Miroirs

Ravel was one of the most fastidious of composers, with an ingrained fear of repeating himself. Each of his works creates a distinct sound world. There are Ravelian traits, of course, stylistic fingerprints and compositional techniques that become familiar, but each piece has its own specific character. The set of five gorgeously crafted solo piano miniatures comprising Miroirs was composed in 1905, the year Debussy completed his first book of Images. The opening “Noctuelles” (“Moths”) evokes the irregular flight of these nocturnal insects with perpetual rhythmic asymmetry and fluttering textures played softly. For the pianist, Ravel’s music is often at its most treacherous at quiet dynamics. “Oiseaux tristes” (“Sad Birds”) portrays an image of birds in a dense forest in the hottest hours of summer, while “Une barque sur l’océan” (“A Boat on the Ocean”) is a water piece with surges of arpeggios throughout. “Alborada del gracioso” (the Spanish title doesn’t translate easily, but it can be understood as “Morning Song of the Jester”) is one of the most popular of Ravel’s pieces, with repeated notes, like a strumming guitar, which are notoriously perilous for the pianist. Finally, “Les vallée des cloches” (“The Valley of the Bells”) reflects the sound of midday bells in Paris—tolling bells are a common reference in piano music from Liszt to Rachmaninoff, and Ravel’s example evokes a unique colour and atmosphere. He later orchestrated “Une barque sur l’océan” and “Alborada del gracioso”.