
If anyone else can name some more examples of his use of fugal exposition in his more mature works I'd LOVE to hear about them. For now, none come to mind for me.
I agree - It’s a shame, because I really like the way he handles counterpoint in his mature style.
Don’t forget the fugue from Le Tombeau de Couperin, though. He really goes all out and showcases a lot of contrapuntal techniques.
Apart from that and L’enfant, I don’t think he did any other fugues in his own style.
Outside of fugue, the Blues movement of the Violin Sonata features both a short canon in the second theme, and later a combination of the first and second themes in counterpoint.
@@pengudosh7979 thanks for reminding me of Tombeau! I don't listen to that work often, so it sort of slipped my mind.
Brividi
The third one is incredible.
Omg so thanks for this!!! It's not very beautiful or impressive works, but for me, it's very good for someone who collects all of Ravel's works on RUclips! It took a lot of effort to find the recordings of this pianist, now in a single video! Thanks so much again
Quite apart from the fact that these were written for a very traditionalist audience, I find Ravel's love of the baroque shines through these. The fact that you could be forgiven believing he was using and then stretching Bach's own technique is something of a revelation. These are IMHO stronger than the later Fugue which found its way into the Tombeau de Couperin.
Thank you for the video and sources! I have been looking for the scores for so long! 🙏🏻
Some Mahler' Titan vibes in the first fugue
What a Genius 💓
A+ Paris Conservatory homework!!
An example for that, what beautiful things can get from a simple exercise!
Bach sorride compiaciuto e benevolo.Belle tutte e quattro.😊
Na, selbstgefällig vielleicht lächelt er nicht, aber er freut sich darüber, dass heute (einschließlich des 19./20. Jahrhunderts, also nach Bach) wieder Fugen geschrieben werden, nachdem er gedacht hatte, dass er der Letzte wäre, der welche schreibt. Deswegen schrieb er ja seine "Kunst der Fuge". Aber es wäre auch ein großer Verlust für die Musik und ihre Geschichte, wenn er diesen Zyklus nicht geschrieben hätte, weil er einer der faszinierendsten und perfektesten Werkreihen ist, die jemals geschrieben wurden. Aber Ravels Fugen hier sind auch wunderschön. Hätte ich Ravel mit seinen lauten, sinfonischen Orchesterwerken, die mir persönlich zu laut sind, nicht zugetraut. Welche Transparenz! Fast kammermusikalisch!
Thank you very much for this! Very interesting. Seems to be excellent performance. Who’s playing?
It is indeed an amazing performance!
The pianist is Oleg Marshev. He recorded these, along with the rest of Ravel's complete works for solo piano.
4 fugues are extremely following the same plan😂😂😂
Yup, they are definitely not Ravel's most innovative works.
Le plan était en fait défini à l'avance : cela s'appelait la "fugue d'école". Ravel n'est donc pas responsable du "formatage" de ses fugues: elles sont simplement conforme à l'enseignement du Conservatoire de Paris à cette époque. On peut en trouver une description très détaillée dans le traité de fugue d'André Gedalge.
@@laurentriou3195 Thanks for the insight, that is very interessting!
@@laurentriou3195 aha, the institute must spend a lot of time on teaching student how to wright a “well-tempered”(planned) fugue
@Labratas123 completely off-topic but cool pfp 😆
nice to hear fugues by ravel! definitely not his best work but interesting nevertheless. as far as I know there is also one in les enfants et les sortileges besides the one from tombeau :)
Wow, i didn't know that - Thanks, I need to check it out!
@@pengudosh7979 Yes the finale is a vocal fughetta of about 2-3 minutes.
All codas are poorly done.
? To you maybe
I bet you can do better.
waiting for your Prix de Rome