Classical Life

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1. 
   MarK

   The Hollywood Bowl program note says that “Bolero consists of a single, sinuous, long line over a hypnotic rhythmic pattern, repeated in brilliantly varied instrumental combinations, rising from pianissimo to a shattering climax”. Nowhere does it say anything about one single melody. “Line” and “Melody” are not exactly synonyms, are they? The words “a single long line” may refer to the entire piece (the rhythmic pattern is in fact repeated with varied instrumentation), because the words “rising from pianissimo to a climax” definitely do refer to the entire piece. The quoted sentence is not perfectly clear but i wouldn’t necessarily call it “wrong”.
   Furthermore, one may certainly look at the two musical phrases as if each of them is a separate melody, but i can see at least as much justification in considering them to be two halves of one long melody, the second being a kind of variation or elaboration on the first. The beginning of the second phrase feels more like a continuation than a new start, and ending of it feels more definitive and final than that of its first sibling. It is probably true that talking about two separate melodies may be more convenient, but that is only because the instrumentation does indeed change for every iteration of each of the two phrases.

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   August 6, 2010 2:38 pm
   • 
     tmangan

     I think the phrase you quote from the program note is at least misleading and probably unclear enough to be considered wrong. “A single, sinuous, long line” seems erroneous to me, even if the writer isn’t speaking of the melodies per se, because the line is continuously interrupted when the melodies end, and we hear a bar or two of the hypnotic rhythmic pattern in between.

     I am sure that the writer knows there are two melodies, or two versions of one melody, or two halves of one melody. But I don’t feel he said it.

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     August 6, 2010 3:10 pm
2. 
   chris

   Yes, there are two themes, albeit similar, in Bolero. Ravel is exactly following the original dance form which alternates two themes in an A-A-B-B pattern. Another angle rarely mentioned is that Ravel was fascinated by machines and has a connection with the relentless quality of the piece, with imagining the machine breaking down at the very end. One writer said Bolero is “The ultimate convergence of…machines and Spanish song…”

   By the way, nice review, Tim. I also agree that Divertimento is a wonderful piece and should certainly be played more.

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   August 6, 2010 3:28 pm
   • 
     MarK

     While Ravel is indeed following the AABB form, the CONTENT of A and B, as well as their relationship to each other, strongly suggest “two halves of one melody” interpretation.
     But of course, the main point is – it works.

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     August 6, 2010 4:44 pm
3. 
   MarK

   We agree that the quoted sentence is not phrased with utmost precision. But i don’t think that momentary breaths (less than two measures) between melodic segments invalidate the point about the whole piece being one single line of gradual intensification, especially because the rhythmic pattern never stops and grows continuously throughout. Mainly though, i am glad that we seem to agree about the possibility that the two tunes are actually halves of one long melody.

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   August 6, 2010 4:33 pm
   • 
     tmangan

     “A single line of gradual intensification” — yes. But when the writer added the word “sinuous,” that clearly signaled to me that he was talking about the melody lines themselves (or in his case, “line”), since the only thing “sinuous” about the build up is the melody.

     I agree that you can hear the two tunes as halves of one long melody, but I do not hear them that way. Maybe flip sides of a coin, one in major and one in minor.

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     August 6, 2010 5:05 pm
4. 
   MarK

   That’s a good point about “sinuous”. Can’t argue with that one.
   But do you really feel that the second “tune” (the B part) is in minor? To me it feels like a clear major. There is an e-flat in it just before the end, but only fleetingly in the melody – not in harmony – and it immediately resolves into the c-major chord. For my ears, that second tune is simply in a different kind of major – a sexier one, if i may say so – compared to the A part which is all pure and virginal (no accidentals).

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   August 8, 2010 1:17 pm
   • 
     tmangan

     The one I hear as minor is the one the trombone plays, in solo. It sounds minor the whole way through, except for the resolution, of course. But maybe “bluesy” is a better word than minor. The upper part of it starts on a B-flat and goes up to a D-flat — very difficult, by the way, and the most difficult solo in all of Bolero. Honestly, though, I’d have to get a score and analyze whether it’s minor or major. Call it modal. Have I hedged enough?

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     August 8, 2010 8:53 pm
5. 
   MarK

   The harmony sounds decidedly major to me throughout that tune (E-natural is repeated in it quite a few times) but “bluesy” is a good word for it. The fleeting E-flat just before the end makes the C-major resolution more colorful, but not unexpected at all.

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   August 9, 2010 11:26 am

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