Ravel Prelude in A minor, Dorian mode (1913)- Arthur Houle, piano (with original variants on repeat)

Colorado Mesa U. - 10/5/09
Arthur J. Houle, piano https://www.festivalforcreativepianis...

The influence of George Gershwin on Maurice Ravel is well known. When I first discovered this prelude, I assumed Gershwin might have influenced the writing of this gem. However, Gershwin would have been only 13 or 14 years old at that time (1913), which makes the prelude even more remarkable. Who would surmise that it might have been Ravel who influenced Gershwin first, not vice versa? In any case, surely it was destiny that they would eventually meet and become mutual admirers.

The prelude is a short, charming and mesmerizing work, simple yet lush – a rather unique blend of styles that I am tempted to dub "high class romantimpressionistic cocktail music." It's ethereal borderline-jazz "mood music" one might expect more in a nightclub than on the concert stage. By no means, however, is that intended as a put-down. Like all of Ravel's music, it is a sophisticated jewel, notwithstanding its brevity (27 measures). Remarkably, it was written as a sight-reading exercise for a women's competition at the Conservatoire and dedicated to the winner of the contest, Jeanne Leleu [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_... ].

For this performance, at 1:26 I repeated all but the last two measures and introduced original variants. The score does not call for this, but it's the kind of liberty that Gershwin would have liked.

Given that there is precious little easy Ravel music, this relatively unknown work is a great introductory piece for piano students.

Practice/performance tips:
• The tempo indication calls for rubato; nevertheless, make sure to scrupulously count throughout. Students often rush egregiously in places – e.g., between the first and second beats of m. 13 and for the half note in m. 22.
• Ravel's pedal indications are sparse; however, much more pedal is desirable, according to taste.
• Mm. 10-15: Play all the thirds in the left hand with the 2nd and 4th fingers. The left hand, with a high wrist, should hover OVER the right hand (not vice versa). To ensure clean legato with some color, use syncopated damper pedaling, lifting the pedal with each note of the left hand.
• For the right hand chord downbeat of m. 16, play the bottom note (G) with the left hand thumb (it's easier, especially for pianists with smaller hands). Make sure to either physically hold or damper pedal ALL the notes of this rolled chord so that they continue to sound throughout the measure. Savor the full, rich sound of the F minor 9th chord.
• Mm. 17 & 19: For the left hand, try finger pedaling (overholding the notes) rather than damper pedaling and play the right hand notes with clean legato. This way it will sound like you are pedaling in the left hand, but not the right – a cool effect! (If you damper pedal throughout the measures, the right hand will sound dreadful because of the eighth notes "D" and "C".)
• Take seriously Ravel's explicit pedal mark – and the crescendo – at mm. 20-22. Think of the downbeat "D" at m. 22 as a sonorous French horn that carries the melodic line into the ensuing measures (which is why the counterintuitive crescendo is so important).
• M. 23 right hand: Consider playing the bottom-voiced "E" and "D" (2nd & 3rd beats) with the left hand rather than as indicated (it's easier to technically manage the G# tie and the legato).
• The top note "B" at the downbeat of m. 24 is not a tied note (what may look like a tie is just the tail end of a slur). Despite the decrescendo, this "B" must be played with sufficient tone to proclaim itself as the final melody note (everything thereafter is the codetta, which should be played like a dying parenthetical wisp).
• Consider pedaling the last four measures as one long damper pedal if you like the lush sonority (or perhaps do a tapered release to create a kind of evaporation effect). However, if you believe that the piece modulates to C Major at the end, then pedal accordingly – i.e., lift the pedal at that point. (It is wonderfully French of Ravel to leave this issue ambiguous, no?)
• Don't neglect the tempo shifts in mm. 15, 16, 23 and the end of 25. I believe there could be an implied "a tempo" at m. 24. (Robert Schumann was another composer who sometimes wrote ritards without explicitly indicating when to snap back to tempo.)
• Creative souls may consider repeating all but the last two measures – perhaps more often than I did on this recording – in order to do tasteful, stylistically appropriate original variants. One of my students once performed it five times, successively more embellished, until the fifth and final "straight" playthrough (wherein the piece was once again played exactly as written). This is akin to what jazz pianists do when playing from a lead sheet.

• Music (public domain)
https://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Ravel...

• See also "Homage to Ravel" (inspired by this prelude)
   • Homage to Ravel by Arthur Houle, pian...