Ma mère l'oye

Ma mère l' oye ( German: Mother Goose, see also: Mother Goose ) is a composition by Maurice Ravel, which is present in various versions that were created 1908-1911.

History

1908, Ravel composed for the children of a family friend for a fantasy fairy tale La belle au bois dormant ( Sleeping Beauty ) as the piano music for four hands. At the urging of his friends and his publisher Jacques Durand in 1910, he composed four more, also based on fairy tale pieces, which he put together a cycle entitled Ma mère l' oye. Ravel was inspired by stories from a collection of fairy tales, Charles Perrault from 1697, with the subtitle Contes de ma mère l' oye (Eng. stories from my mother, goose ) was provided (see also Mother Goose ). Other motives took Ravel from Tales of Marie-Catherine d' Aulnoy and Jeanne -Marie Leprince de Beaumont. The original pieces are:

• Pavane de la belle au bois dormant
• Petit poucet ( Tom Thumb )
• Laideronnette impératrice, the pagodes (Le serpentine vert, dt The green snake)
• Les entretiens de la belle et de la bête ( Beauty and the Beast )
• Le jardin féerique (Eng. The fairytale garden - whether, and if so, from which fairy tale this subject is taken, it is unclear probably has Ravel these thematic conclusion of his compositional cycle itself devised )

Ma mère l' oye was published on 20 April 1910. After great sales and audience success Ravel orchestrated the piano music and created a five-movement suite, which a year later to a ballet with a Prelude, an introductory sentence under the title Danse du rouet et scène and reconciliations ( Interludes ) between sets ( Tableaux ) goal for. The ballet was first performed on 28 January 1911 at the Théâtre des Arts in Paris.

Reception

The in the piano version is technically relatively simple pieces were enthusiastically received not only by amateur pianists and listeners, but also by professional pianists and music critics, who " always fascinated by the fact [ showed ] that one of such a simple, yes just to simple music such a strong effect emanates. " Theodor Adorno wrote: "Ma Mère l' Oye is to be placed on the page in their innocence and sophistication Schumann's Kinderszenen, Mussorgsky nursery and Debussy's Children's Corner. "

In Germany Kultur Björn Gottstein said in 2012: " ' Childlike ' and ' witty ' are Ravel's Mother Goose key terms one hand, characterizes the simplicity of the musical invoice the entire cycle Ravel dips his tale into a bizarre world of sound almost supernatural beauty empty with many. .. intervals, with fourths, fifths and octaves so, and modal melodies that seem almost medieval, it evokes a feeling of timelessness. " The orchestral versions were praised by audiences and critics alike, are often performed to this day and are just like the piano version in numerous recordings of famous performers before.