Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55 No. 1: Ondine

Instrumentation

Collections

Musical Terms (5)

• Ondine French
  The water-spirit — the programmatic character of the first piece of Gaspard de la nuit, depicting a siren-like creature beckoning from the water.
  The entire piece is liquid sound. The right-hand patterns must shimmer without accent; the left-hand bass must anchor without projecting. The long, singing melody must float above the texture as if calling from a distance.
• avec humour French
  With humour — a lightness and wit characteristic of Ravel's ironic sensibility.
  Ravel's humour is dry and precise, not effusive. It emerges from rhythmic exactness, unexpected harmonies, and a slight detachment. Avoid exaggerating the humour; Ravel's wit is understated.
• d un rythme souple French
  With a supple rhythm — flexible but not structureless; a subtle elasticity of pulse.
  Ravel's supple rhythm is not rubato in the Romantic sense; the metric clarity is always present underneath. It is a gentle breathing of the phrase within the framework of a clear pulse.
• net French
  Clean, precise — Ravel's characteristic demand for crisp articulation and harmonic clarity.
  Ravel demanded precision above all else. 'Net' means no blurring, no over-pedaling, no smoothing of edges. His music lives in the clarity of its details.
• tres doux French
  Very sweet, very soft — a specifically tender, intimate quality.
  In Ravel, très doux implies not just a soft dynamic but a particular warmth of tone — like a muted string sound or the pianissimo of a distant flute.