First Album Released: RAVEL GASPARD DE LA NUIT (LIVE IN CONCERT)
I’m thrilled to announce my first album released to streaming services worldwide. Ravel Gaspard de la nuit (Live in Concert) is available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and other streaming platforms. I hope you listen to it today!
Gaspard de la nuit is one of the most hauntingly beautiful, colorful, and vividly imaginative works in the piano repertoire. It is a living, breathing work of music that can never be performed the same way twice. It has grown with me, becoming a lifelong companion whose presence will never become dull. This is the beauty of Ravel’s music and particularly this work.
This album was previously recorded live in concert for my Philadelphia debut presented by Astral (2019). That concert was the culmination of some of my biggest musical passions. It included works by groundbreaking female composers like Lili Boulanger and Grazyna Bacewicz, as well as a world premiere of a brilliant new work by Alexandra Gardner. Also on the program were two of the most important movements of Messiaen’s monumental Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus, a work which took me on a Fulbright year to Paris in 2011, and one that continues to amaze me as I dig deeper even today. The program concluded with Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit, an extraordinary kaleidoscope of French culture and pianism, which I encourage you to listen to now.
There are three movements in this work: “Ondine”, “Le Gibet”, and “Scarbo”. These are all based on a collection of poems written by Aloysius Bertrand. Ravel used Bertrand’s same name to title his own work, Gaspard de la nuit.
The word “Gaspard” originated in Persian form and means something along the lines of "the man in charge of the royal treasures". But since this also has a dark overlay with “la nuit” (the night), this character could be considered the devil.
“Ondine” is about a nymph named Undine who tries to seduce an observer to the bottom of a lake. “Le Gibet” is where the observer looks at a desert and sees a hung corpse against a setting sun while bells toll in the distance. “Scarbo” is based on a poem about a goblin flitting about in darkness, creating a nightmare for the observer in bed.
As you can see, this poor observer is being severely tormented even if in their own mind. That constant battle is evident in Ravel’s score.
Thanks for taking the time to hear about my new album and hope you take a listen soon.
Wishing everyone a beautiful start to the holiday season! Click the links below to stream.