Rapsodie Espagnole

Ravel felt a deep connection with Spain. He was born in the Basque town of Ciboure, in southwest France, not far from the Spanish border. His Basque mother was raised in Spain; his father was a French railroad engineer. They first met in Madrid. No wonder the composer followed in the footsteps of a long line of French composers—think Bizet’s Carmen (1875), Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole (1875), Chabrier’s España (1883)—who looked across the Spanish border for inspiration. His attachment to the country found its fullest expression in 1907 with a series of works: the Vocalise-étude en forme de Habanera; the one-act opera L’heure espagnole; and this orchestral evocation, the Rapsodie Espagnole. What is it that gives Ravel’s Rapsodie its national character? One answer is provided by the Andalusian composer Manuel de Falla, who praised Ravel’s free use of modal melodies, rhythms and ornamental figures drawn from the music that was popular in Spain at the time. These are finely woven into the orchestral fabric of Ravel’s work. The Rapsodie's first movement, “Prélude à la nuit", opens with a descending four-note motif that returns in both the “Malagueña” second movement and the final, vibrant “Feria". The third section, “Habanera"—originally conceived for two pianos in 1895—most likely influenced the second piece, “La soirée dans Grenade”, of Debussy’s three-movement piano suite, Estampes (1903).