Views And Reviews: Ravel’s Bolero
“What a strange character was Ravel!’’ writes Paul Serotsky. "Although inhibited (some say “repressed”), his music includes some of the ostensibly most sexy ever written, the Rapsodie Espagnole for one.’’
Paul introduces us to Ravel’s famous work Bolero.
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Ravel (1875-1937) – Bolero
What a strange character was Ravel! Apparently, his mother was the only person he ever loved, yet he was a warm-hearted friend. Although inhibited (some say “repressed”), his music includes some of the ostensibly most sexy ever written, the Rapsodie Espagnole for one. He was sensitive to the poetic, yet fascinated by mechanical objects like clocks and toys. To a degree, these conflicts came to a head in Bolero, which was written as a ballet for Ida Rubenstein.
The ballet’s action takes place in a seedy tavern. At first, a single dancer holds the floor. Gradually, others join in, and things get erotically competitive. Finally, as passions flare and the knives come out, the curtain falls. Ravel disliked this scenario, saying that he would have preferred one which accentuated the music's mechanical, rather than sexual potential. I wonder, did it ever cross his mind how closely related these two are?
The development of music is largely founded on successive composers picking up ideas and building on them. Apart from Messiaen in the penultimate movement of Turangalila-Symphonie (which lasts all of two minutes!), I can think of no-one who has taken the idea of Bolero and made anything out of it other than sheer tripe (I choose my words carefully). Bolero, let's face it, is quintessential tripe.
Over an invariant, asymmetrical four-bar snare drum rhythm, the same theme cycles relentlessly, the first half twice, then the second half twice, and those four segments four times over. The tempo is rigid, the rhythm fixed, the tonality (C majeure, naturellement) utterly unwavering. Only the orchestration and amplitude change, the former ticking over precisely at the start of each segment, the latter remorselessly increasing.
Finally, just as your shredded programme booklet falls apart, everything changes! The tune finally gets played right through, tempo and tonality shift, and the “heavy metal” move in for the kill. Tripe? Oh, yes indeed! But – and this is a Big “But” – it's also breathtakingly bold and original music, a “one-off” par excellence.
© Paul Serotsky
