Rêves, song for voice & piano

• Date: 1927
• Composer: Maurice Ravel
• Period: Modern (1910-1949)

Review

The story of the genesis of "Rêves" is a fascinating one. From about 1900 until the outbreak of World War I, Ravel belonged to a group of enthusiastic, individualistic artists who called themselves the "Apaches." The circle, which typically gathered on Saturday nights, included such important figures from the visual, literary and performing arts as the poet Tristan Klingsor, the decorator Georges Mouveau, composers Manuel de Falla, Florent Schmitt, and for a brief time, Igor Stravinsky. Amid this warm, sometimes impassioned atmosphere of mutual encouragement, Ravel met the poet Léon-Paul Fargue. In 1927, more than a decade after the society folded, Ravel set Fargue's poem "Rêves" from the collection "Pour la musique" (1898) for voice and piano.

Ravel's setting of "Rêves" underscores the gentle lyricism of the poetry, utilizing a minimum of notes. An extended ostinato passage evokes a train whistle, and the postlude restates the melody of the introduction with fresh accompaniment, concluding with a brief bitonal passage. ~ Brian Wise, Rovi

Albums with Complete Performances of the Work

Title	Date
Aldo Ciccolini: Enregistrements EMI 1950-1991	2011
Debussy, Duparc, Fauré, Ravel: Mélodies (Box Set)	2001
Irène Joachim: Lieder et mélodies	2000
Les Musiques de Claude Monet: Ravel, Debussy, Fauré & Saint-Saëns	2010
Music and Painters	2011
Ravel: Melodies
Ravel: Mélodies	2001
Ravel: Mélodies	1984
Ravel: Mélodies	2001
Ravel: Mélodies	1984
Ravel: Songs for Voice & Piano	2003
The Art of Yolanda Marcoulescou, Vol. 1	1997

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