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The Music of France Maurice Ravel, The Jewish. Genius R AVEL was born, March 7, 1875, in Ci- boure, a small town in southwestern France, just across the border from the land of the [Basques, the mysterious people who inhabit north western Spain. At an early age, how ever, he was taken in Paris, and as he has lived in or near the French capital ever since, the influence of (environment on his w’ork has been more Parisian than Spanish. In 1889 he was admitted to the Conservatoire, where he received the usual thorough foundational (musical training there given. Five or six years (later, at the publication of his Hahanera, the musi cal world was given notice of the appearance of a young composer whose work was strikingly orig inal in character. This short though highly col ored piece was later incorporated into the orches tral composition, Rhapsodic Espagnole, which was first played in 1908, and still appears frequently bn symphonic programs. It is undoubtedly sig nificant of one aspect of his character that this [early composition as well as the high-seasoned (musical comedy of his middle years, L’Heure Kspagnole (“The Spanish Hour”) and one of his [later works which more than any other has made the name of Ravel w’ell known in the United States, the Bolero,—are all Spanish in idiom. During the years following the publications of the Habanera, Ravel continued his studies at [Paris, pursuing some of the deepest mysteries of jhis art with two famous masters, Andre Gedalge [and Gabriel Faure—the former one of the world’s ^nost remarkable masters of the art of counter- <>int and fugue, the latter one of the great com- 'psers of modern France, who brilliantly cham pioned the theory that originality of melody and larmony should be sought within the limits of lassical form. Under Gedalge, Ravel doubtless tamed much of his own uncanny technical facility |n his art; and under Faure, w r hose work espe- •ally roused his enthusiasm, the younger com- [*>$er learned the deep regard for formal perfec tion that has alw’ays characterized his composi tions. And it seems that Ravel has acknowledged P ,n debtedness by dedicating the Quartet in F, mon cher maftre Gabriel Faure. 1 he youthful composer also fell under the spell that strange genius, Erik Satie. The uncon ventional titles Satie gave his compositions were In themselves enough to frighten the more conserva- tl%c portion of the musical public. (For instance, lj°me of his pieces are named: “Genuine lazy pre ludes for a dog,” “The man carrying heavy stone*, “Disagreeable glimpses.”) His music is ften most pointedly ironical in character, his har- n*»nies are revolutionary. The story is told that *t the harmony class at the Conservatoire, while plaiting for their teacher, Ravel used to play at ! cs ^arabandes and Gymnopedies to his scan- lalized fellow-students. • ^^ile he was continuing his studies, the ever- industrious Ravel also produced a number of im Who Has Revolutionized Modern Music By Jacques Eberle Maurice Ravel’s position in contemporary music is that of a master who dominates modern music not only in France but perhaps throughout the world. Recog nized among professional musicians as the genius of his time, Ravel leads a poor and solitary life in France. The RCA Tictor Company has just issued a special album of phonograph records containing Ravel’s im mortal composition "Trio in a Minor.” On this occa sion which definitely acknowledges Ravel’s unchallenged position in the music world, Mr. F.berle contributes this fine estimate of Rax*el the man and the composer.— THE EDITOR. portant compositions, notably the well-known piano pieces, Pavane pour une Infante defunte and Jeuz d’Eau. In 1901 he entered the contest for the Prix de Rome. The winner of this prize is en titled to three years’ residence in Rome at govern ment expense and so insured of the leisure to de vote himself to musical composition in the favor able environment of the Eternal City. Ravel’s sense of humor—or at least of artistic propriety, here betrayed him. For the text, of the cantata, W’hich the contestants were required to set to music, was of such maudlin sentimentality that Ravel w r as moved to write his cantata in tbe lan guorous W'altz style of a comic opera. Some of the judges, evidently suspecting the ironic impli cations, objected to Ravel’s being awarded the Prix de Rome that his w’ork merited, and a com promise was reached by giving him the rather empty honor of a second prize. Having once re ceived this official stigma, he again failed in 1902 and 1903, and in 1905 was even refused admittance to the contest, although that decision kindled gen eral indignation, for by that time Ravel had be come recognized as a composer of importance, even by those w r ho disapproved of his artistic methods. Meanwhile, undismayed by this lack of official recognition, Ravel had composed a number of sig nificant works—Sheherazade (1903), for voice and orchestra, marked by its subtly atmospheric orientalism, Miroirs (1905) and the Sonatine (1903-5) for piano, and his String Quartet in F, a work which more than any other he had writ ten up to that date (1902-3) made him favorably known to the general public. His Histories Naturelles (1906) when first performed, though winning a considerable success, provoked a criti cal storm because of their realistic and advanced musical style. More immediate recognition, how ever, w'as awarded his ballet Daphnis et Chloe (1912), now- generally regarded as his master piece. At the beginning of the World War in 1914, Ravel joined the colors but was soon invalided home. He now lives in a little village not far £/om Paris. It is said that unusual decoration £od furniture with which he has supplied his cottage there, are evidence of his rare taste in arts other than music. The seclusion of village life affords him an ideal environment for composi tion. This is broken into occasionally by concert MAURICE RAVEL envokes images in the minds of his hearers. appearances, and by sojourns in the more brilliant musical life of Paris. Among his works written since the war should be mentioned: the suite of piano pieces written in memory of fallen comrades in arms, Lc Tombeau de Couperin (1918); La Valse for orchestra (1921); and the Bolero (1928), the most amazing orchestral tour de force of recent times. Asked to give a single word descriptive of the music of Maurice Ravel, one would be rather hard pressed, for the variety of the moods he expressed are many and his style has undergone a slow’ though constant development. Subtle, elu sive often satiric and ironical, humorous, but not without sympathy, sensitive, even nervous,—such are the more striking characteristics of his style. Formerly Ravel’s music was criticized adversely as a mere “plagiarism of Debussy.” But such an indictment is no more true than would be the statement that Wagner plagiarized Weber, or Beethoven plagiarized Mozart and Haydn. Ravel like every artist—whether painter, poet or musi cian—learned from his predecessors and contem poraries. Moreover, according to the testimony of one of his teachers, Ravel began to show some of his characteristic harmonic traits even as a boy of twelve years, and although we sometimes find him indulging in a form of musical impressionism akin to Debussy’s, that was natural to him whose career began during the very height of the Im pressionist movement. As time has passed and the art of musical com position has undergone changes, so too, his style has advanced. Ravel, like Debussy, at the begin ning of his career was greatly influenced by the Russian nationalist composers, such as Rimsky- Korsakow and Moussorgsky. Both are alike in their fondness for the archaic, and in admiration for the early French composer, Couperin. One has only to recall the restrained, elegiac “Pavan for a dead Princess,” and the quaintness, finesse and delicate wit of the “Mother Goose” suite, to appreciate this subtle influence acting on Ravel’s art. On the other hand, Debussy obtains many of his most moving effects by use of ninth chords: Ravel is much more fond of the more acrid major sevenths. Debussy makes (Please turn to page 18) THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE * [7]