Ravel the arranger

It is common practice for composers to make arrangements and transcriptions of their own or other composers’ music. However, Maurice Ravel stands out by his piano and orchestral transcriptions which constitute a prominent part of his works and reveal certain creative purposes and techniques. This shapes the subject of the article which, inter alia, also focuses on terminology not typical for Russian musicology. The study is novel as it examines Ravel’s transcriptions that have been virtually out of research or performance scope in Russia, namely, Debussy’s “Danse” and “Sarabande”, Chabrier’s “Menuet pompeux”, and others. The paper describes Ravel’s transcriptions from three perspectives: time of creation, the original author’s material developed by Ravel, and timbre interpretation. The orchestral versions of his own piano compositions (“Pavana of the Sleeping Infante,” “Tomb of Couperin”, “Alborada”, etc.), as well as compositions by other authors (Debussy, Chabrier, Mussorgsky) form the biggest part of Ravel’s heritage. The article compares compositions written in different timbres as well as different approaches Ravel uses to make piano arrangements, hence, the comparative method is central to the study. Ravel’s piano transcriptions show him as an attentive arranger sensitive to the subtleties of the score as well as a diligent student who has “digested” and mastered the original sound material, which, subsequently, influenced his own work. Creating orchestral versions of his own and his colleagues’ works, the composer remakes and interprets originals in a new way. Ravel’s orchestral instinct, his brilliant timbre ear, attention to structural detail, sense of proportion as well as his impeccable taste make him a genuine master of arrangement

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