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Ravel's Letters to Calvocoressi: With Notes and CommentsAuthor(s): M. D. Calvocoressi and Maurice RavelSource: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Jan., 1941), pp. 1-19Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/739362

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VOL. XXVII, No. i JANUARY, '941

T H E MUSICALQUARTELY

RAVEL'S LETTERS TO CALVOCORESSI

WITH NOTES AND COMMENTS

By M. D. CALVOCORESSI

IN 1898 a friend introduced me to a French family at whose house

informalgatherings

tookplace

onSundays.

There I met Ravelfor the first time. He was in Faure'scompositionclassat the Con-

servatoire,and I an auditeur (non-matriculatedpupil) in XavierLeroux's harmony class. We met there nearly every Sunday forseveralmonths. We used to talk a lot about music;andI felt veryexcited, becausehe was the firstfull-fledgedcomposerof my own

generationI had come into contact with. Yet, I never suspectedthat a close friendshipwould develop between us. We were verydifferent in temperament and in musical outlook: he already

mature musically, I still very callow; both peremptory,but he ina reserved,aloof way, andI, asoften asnot, ratherboisterouslyso.I found his attitudetowards music (and especiallytowardsWag-ner, Franck,and d'Indy) baffling;andhe musthave thought minerathersilly. Still, he always seemedto enjoy our talks.There wasno music at those gatherings;and I did not get acquaintedwith

any of hiscompositionsat the time.Circumstancescompelled me to give up my musical studies

from1899

to 1901, andduring

thatperiod

I saw no more of him.I

Copyright, 1940, by G. Schirmer,Inc.

_____ ___ _ . _ ___ . _ __



2 The MusicalQuarterly

Then, we met again-at the Conservatoirethis time. I became

acquaintedwith his works, publishedand unpublished,and they

appealed o me very much.We discovered hatwe were both keenon certainRussiancomposers,and decided to join forces in study-

ing their works.His correspondencewith me startedin I902, when, while on

holiday, he sent me from Saint-Jean-de-Luztwo picture post-cards:one a view of the harborof Ciboure, ncludingthe houseinwhich he was born (this part of the harbor now bearsthe name

"Quai Maurice Ravel"); the other a formalized landscapewithhis

photograph

nset.The cards are

reproducedopposite

this

page.Until I914 he had little taste for correspondence',and whenhis friendsreceived letters from him-even in reply to urgent in-

quiries-they considered themselves fortunate. The next three

messagesI had from him were notes left on occasions when hefailed to find me at home.

[Autumn 1902]

Je suis rentre depuis quelques jours. Je regrette de ne pas vous trouverchez vous, et tacherai de venir Lundi apres-midi. Vous pouvez, des a pre-sent, commencer la traduction de Pelleas et en soumettre quelques frag-ments a Debussy.

I came back to town a few days ago. Sorry not to find you at home,and shall try to call on Monday afternoon. You may start translating"Pelleas"forthwith, and submit a few passagesto Debussy.

Wishing to contribute to the diffusion abroad of Debussy'swork (first producedthat May) I hadthought of trying my handat translating he text into German. I submittedthe rashnotion to

Fromont, the publisher,who referredme to Debussy. I then asked

Ravel to throw out a feeler. Needless to say, nothing came of thescheme.

[Autumn 905?]Mon vieux, je sais bien que c'est pas genial, mais cela pourra aller pour

le moment. Peut-etre la recommencerai-je une troisieme fois!!

Old man, I know this ain't no masterpiece [Ravel jocularly used the

vulgarism "c'est pas" for "ce n'est pas"], but it may do for the time being.Perhaps I shall start on it afresh for the third time!!

In I904 Ravel, at my suggestion, composed accompaniments

for Greek folk-songs illustratinga lectureby PierreAubry. After-1But not so during the Great War. Some of the many letters he wrote then are

published in Roland-Manuel's"A la gloire de Ravel" (Paris, 1938) and the Ravelmemorialnumber of the Revue Musicale (December 1938).



Two Postcards sent from Saint-Jean-de-Luz byMaurice Ravel to M. D. Calvocoressi in September, 1902

(Translations on the reverse of this page'



St.-Jean-de-Luz- 41 rue Gambetta

A thousand kind remembrances. I am here until the end of

September. I should be very happy if you would be willing

not to imitate my silence and to give me news of yourself.

Respectful greetings to your mother.

Maurice Ravel

This, dear friend, is to give you an idea of the house in

which I was born, which may be found towards the middle of

the card. Respectful greetings to your mother and cordially

yours

Maurice Ravel



Ravel'sLettersto Calvocoressi

wards, he did a second batch in view of lectures of mine. The

above note covered an arrangementof No. 79 in Hubert Pernot's

"ChansonsPopulairesde l'Ile de Chio",a dirge-one of severalhedecided not to publish.

[I905?]Mon cher Calvo

Voulez-vous telephonerdans la matineede demainJeudi a Madame

Cruppi?Elle a un renseignement vous demander elativementa Russianet Ludmilla.Mercid'avance, t abient6t.

Will you ring up MadameCruppitomorrowmorning?She wishesforsome informationconcerning"Ruslan ndLiudmila".

MadameCruppiwas the wife of the well known French poli-tician (Ministerof War in 1914), and a keen music-lover.Ravel

and I used to help her organize performances n her home of Rus-sianoperasand choralworks then unknown to the French public.

The next communication laid a heavy responsibilityon myshoulders:

Mercredi [February i906]Mon vieux Calvo,vs trouverez ci-inclus2 missives,une simplecarte et

unelettre,destineesa P.L....

Dans la lettre, je n'en appellepoint au jugementd'uncritique,commevs pourrezvous en assurer,maisaussipolimentque possiblea sabonne foi.

Jettez l'une des deux a la poste, l'autre au panier.Je m'en rapporteabsolument a vous.

Excusez a corvee.Poigneede pattes.Herewith two missives intended for P.L.... the one just a card, the

othera letter.In the letter I appeal,not to a critic'sjudgment,asyou willbe able to see, but as politely as possibleto his good faith. Post the one,throw the other into the waste-paperbasket.I leave it entirely to you.Excusemy imposing he task.Shakeyour paw.

Pierre Lalo, the critic of Le Temps, was ever disparagingRavel's music and describingit as a slavish imitation of Debussy.Reviewing the firstperformanceof "Miroirs",he hadpraised"the

delicacy, elegance and musicianlyquality of Ravel's art",but onthe other hand had written:

His music bearsa strangeresemblanceo Debussy's;a resemblance o

striking hatoften, while listening o a piece of his,one feels asif onewere

hearinga page from "Pelleaset Melisande".Debussycreateda new styleof writingfor the piano,a specialstyle entirelyhisown [Laloproceeds odescribethis style]. Forthwith all the young composersstartedimitatingthisstyle in theirpianomusic.

(Le Temps. January 30, 1906)

3



The MusicalQuarterly

Ravel considered hat Lalo was misrepresenting point of fact. Hewas right. Nowadays it is acknowledged that he and Debussy

occasionallyreacted upon one another,but that in the matterofwriting for the piano Ravel's "Jeux d'eau",composed in 90oI,

owed nothing to Debussy-a point made by Ravel in his reply,as will presently be seen-whereas Debussy's later piano musicowed somethingto Ravel's.

Still, it was difficult for me to decide whether to advise Ravelto enter a circumstantialprotest:nor did I approveof the alterna-

tive, a visitingcard with a few words of thanks,obviouslyironicalin their laconism,and with no reference to the impeachment.So

I got hold of him, and we discussedmatters.I pointed out to himthat, as a rule, critics were adeptsin the art of twisting their con-tradictors'utterancesand appearing o be in the right always.We

decided, however, to send the letter. My surmiseas to Lalo'satti-tude turned out to be right. He did not publishRavel's reply atthe time. Frenchnewspapershave no correspondencecolumn,andseldomprint letters. The French law, however, compelseditors to

print letters that rectify misrepresentationsr are written in reply

to aspersions.But over a twelvemonth later, after the first per-formances of the "HistoiresNaturelles"and the orchestralversionof "Une Barquesur l'ocean" (from "Miroirs")he wrote:

In the one as in the other of these works, there is heard continuouslythe special echo of the music of M. Debussy. M. Ravel is not alone of hiskind: it is an incontestable fact that a very large number of the youngFrench composers write "Debussyish" music.

And, having elaborated he point, he proceededto inveigh against"thepresumptuousyouths who appropriatedDebussy'sinventionsand then proclaimedthat he had invented nothing, putting forthfantastic theories of a collective discovery of the new techniqueandidiom" (Le Temps. March 9, I907).

Ravel protested in a letter to the editor. He wrote, amongother things:

As usual, M. Lalo does not name the young musicians whom he accusesso light-heartedly. But my name occurs several times in his article, and this

might give rise to deplorable misunderstandings.I should hate to inflict anunwarranted dementi upon him and to challenge him to produce one singlewitness who heard me utter such absurd views. I do not care two pinswhether the people who know my works only from criticisms of them

4



Ravel'sLetters to Calvocoressi 5

regardme as animpudentplagiarist:but I do not wish to be regardedasanimbecileeven by them.

This time his letter was published (the law left no option). It wasincluded in Lalo'sfeuilleton of April 9, which went on:

Quite obviously,M. Ravel was not includedamongthe musicians owhose peculiarutterances referred.I was dealingwith articlespublishedin the Press.But since he wishes to be spokenof, I amwilling.Here is an

excerpt from a letter he wrote to me on February 5, 1906: "I wish to call

your impartialattention to the following point of fact. You expatiateatsomelengthupona certaintype of writingfor the piano,whose invention

you ascribe o Debussy.Well, 'Jeuxd'eau'appeared arlyin 1902. At that

time, Debussyhad given us no pianomusicexcept the threepieces'Pour

le piano'.Needlessto say, I admire hesepassionately:but fromthe purelypianisticpoint of view, they were not very innovatory."M. Ravel now

expresseshimselfwith singularvehemence.... He usesthe terms"absurd"and "imbecile".These are severeepithets.I did not use themin my article:butI do not gainsay hem.

Thus Lalo, with his ambiguousconclusion, succeeded in appear-ing to score a victory, on paper,over Ravel. But Ravel eventuallygot his own back in full. In February I913, in Cahiersd'aujourd'-

hui, he fiercely denounced Lalo and other critics whose sole aim,he said,was to oppose new tendenciesin music.He showed them

trying to sow the seeds of dissensionamong young composers,toset them on a belovedmaster,andalsoset him on them;andfinally,this machination having failed, turning against Debussy himselfand belittling his latest works, notably the orchestral "Images".Later,Lalo's attitudeto Ravel underwenta completechange.Not

so, however, Ravel's to Lalo, who by that time had taken up the

cudgels against younger composers,

and

especiallyMilhaud,

Honegger, and Delannoy."It is not the first time", Ravel said to Roland-Manuelin an

interview that was published n Les Nouvelles Litteraires n April1927, "thatMr. Lalo assumes he postureof the saviour of music.Let us hope that once againhe will fail to saveit. His methods areas stereotyped as his aesthetics. He tried to crush Debussy under

Wagner, then me under Debussy, and now he is trying to crushunder poor me that charmingcomposer, Marcel Delannoy."

So far as I know, Lalo did not reply to either of these indict-ments.

* *

*




Of the few letters I received between 1906 and 1914, only asmallproportionare of documentaryinterest.One, written from

Valvins (while he was composing the "RapsodieEspagnole") onSeptember 18, 1907, contains the sentence: "No manuscript,Japaneseor other, in the parcel",on which my memorycanthrowno light. It probably refers to a parcel I posted to him; and the

"Japanesemanuscript"must have been a copy of some translationfrom the Japanesethat he had askedme to hunt up in view of ascheme that came to nought. The remainder,and likewise the

post-warletters,require ess narrative ramework.* *

[Undated; probably 1909]VieuxN'oubliez pas qu'on vous attend Dimanche soir, pas trop tard, vers io h.

Aux celibataires est devolu le soin de la boisson. Simon apportera de l'Asti.

Do not forget that you are expected on Sunday night, not too late, atabout Io. Drinks are the bachelors' look-out. Simon is bringing some Asti.

After his father's death (October I3, I908) Ravel, with his

mother and brother,moved into a flat in the Avenue Carnot,nearthe Arc-de-Triomphe-a flat that he took great delight in havingdecoratedand furnishedaccordingto his taste.The note referstothe house-warming,a supper party, to which each guest was to

bring a contribution. Mine consistedof Cyprus wine, in allusionto a line in Ravel's song "Sainte":Ce vieux vin de Chypre est

exquis.

[May 3, 1910]Vieux

Un tas de choses a vous demander: que j'y mette de l'ordre. D'abord,au russophile. Si vous avez un bout de temps, me rendre le tres grandservice de me faire un projet de traite relatif aux droits envers Fokine. Jesais bien que ga regarde la saison russe, mais si peu! C'est meme dans le cas

oui le ballet ne serait pas donne par la troupe imperiale. Alors, il arriveraitceci: si l'Opera donnait "Daphnis" Madame Stichel prendrait un tiers,Fokine un autre tiers, et je devrais me contenter du reste. Or, a aucun prix,

je ne laisserais jouer mon aeuvre dans ces conditions. Nous avons mis (jedis "nous", car j'y ai travaille aussi) quelques fragments de nuit a faire le

livret, auquel j'ai retouche depuis, du reste, et voici de longs mois que jetrime sur la musique. Je trouve qu'il serait souverainement injuste que je ne

6




stamped agreement in the usual form would meet the case. Well and good:but what if there is no Russian season? The agreement will have to be more

complicated, since it must stipulate that the composer will in no case re-

ceive less than fifty percent of the fees. Please make this clear to Fokineand to the others....

Another matter, less serious: my pupil Louis Timal has set to music aFrench translation of a poem by some Russian author or other. He doesnot know to whom to apply for leave to use the words. If there is a pub-lisher, this is explained in a gibberish which you alone can understand. Hewill send you further particulars; and you will be the most delightful of

creatures if you consent to help him.Now to the Hellenist:In "Daphnis",what are the names of: i) the very obliging lady (Lycea,

I think)? 2) the old shepherd who brought up one of the kids (some-thing like Dammon)?

Still to Ganymede's fellow-countryman: I simply can't remember

(neurasthenia) the actual name of Pan'spipe.Which other instrument, represented in the orchestra by a small clari-

net, would a shepherd be holding?If you can unravel this tangle, you will be entitled to my admiration,

and subsequently to my gratitude.

He had been working on "Daphnis"since June I909, when

he hadreceivedthe commission rom Diaghilev.On the firstpoint,my advice to him was to have one of the legal advisersof the

Societe des Auteurs draw the contract. I also askedWalter Nou-

vel, one of Diaghilev'sclosest friendsandmost trustedhelpers,to

put the matter to the other parties.Shortly afterwards,Nouvel

andI went to see himat the country cottagewherehe wasstaying,in order to discuss various mattersreferringto "Daphnis".But a

few months later, I broke with Diaghilev, so that I do not know

how the matter was settled. The vicissitudesthat preceded theproduction (June 8, 1912) of "Daphnis"aredescribed n JacquesDurand's "QuelquesSouvenirs d'un editeur de musique" (Paris,

1924). The mentionof LouisTimal adds one nameto the brieflist

of Ravel'spupilsin composition.I have no informationto supply:he did not communicate with me, although I told Ravel that I

would do my best to help-all the more readily since I had his

assurance hat I was the only personin the whole world to under-

standRussian!Nor did I ever come acrossany music of Timal's,

or any othermention of his name.The letter (here publishedwith slight cuts) is, to my knowl-

edge, the earliestone in which Ravel refers to symptomsof nerv-

8



Ravel's Letters to Calvocoressi

ous fatigue. I took it to be a joke. There is no possibilityof dis-

covering whether it was.* *

From that time to 1914, the only communicationsI received

from him were brief notes, chiefly making appointments.Soon

after the outbreakof the war, I went to England, where I served

in the Military Intelligence until the autumn of 1919. For over

sevenyearsI remainedout of touch with him. In November 192 I,

preparingfor my firstpost-warvisit to Paris,I wrote to him. His

replywas:

Le BelvedereMontfortl'AmauryS.&0.)

I2/I2 I92I

Votre ettrem'estparvenuevecun retard onsiderable,l y aquelquesjours.J'etais Paris, ntraindem'occuper e "l'Heure spagnole",t un

peuflapi.Lavie lugubrequeje mene ci merepose.C'est a seulequime

permetteussidetravailler.Je seraibienheureux-et aussi riste:vouscomprenez ourquoi-de

vousrevoir.J'y serai a veillede votrearrivee,maisje comptey revenir

avant otredepart.Done,abient6t tbiencordialementvous.Yourletterreachedme a few daysago,aftera long delay.I wasin

Paris,busywith"l'HeureEspagnole",ndratherfagged.The lugubriouslife I leadhererestsme,andalso s theonlyonethatenablesmeto work.I shallbeveryglad-and alsoratherad,youunderstandwhy-to seeyouagain. shallbe thereon the eve of yourarrival, utexpect o be back

againbeforeyouleave.

L'Heure Espagnole, first produced at the Opera-Comique n

191 I, was revivedat the Operain 1922.

The penultimatesentence alludesto the fact that it was to beour firstmeeting since his mother'sdeath (January5, 1917).

Montfortl'Amaury 30/1 1922

Je veuxsavoirpourtanti vousm'avezpardonne.Ifautvousdirequedepuisplusd'unesemaine, Montfort, 'avaisa peineferme 'ceil.Celam'arrivessez ouventdepuis .. quelques nnees,maisjamais ce point.A Paris, e futbienpis:quoiqueeme couchasseorttardet assezfatigue,

j'arrivais m'endormirans a matinee.Vousdevezpenseravecquelen-train 'envoyaie gar9ondel'hotel e faire . .. sansmeme avoirdequoiil s'agissait.risderemords,e descendis ientelephoner,maisvousetiez

parti.

9




Et voila un mois que je veux vous ecrire. Mais il y a le duo pour Vlonet Vile, qui trainait depuis un an et demi, et que j'ai decide de terminer.

Jusque la, je ne quitterai pas Montfort, et ne repondrai a aucune des lettres

qui s'accumulent en pyramide majestueuse. Avant-hier, tout etait acheve.Seulement, je me suis avise que le scherzo n'etait pas ce que j'avaisvoulu, etl'ai recommence. Pourtant, vous voyez, je le lache un moment. Ce momentne sera pas perdu, puisque, n'est-ce pas? j'apprendraiun de ces jours pro-chains que vous n'en voulez pas trop a

votre affectueusement devoueMaurice Ravel

I want to know that you have forgiven me. I must tell you that forover a week, at Montfort, I had hardly slept a wink. This, of late years,

often happened to me, but never to such an extent. In Paris it was farworse, but I managed to fall asleep in the morning. So you can realize how

lustily I swore at the waiter, without even realizing what it was all about.

Then, conscience-stricken, I went to the 'phone, but you had gone.And for a month I have been wanting to write to you. But there is the

duet for violin and 'cello, which has been dragging for a year and a half.I decided to finish it, and shall stay at Montfort until I have done so, an-

swering none of the letters that are majestically piling up. The day before

yesterday, all was finished, but suddenly I found that the Scherzo was notwhat I had intended it to be. So, I started afresh. Still, as you see, I drop it

for a moment, and the moment will not be wasted since I shall hear one ofthese days (shan't I?) that you are not too sore with me.

I had not rung Ravel up, but called on him by appointment.He found this out from my reply; and in London, to which mywife andI hadbeen compelledto returnwithout havingseen him,I received furtherapologiesand particularsof his work.

Montfort l'Amaury, 3-2-1922

Mais alors, mon cher ami, je vous dois de nouvelles excuses! Je ne savais

pas que vous etiez venu me voir, et avais cru comprendre que vous m'aviezdemande au telephone. Depuis quelques jours je dors un peu mieux-pas

beaucoup. Aujourd'hui, je suis un peu vague: effets du dial. Comme j'usetres rarement de ce moyen, un seul comprime suffit a m'abrutir. Le duo

etait termine. Puis, je me suis avise que le scherzo etait beaucoup trop

developpe, et d'ailleursmoche. Je le recommence donc entierement.

Toujours pas de nouvelles de l'Opera de Wien, a qui, comme vous le

savez peut-etre, est reservee la premiere representation de La Valse. MmeGustav Mahler et quelques autres se grouillent pour parvenir a un resultat.

Lorsque je songe aux millions de couronnes que couterait cette representa-

tion, j'en ai le vertige, et je n'y compte guere. . ..Je rouvre ma lettre (ca se voit). Voici pourquoi: j'attendais un exem-

plaire des "Tableaux d'une exposition", edition originale de Moussorgsky.Or, je re9ois a l'instant l'avis qu'on n'a pu se le procurer. En possederiez-

IO



Ravel'sLetters to Calvocoressi

vous un, et pourriez-vous me le confier pour quelque temps? Ou con-

naissez-vous quelqu'un qui pourrait me rendre ce service? Je vous serai

bien reconnaissant de vouloir me donner une reponse aussitot que possible.

Merci d'avance.Je devrais faire aussi un ouvrage sur la critique musicale. Ce serait bien

rigolo... !

But then, my dear friend, I owe you further apologies. I had not real-

ized you had called: I thought you wanted me on the 'phone. These pastfew days I have been sleeping a little better-not much, though. Today I

feel rather dazed, the effects of dial. I seldom resort to this drug, so that

one tablet is enough to stupefy me.The duet was finished. Then I realized that the scherzo was far too

long, and moreover putrid. I am starting all over afresh. I am still withoutnews from the Vienna Opera, where, as you probably know, "LaValse" is

to be given its first performance. Frau Gustav Mahler and a few others are

trying to stir things up. When I think how many millions of crowns this

undertaking would cost, I feel quite giddy, and have little hope. [P.S.] I

re-open my letter (you can see that!) The reason is: I was expecting a

copy of "Pictures from an Exhibition" in Musorgsky's original, and have

just heard that it is unprocurable. Have you got one? Could you lend it tome for some time, or do you know anyone who could oblige me? I shall

be most grateful if you can let me know as soon as possible. All thanks.

I too ought to write a book of musical criticism. That would be funindeed . ..!

In 1919, Diaghilev commissioned "La Valse". Later, he re-

fused to produce it. This led to a break,never madeup, betweenhim and Ravel. Serge Lifar records (Revue Musicale,December,

I938) that he even challenged Ravel to a duel. "La Valse" was

first heard at the Concerts Lamoureux on December 12, I920.

Ravel visited Vienna that autumn, and the question of producing

"La Valse" there was discussed. Eventually, it was Ida Rubinsteinwho produced the work both in Paris and in Vienna.

Ravel, having been commissioned by Koussevitsky to orches-

trate the "Pictures from an Exhibition", was very eager to stick to

Musorgsky's unadulterated text. Ever since 1904, when he and I

started studying the 1874 edition of Boris Godunov together, he

had been strongly in favor of the original, and against Rimsky-Korsakov's revision. But the "Pictures" had first appeared in 1886,five years after Musorgsky's death, under Rimsky-Korsakov's

editorship. I was able to lend Ravel a copy of this first edition,which he used.

The last paragraph was inspired by the news that I was

II




engaged in writing my "Principles and Methods of MusicalCriticism".

Montfort l'Amaury, 24-3-1922Ne croyez pas qu'en laissantsi longtemps votre lettre sans reponse, j'aie

voulu user de represailles. J'etais a Paris lorsqu'elle m'est parvenue; j'y etais

pour 4-5 jours, et y suis reste pres d'un mois. Puis, je suis revenu faire ma

valise a Montfort et en suis reparti aussitot pour Marseille. Me voici auBelvedere jusqu'a la fin du mois, car il faut qu'a cette epoque je retourne aPanam pour surveiller les dernieres repetitions du "duo" que, d'accord avec

Durand, et vu les proportions de cette ceuvre, nous avons convenu de bap-

tiser "Sonate pour Vlon et Vile". La premiere audition en aura lieu le 6Avril. (Can'a l'air de rien, cette machine pour deux instruments: il y a presd'un an et demi de boulot la-dedans.N... eut trouve le moyen de produirependant ce temps quatre symphonies, cinq quatuors, et plusieurs poemeslyriques ...

Je suis en train de travailler cinq morceaux pour le piano ..., m'occupede trouver un plus pianiste que moi pour les cinq autres, et viendrai servirle tout au mois de Juin.... Je ne demanderaipas Z..., qui n'a jamaisvouluexecuter . .. "le Gibet" de telle maniere que l'auteur le desirait. Je dis bien:voulu. Je ne sais si vous avez assiste a l'une des discussions ou il m'assurait

que, s'il observait les nuances et les mouvements que je voulais, "le Gibet"embeterait le public. II n'a jamaisvoulu en demordre.

Do not imagine that my delay in replying to your letter announcingthe coming of the "Pictures" was intended as an act of retaliation. Itreached me in Paris, where I meant to stay four or five days but stayed awhole month. Afterwards, I went to Montfort to pack my things, and thenstarted for Marseilles. Now I am at the Belvedere until the end of the

month, when I must return to Paris in order to superintend the last re-hearsal of my duet. Considering the proportions of the work, Durand andI have

agreed

to entitle it "Sonata for Violin and 'Cello". The first

per-formance will take place on April 6. This affair for two instruments maylook nothing much, but it represents nearly a year and a half's work. Duringthat time, X... would have been able to turn out four symphonies, five

quartets, and several lyrical poems. ...I am practising five pieces, and trying to find a better pianist than my-

self for the other five. In June, I shall come and present the whole lot. I amnot inviting Z..., who never consented to play "Le Gibet" according tothe composer's intentions. I use the word "consented": I do not knowwhether you were present at any of the discussions in the course of whichhe would assure me that if he kept to the shades and tempi prescribed byme, "Le Gibet" would bore audiences. And from that nothing would dis-

lodge him. * *

*

12




Saint-Jean-de-Luz, 27-2-23

Excusez moi de vous repondre si tard: j'ai ete si occupe depuis deux

mois-installation du

chauffage

a Montfort,peintures,

raccords, allees et

venues-que j'ai profite d'un concert a Pau pour venir me retaper unesemaine ici.

Il est possible que, plus tard, je pourrai m'occuper sinon d'un traite, du

moins de notes sur l'orchestration. Pour le moment, je n'ai aucune idee la-

dessus. En attendant, je prends bonne note de la proposition de l'editeur.

Nous nous verrons bientot a Londres, j'espere. Je dois y arriver le I2,

retour d'Italie.

Forgive my replying so belatedly. I have been kept so busy these last

two months-having central heating put in at Montfort, then the painters

in, comings and goings-that I availed myself of a concert at Pau to comeand recuperate a week here.

It is possible that later, I shall be able to do, if not a treatise, at leastnotes on orchestration. For the time being, I have no ideas on the subject;but I shall keep the publisher's proposal in mind. We shall soon meet in

London, I hope. I expect to arrive there on the I2th, upon my return from

Italy.

Ravel hadgrown very fond of his country home.He loved the

atmosphere,

the

surroundingwoods, the wide vista from his

windows, and the house itself, built upon a slope (a single storyhigh on the road side, three stories on the gardenside) with manytiny rooms, each of them decoratedby him in a carefully calcu-lated style: "Ici, rien que du faux grec" he would explain;"et ici,rien que du faux chinois!"

It was that very year, I think, that,aftershowing my wife andme the latest improvements,he said "Maintenant, l ne manqueplus qu'untelescope." And he explainedthathe wanted a power-

ful, first-rateone, andwasplanningto have a turret,completewithcupola,built for it. I wassurprised. knew he hadnevergone in for

astronomy, and I had never heard him express a fondness for

watching the stars.Neither this scheme, nor that for a book on orchestration

materialized.The latter had been suggestedto him by me at the

request of the Oxford University Press. Soon afterwardshe toldme that the idea was growing on him, and that he had begun to

jotdown notes. Even so, I doubted whether the book would ever

reach completion at his hands: it was difficult to imagine him

settling down to write a treatise.But I hoped that someone orother (possibly his pupil andfriend Roland-Manuel) might work

I3



14 The MusicalQuarterly

jointly with him on the notes, makehim complete them verbally,andknock theminto shape.The book would certainlyhaveproved

very instructive.* *

Montfort l'Amaury, 1-11-1924

Votre lettrem'a trouve en assezvilainetat: j'avaisapportede Parisune

grippe qui s'estcompliqueede troubleshepatiques t m'aobligea m'aliterde nouveau.J'ai ete un moment si affaibliqu'ona penseme faire des in-

jections d'eau de mer. Depuis quelquesjours je semble aller mieux.Ce-

pendant, e ne me senspastresbien ce soir;et il fautque j'aillea Parisde-

main,si jene suispasobligede restercouche,bienentendu.Excusez-moi de n'avoir

pu

vous ecrire

plustot, et vous envoyer les

"Tableauxd'uneExposition",que je vous faisparvenirparle meme cour-rier. Excusez-moi aussi au sujet de l'article: mon ouvrage lyrique doit

passera Monte-Carloau mois de Marsprochain.J'etaisdejaen retard; eviensde perdrepresde troissemaines, t Dieu sait si je ne doispasencorecraindreune rechute!

Your letterfoundme in a prettybadstate.I camebackfromPariswithflu; liver troubles ntroducedcomplications, ndI hadto keepto my bed.At one time I was so weak thatthe questionof sea-waterinjectionsarose.I seemto be a littlebetter.Yet,tonight,I do not feel very well. And I have

to go to Paris omorrow-if I am not compelled o remain n bed.Forgivedelay in replyingand in returning he "Pictures",which I am

sendingyou by this mail.Forgiveme, too, in the matterof the article.Mylyrical work is to be producedat Monte-Carlon March.I was alreadybehind-hand; ow I havelostnearlythreeweeks,andGod knowswhetherthereis no riskof arelapse.

I cannot remember what kind of an article Ravel refers to;

probably one I had been asked to obtain from him. The "lyricalwork" was L'Enfant et les Sortileges, produced on March 21,

1925. * *

Montfort l'Amaury, 31-7-1925Une, deux, trois reponsesque je vous dois. Celle-cisera d'autantplus

"consequente" ueje ne vous la doispas.Procedonsparordre:

I?) 9-I-25: A ce moment, je dormais de trois a cinq heures par nuit,

plus (au moins) une nuit blanchepar semaine.J'ai fait ca pendanttroismois.Cette premiere ettre a donc suivi le sort des autres:je la lisaisd'unceilpendantque j'orchestrais e l'autre,au risqued'encontracterun stra-

bismedivergent.J'aitoujours 'intentionde repondrea MrGeorgesMar-chand,s'il restetoujoursa la meme adresse: rue du GrosMurger.(C'estbien 9a?Alors,ce seraitd'uneindigestionqueseraitmortcet auteur ame-

lique?




2) 1-5-25. J'etais a Paris, en train de faire repeter la "Chanson Made-

casse" que l'on devait aussi donner a Londres quelques jours apres. Vous

avez dcu avoirque

l'affaire dont vous meparliez

n'apu s'arranger.3) telegramme (?)-5-25. Au reju du mien, n'avez-vous pas ete m'atten-

dre a la gare du Nord? Ce matin-la, juste au moment de m'y rendre, je me

suis avise que mon passeport etait p6rime. J'ai file aux "Affaires";un secre-taire m'a accompagne a la Prefecture, et tout a ete bacle en un quartd'heure. Seulement, mon train etait manque, et je ne suis parti que dans

l'apres-midi.Je comptais bien m'excuser de Londres, puis de Paris, enfin de Mont-

fort. Pas moyen: je reste petrifie devant un monceau de lettres. Tout ce

que je puis faire, c'est de les remettre en ordre une fois par semaine. Et cela

m'empechede me remettre au boulot: un boulot

monstre,a

quoivient

s'ajouter un autre gros boulot que dernierement je me suis engage a livrera la fin de l'annee. Que de nuits laborieuses en perspective!

4) Reponse a Eschig (pour la peine, vous serez bien gentil de lui dire

que je vous l'ai donnee directement):"Une Barque sur l'Ocean" orch. en 1907"Alborada" " " I918"Pavane" Je n'en sais rien; ce n'est pas dans le bouquin de R. Manuel. Bien

commode, ce machin-la. Ne l'avez-vous pas? Je vais vous le faire envoyerpar Durand.

Viendrez-vous bientot a Paris?Je

nebouge pas: je

vaisessayer

de meremettre a bosser.

That's one, two, three replies I owe you. Now this one will be all themore "consequential" [N. B.: Ravel jocularly uses the vulgarism "conse-

quente" for "importante"] for the reason that it is not owing to you. Let

us proceed methodically.I) Yours of 9.I.25-At the time I was having but three to five hours

sleep a night, and (at least) one sleepless night a week. That went on forthree months. Your letter, therefore, had the same fate as the others thatwere coming in: I read.it with one eye while scoring with the other, at the

risk of becoming cross-eyed. I am still intending to reply to Mr. GeorgesMarchand, if he is still staying at the same address: 2 rue du Gros Murger.(Is that it? Does it mean that that starveling writer died of indigestion?)

2) Yours of 1.5.25-I was in Paris, in charge of the rehearsals of the"Chanson Madecasse", which was to be given in London shortly after-wards. You must have learnt that the matter you mentioned to me did notcome off.

3) Telegram (?) May 1925-When you got mine, did you not go tothe Gare du Nord to meet me? As I was preparing to start, I discoveredthat my passport was out of date. I rushed to the Foreign Office; a secre-

tary accompanied me to the passport office, and all was settled in fif-teen minutes. But I missed my train. I caught the afternoon one. I intendedto send an apology from London, then from Paris, and finally from Mont-fort. Impossible. I remain petrified in front of a heap of unanswered letters.

I5




The best I can do is to sort them out afresh once a week. And this preventsmy getting on with my job-a monster job, to be followed by another bigjob, which I lately promised to deliver before the end of the year. How

many nights of hard work this means!4) My reply to Eschig (please let him know I gave you the informa-

tion direct): "Une Barque sur l'Ocean" was orchestrated in I907, the"Alborada" in 1918. As regards the "Pavane", I don't remember. It is notin Manuel's book (a useful affair, that!). Haven't you got it? I shall askDurand to send you a copy.

Will you soon be coming to Paris? I shan't budge: I am going to try to

get back to the grind.

Georges Marchandwas a young French musicianwho wished

to arrangefor performancesof certainworks by Ravel, and hadasked me to act as go-between. Ravel was not the only one to bestruck by the peculiarstreet-nameand to wonder what relationit bore to the author of "La Vie de Boheme". Obviously, I hadalso been askedto arrangesomethingfor Ravel in London-I donot rememberwhat. At the time, he was at work on the Violin

Sonata, the "ChansonsMadecasses",and had agreed to composean operetta,to be delivered before the end of the year. Nothing

came of that scheme.The imbroglioin connection with the projectedmeetingat theGare du Nord is thoroughly typical. Madeleine Grey, a singer,and a great friend of Ravel's,who toured with him, wrote in theRevue Musicale:

He was a most delightful travelling companion. But the most unfore-

seen and most comical incidents would take place owing to his absent-

mindedness and to his habit of arriving at stations at the very moment

when the train was due to start.

* *

London, 22. i. 1929

ChervieuxQuellepoisse!Voilaque le rhumede Malaga, u plutotla seriede

rhumes que je pince depuis deux mois, m'ont oblige, par ordre du docteur,a m'aliter Samedi dernier. Je me leve bien un peu de temps en temps-cesoir, diner en kimono-et peut-etre demain pourrai-je faire un tout petittour s'il n'y a pas trop de brouillard. J'espere qu'il me sera permis d'allerau

lunch Anglo-French du 24, mais ce sera tout. Le "point-congestif-base-du-droit" tend a disparaitre. Je vais donc quitter Londres sans vous avoir

revus, et biens desole.Heureusement que cela ne marche plus pour Wien, c'eut ete la creve.

i6




Rotten luck! The whacking cold [N.B.: the epithet "de Malaga"used

thus is a piece of slang of which I know no other instance], or rather, the

series of colds that I have been

catching

these last two months compelledme to take to my bed last Saturday-doctor's orders. I get up for a whilenow and then-tonight, dinner in kimono-and maybe tomorrow I shall

have a tiny outing if there is not too much fog. I hope to attend the Anglo-French lunch on the 24th, but that will be all. The "congested-spot-at-

base-of-right [lung]" is tending to disappear.Well, I shall leave London without seeing you two again. Very sorry!

Fortunately, Vienna is off: it would have been the death of me.* *

This is the last letter I receivedfrom Ravel. I saw him againinI930 and in I93 , when he gave me the following particularsof

his latest works, which I published in the "Daily Telegraph"

(July 16, 193I):

Planning the two piano concertos simultaneously was an interesting

experience. The one in which I shall appear as the interpreter is a Concerto

in the truest sense of the word: I mean that it is written very much in the

same spirit as those of Mozart and Saint-Saens. The music of a Concerto

should, in my opinion, be light-hearted and brilliant, and not aim at pro-fundity or at dramatic effects. It has been said of certain great classics thattheir Concertos were written not "for", but "against"the piano. I heartily

agree. I had intended to entitle this Concerto "Divertissement". Then it

occurred to me that there was no need to do so, because the very title

"Concerto" should be sufficiently clear.

The Concerto for left hand alone is very different. It contains many

jazz effects, and the writing is not so light. In a work of this kind, it is

essential to give the impression of a texture no thinner than that of a partwritten for both hands. For the same reason, I resorted to a style that is

much nearer to that of the more solemn kind of traditional Concerto. A

special feaure is that after a first section in this traditional style, a suddenchange occurs and the jazz music begins. Only later does it become mani-fest that the jazz music is built on the same theme as the opening part.

I am particularly desirous that there should be no misunderstanding asto my "Bolero". It is an experiment in a very special and limited direction,and should not be suspected of aiming at achieving anything different

from, or anything more than, it actually does achieve. Before the first per-formance, I issued a warning to the effect that what I had written was a

piece lasting seventeen minutes and consisting wholly of orchestral tissuewithout music-of one long, very gradual crescendo. There are no con-

trasts, and there is practically no invention except in the plan and themanner of the execution. The themes are impersonal-folk-tunes of theusual Spanish-Arabiankind. Whatever may have been said to the contrary,the orchestral treatment is simple and straightforward throughout, without

7




theslightest ttempt tvirtuosity.nthisrespect, ogreaterontrastouldbe imaginedhan thatbetween he "Bolero" nd "L'Enfantt lesSorti-

leges",n whichI freelyresort o allmannersf orchestralirtuosity.It isperhaps ecause f thesepeculiaritieshatnosingle omposerikes

the"Bolero".rom heirpointof viewtheyarequiteright.I havedone

exactlywhatI set out to do,and t is for listenerso takeit or leave t.

He also told me about his projectedworld tour with the Con-

certo, through Europe, North and South America, Japan, and

perhapsJava, if an orchestracould be recruited there. A much

shorter tour took place in I932. He appearednot as the soloist,but as the conductor. This was the penultimateevent in his musi-

cal career,the lastone being the compositionof the song-set "DonQuichotte a Dulcinee". A letter I wrote to him in I933 was an-

swered by his friend Lucien Garban, who informed me that he

had been ordered complete rest. This was the first intimation I

had of the tragedy which ended with his death on December 28,

'937.The above letters, engagingly simple and warm, with their

touches of slang (slang was extensivelyused in our little circle2)andof

naive,at times

elementary,humorare

thoroughlyevocative

of Ravel as his intimatefriendsknew him, andespeciallyof Ravel

in undress.He wrote exactlyas he spoke;andasI copiedthe letters

out, I seemedto hearthe inflectionsof his voice andto see the playof his features.

Among my mementosof him are anotherthreepapers.One, a

formalnote, datedOctober 12, I925, thatauthorizedme to reprintthe articleshe wrote for variousFrench periodicals.I reluctantlygave up the idea because of the difficulty of locating certain of

these. The second consists of notes I took during a talk we had(probably in I905 or thereabouts) on the subject of his musical

neologisms.Many of these, he said, could be traced back to the

practice, not only of Liszt, Chabrier (e.g. in the Prelude to the

third act of Le Roi malgre lui or in "Dansle tranquillegynecee"in Briseis), Satie, Musorgsky, and Borodin, but also of Chopin

(Barcarolle,Third Etude, etc.) and Bruneauin Le Reve, which

contained,he said, "significantexamplesof chords that were pure

resonances,aid out without

any regardto

part-writing".The third is of a frivolous order. It had occurred to some of

2For a description of that circle see M. D. Calvocoressi, "Music and Ballet"

(London, 1933), Chapter V.

i8




us to compile, for our privateentertainment,a comical dictionaryof music. As it happened, the news leaked out, and Gauthier-

Villars, the critic of the Echo de Paris,was ableto printone entryby Ravel: "Suspension:note prolongee jusqu'aumilieu de la sallea manger" (suspensionhas the meaning"chandelier").I havetwosheets of contributionsfrom him, all basedon more or less intri-cate puns, and therefore untranslatable.Here are a few of the

printableones. They shouldpresentfew problemsto readerswitha fair knowledge of French.

Canon Formemusicaledetonanteet alcoolique,qui caracterisea modesous Louis XIV.

Octave Empereur romain mesurant huit notes d'une extremite a l'autre.Piston Trompette de concours [avoir du piston: to benefit by favor-

itism].Point FaSon de faire la dentelle qui augmente de moitie la valeur des

notes.Sensible Femmeplaceesur le septiemedegrede la gamme[anallusion o

the old air:"Femme ensible"].Sol Poisson plat [sole] dont le dos [do] se trouve une quinte plus

bas.

SoupirSilence

employ6a la

construction des ponts.Tonique Note fondamentale a base de vin genereux.Triton Intervalle dissonant qui rejette de l'eau par les narines.Valse Danse a trois temps dont l'eau [Vals, a French Spa] guerit

l'arthritisme.Viole Instrument ancien considere comme un crime.

I9