Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55 No. 3: Scarbo

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Musical Terms (5)

• Scarbo French
  The gnome — the programmatic character of the third piece of Gaspard de la nuit, depicting a malevolent, shape-shifting supernatural creature.
  The most technically demanding of the three. Ravel described wanting to write something more difficult than Balakirev's Islamey. The piece requires absolute command of rapid repeated notes, sudden dynamic extremes, and complex textures.
• 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.