The masterpiece created by composer Maurice Ravel, "Bolero", for the ballerina Ida Rubinstein, is the last meeting of his work with a symphony orchestra.
The Spanish musical theme, developed into an independent work, famous all over the world and at all times - “Bolero”, Ravel created much wider in artistic design than a simple choreographic sketch. Although the ballerina gained her share of fame, the subsequent life of the symphonic picture gained much greater significance. Even Ravel’s first “Spanish” work, Spanish Rhapsody, is not such a grandiose fortune. In “Bolero” Ravel not only ignored the impressionistic aesthetics, but the unpretentious Spanish dance itself is absent here, the inexorable rhythm of this music beats the flow of “long time” - Cosmos, Universe.
Building a work
One of the longest melodic themes in the history of world music - as many as thirty-four measures - relentless, steady, persistently repeating, tenaciously holds all this building, which has grown to universal dimensions. By the way, this melody would not have fallen on a purely Spanish bolero.
The pace is twice as slow as in a folk bolero. Ravel amazed music lovers: there is no climax in this melody! But there are stops on different beats of the beat. But what a smoothness, progression and gradualness, inexorable undulating, exceptional rhythmic expressiveness. The three main components of the construction are ostinato melodies, ostinato rhythmic accompaniment, a single tempo, without the slightest acceleration. Received increase in voltage is achieved due to the dynamics and instrumentation.
Instrumentation
Two small drums begin, gradually convening the rest. At the end of “Bolero,” Ravel impresses the audience with the fact that the same rhythmic accompaniment sounds already performed not only by all the drums, but also by woodwinds - flutes, oboes, clarinets, and brass instruments - trumpets, horns, and even the whole string band! And here is another interesting feature: the strings here do not solo! They imitate the sound of folk instruments - simple mandolins and guitars.
Dynamics
This Ravelev crescendo is a great unifying force. Only Beethoven and Rachmaninoff can compare in the growth of orchestral power, and that’s relatively. Terraces are dynamics from Bach and only from him. Although, I must admit - a crescendo covering the whole work - here Ravel turned out to be much "cooler" than all.
Orchestral style
The miracle of orchestration in “Bolero” Ravel did thanks to the introduction of old and forgotten instruments in the symphony orchestra - celesta, small trumpet, saxophones and oboe d'amur, which greatly diversified the tonal palette of sound. Moreover, the timbres were basically used pure, not mixed, with the exception of episodes when instruments of the same group are connected - to enhance the sound. The most sophisticated ear amazes with its novelty such music. Ravel "Bolero" was carved as if from a single block of marble - there are not even transitions from tonality to tonality. Only in the climax of the C major, which seemed eternal and the best, a divine flash illuminated the audience in E major. Like a cloud that has captured the whole world, a tutti is suddenly pierced by the powerful and clear sound of four trumpets, then trombones, drums ... and that's all. Apocalypse. However, the program content of this work is interpreted quite widely - from strip dance to the resistance of the Spanish patriotic forces to the enemy threat. This depends on the level of perception of the listener.