PlayPiano
The short answer
The middle poem of a three-part piano cycle. Le Gibet, Gaspard de la nuit, II is a character piece by Maurice Ravel. PlayPiano puts it at Level 9, an estimate.
- character piece
- Key of E-flat minor
- melancholic
Also known as Le Gibet - No. 2 from Gaspard de la Nuit - Maurice Ravel; Le Gibet: Gaspard de la nuit, II.
History
Le Gibet is the middle piece in Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit. The cycle draws on prose poems by Aloysius Bertrand, joining a literary source to a three-part solo-piano work. Its place in that cycle is useful context for exploring the companion pieces; it does not make this single edition a complete performance of the whole set.
Sources
What to listen for
A continuing toll
Listen for the persistent bell-like layer within the still texture described by Nichols.
How to practise it
Keep the recurring octave sonority controlled through its ties.
- Practise the written attacks without adding attacks at tie continuations.
- Practise the two encoded upper layers slowly, retaining their distinct durations.
- Connect the examined gestures slowly while keeping the stated layers distinct.
How hard is it
A persistent repeated-note layer beneath shifting harmonies requires exceptional voicing independence, soft control and sustained architectural concentration.
About this piece
- Collection
- French piano colors
- Licence
- CC0
- Source
- musescore.com
More by Maurice Ravel
- Prélude (1913)Level 5, estimatedWith Maestro
- Pavane pour une infante défunte, M. 19Level 7, estimatedWith Maestro
- Jeux d’eau, M. 30Level 9, estimatedWith Maestro
