Gaspard de la Nuit - Ondine

Of the three in my Water Pieces collection, Ondine would have to be the most difficult. When listening to it, the fluidity and calm nature of the piece lend to make a calm and simplistic sound, when in reality the number of notes crammed into each measure to be played with the utmost delicacy makes the piece all the more challenging. For those who aren't familiar with Gaspard de la Nuit, it is a set a three pieces based off a poem written by Aloysuis Bertrand. In the piano world, Gaspard de la Nuit is known to be the most difficult solo piano literature but honestly I think there are other pieces that are equally as difficult.

Ondine is about a water sprite that lures men into her lake promising a life of luxury as king of the lake. If a man falls into such a trap and follows Ondine down to the bottom of the lake, they soon realize there is nothing but emptiness... once they come to the realization and snap out of Ondine's spell, she bursts into laughter and all the water comes down over the man drowning him. When I play Ondine, I can definitely hear this story and try to incorporate it into every note. Throughout the piece there is a main theme which I think is Ondine's voice that lures men to her lake. The piece eventually works up to a grand climax which I think symbolizes the height of the illusion of a magnificent kingdom in the lake. At the end, Ondine's tune is played for the last time only by the right hand with the most empty hollow sound that illustrates the realization that there is nothing at the bottom of the lake. This is then followed by a bursting series of arpeggiated dissonant chords symbolizing her laughter followed by the water caving in over the man drowning him. The last measures mimic the first few measures sounding like the water of the lake went back to a calm state as if nothing happened...

It's quite the tale and it's one of my favorite pieces to play not only because of the great climax in the middle, but the story that goes along with it.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Gaspard de la Nuit
• Ondine
• Ravel
• Dennis McNulty

[bfcerny]

Ummmm...I didn't know you could do that! I knew you said you played piano, but I was thinking like Mary had a Little lamb or Twinkle Twinkle...Holy Shit! Great Job!

Cerny