Ravel's "Bolero" - the COMPLETE, DEFINITIVE version

[zhaaaaaj]

I was lookin' 4 this, thanks !

[slammy102]

sex music

[Murilobuzzard]

Amazing! You can feel orchestra moving on, slowly like a big caravan. Always I had this image in my mind when I'm listening this song, and now with this version the image is so clear.

Thank you

[rodsling]

this is a precise test for any orchesta... progressive and precise getting more and more complex... like assembling a clock, i dont know, but it is great. thanks for this vynil version.

[MariayYolanda]

BEAUTIFUL

[str8ngrrr]

No, the vinyl noise is BEAUTIFUL. Analog rules !!

[Ann36tim]

I used to pretend "conduct" with my father to this record, (yes, vinyl record) when I was little, about 8 years old....a loong time ago...lol...listening to this version brought such a smile to my face,and brought back great memories of my father and I, pretending that we were conductors. Kudos..beautiful tempo. thank you.

[napejack]

legendary version with mehta is the best!

[tomxchao]

This is the correct tempo.

[TheClam88]

@tomxchao no.Too slow.

[clovengoatlord]

Snap, Crackle, and Pop called, they want their audio fidelity back.

[homerosalazar]

almost there with the tempo, but, it's one of the best that i've heard =)

[drakedt]

hm.. I often sit in a chair and listen to Bolero with headphones, quite loudly.. lol. Thanks for sharing this.  I was reading up on the piece, and read that Ravel played it slower originally as well as being quoted saying it was a seventeen minute piece. I really appreciate getting to hear a different perspective on this from the one I'm used to. Thanks.

[carllafong69]

@drakedt My pleasure. Ravel's Bolero is essentially a SLOW WALTZ - but since the 3/4 time is so SLOW, most arrangements concentrate on the much faster, overlaid DRUM part. RATT-A-TAT-TATT! RATT-A-TAT-TATT!!

But Kletzki eases BACK (just a little) on the drums and emphasises that 3/4 time more (which is apparent when you can hear the BASS - hence my instruction in the info panel to RAMP IT UP!)

THANKS for the info about Ravel saying the piece should run 17 minutes. Kletzski takes 16:49!

[bassoprof]

This is one of the best Boleros on You Tube. I have a really great CD of Bolero, played by the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of by Arpad Joo. Unfortunately, I do not know how to upload it.

[MaisSimples]

So, so wonderful!!!!!

Thanks! And Happy New Year!!

[wetleatherpants]

scratches and all..............my favorite, thank you very much.....and thank you Torvill and Dean Sarajavio 1988 winter olympics................

[sticksnsnare]

Fantastic version; the tempo is luscious. Thanks so much for sharing!

[wallybobby66]

Thanks so much for uploading.... love the vinyl ticks at the beginning/end....takes one back to the days before aps etc...ah............ nothing beats vinyl! This is one serious piece of music awesomeness abounds...Mehta's rendition of same

with Boston Phil is amazing as well...Thanks again

[heartlessmushroom]

When I listen to this song , I am reminded of evolution. Slow, constant and growing ever more incredible.

[RangerInParadise]

Torture? Nothing this beautiful can be torture. It's hardly repetitious either in that each so-called repetition is different from the last. There's hardly a popular song these days that isn't two verses long and repeated twice. THAT is repetition. In my humble opinion.

[carllafong69]

@RangerInParadise Oh dear! I only retold the story of my first encounter with this piece as an ANECDOTE - I didn't say the piece WAS torture! I TOO love it! Indeed, I uploaded THIS version because I've heard MANY interpretations and this is the BEST I've heard.

Like all classical pieces, the interpreter has (almost) carte blanche to vary tempo, attack, emphasis, etc. And here, unlike most, Paul Kletzki emphasizes the three main beats, rather than the snare-drum pattern.

So, I decided to SHARE!

[NielsC68]

@carllafong69 "Like all classical pieces, the interpreter has (almost) carte blanche to vary tempo, attack, emphasis, etc." Hmm, yes. But Ravel himself preferred around 60-66 per quarter. His own recording from 1930 is almost 16 minutes in length, while he stated that he composed a 17 minute piece. Much faster than 16 minutes or so, and this epic composition suffers IMHO.

[TheClam88]

@NielsC68 Exactly

[carllafong69]

@NielsC68 Absolutely. People have gotten used to it being THRASHED through in around 10 minutes or so. Someone else also remarked how Ravel himself said he composed it to run 17 minutes. (Incidentally, sorry for the delay in answering - this comment got past me. Happy New Year!)

[TheClam88]

@carllafong69 The orchestration here is way too slow, and too shrill--maybe its the way it was recorded. The best Bolero interpretation is NY Philharmonic under Bernstein, 1958.

[carllafong69]

@TheClam88 I like the flowing beat of this version - too many concentrate on the rhythm. And I ADORE the tempo. But each to their own. I'll see if I can find the version you mentioned...

[finkso]

@TheClam88 yes it's a very recording, but have listen too Eiji Oue Osaka's i think it may be better. I have to agree with you about this being to slow, find yourself willing them on ha ha hahaha

[TheAltair4]

I'm sorry but i find the notion of this beautiful piece being used as an instrument of torture laughable and ludicrous to the extreme. I could happily listen to ths brilliance all day long myself. lol

[carllafong69]

@TheAltair4 LOL myself! Of course, you're right. I don't know how this discussion of torture got started. Oh yes - it was ME - in my info panel! Well - it WAS just anecdotal. I love the piece for what it IS. And I've always considered Paul Kletzki's version to be the best. I just wish I had it in stereo...

[SordidSentinel100]

Do you happen to know anything else about that TV show? I remember hearing something in a story about the song being able to cause insanity or some kind of emotional breakdown from the repetition if you listen to it enough, and about it being used in torture/interrogation. The concept peaked my interest because I listened to this song right before I fell asleep and then I had strange nightmare after nightmare until I woke up, which almost never happens to me. And I like the song, so it's odd.

[carllafong69]

@SordidSentinel100 It MIGHT have been an early "Avengers" episode - but it was SO long ago...

I don't think they could have played MUCH of it, given the constraints of time and having to move the story along.

As to whether it could actually WORK as an instrument of torture - well, of course the gradual increase in VOLUME would hurt like hell, if it started OFF high. But as to the REPETITION... Hmmm.

I DO know that "white noise" (hiss) can be used to disorientate people. So maybe...