GASPARD'S GALLOWS - Ravel "Le Gibet" - Analysis

[@SonataSecrets]

If you want to buy the book I read from in the video, "Reflections" by Paul Roberts, get it on Amazon here: amzn.to/3x8T2wh Check out my other book recommendations: www.amazon.com/shop/sonatasecrets *Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

[@SonataSecrets]

I'm sorry to disappoint you all but I'm not planning to do Scarbo at the moment, I have not played it before and have not made the time to try to learn it. But I'm planning other great stuff, will do Chopin G minor Ballade in the autumn for example!

[@pianoworld233]

One of my favourite long pieces of chopin. I'm excited for the analysis.

[@sirchoppy1810]

It's okay about the scarbo, after all it's only the hardest piece ever written for piano by Ravel. 🤣 And the Chopin ballad is going to be pretty exciting! Can't wait

[@Ivan_1791]

That's okay, Scarbo is a really difficult piece that takes a lot of practice to master.

[@joafus]

I can't even imagine the ammount of work it takes to learn this kind of pieces. We appreciate what you've done

[@SonataSecrets]

Chopin G minor Ballade done now, a bit later than first imagined: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZzJe6mmhKmWjq8

[@kristian6566]

8:45 Indeed it's very hard with this piece to get the bell-ance all the time ;-) And as usual, such a great video!

[@SonataSecrets]

ha-ha

[@dutchpropaganda558]

I remember the first time hearing this and the opening chords striking me in this peculiar way. This is a truly stunning piece and I hope to play this when I'm proficient enough with the piano.

[@zondebok7992]

Great video... this is a significant piece for me - the rock band Oceansize sampled it on one of their early albums. I found the original piece and it turned out to be the gateway to classical music for me, as well as leading to me playing piano more often again (having learned as a child then stopped as a teenager). Still love this piece and have a framed copy of the first page of the score on the wall!

[@ericsyre9418]

Awesome. Such musical gateways are a nice perk of life.

[@pianoworld233]

It would be a great halloween song because of all this spooky chords.

[@SonataSecrets]

haha that's true

[@kalynnscompositions]

All the open 5ths, what an interesting idea! The "spooky chords" are really cool too. I appreciate the analysis of this!

[@SonataSecrets]

Thanks Kalynn!

[@walterw9829]

I'm so happy you reviewed Le Gibet. One of my favorites.

[@sirchoppy1810]

Of all the pieces that are intended to be creepy or to have some strange aura to it, like the Chopin prelude number 2 in a minor, this piece has always been up there along with the others. Every time I listen to it it gives me the strange feeling of not sadness, but nothingness. What I find difficult about playing this piece is keeping a tempo, and not putting too much expression into it, since Ravel and Debussys music wasn't really about emotional expression it was more about the beauty of things in the world. It's very interesting and, I wonder if this was intentional or not but Ravel made the middle section of this piece a slow movement, just like how it is kind of traditional to make the middle section of a symphony or sonata slow or beautiful. Great analysis by the way! 😎

[@lebotcho529]

i totally agree with you ! i have the same "aura of nothingness" thing with Le Gibet, prelude 2, op 10 no 6, and a bit with scriabin 6. btw yes, Gaspard de la Nuit is in sonata form, fast-slow-fast

[@sirchoppy1810]

@@lebotcho529 ikr 😎

[@lebotcho529]

@@sirchoppy1810 also, have you read the poems ?

[@sirchoppy1810]

@@lebotcho529 I have the music for all three movements, and on the side it has ecerpts of the poems on the side. I kinda know the story, but I haven't read the whole thing.

[@lebotcho529]

@@sirchoppy1810 you should read them ! they're not long and meaningful

[@Ivan_1791]

I played this movement around 3 years ago. Good times back then.

[@w3sp]

Next up is Scarbo? =) PS: 7:38 I'm surprised to see you use 1345 fingering for this chord position.

[@SonataSecrets]

I'm sorry no scarbo... Yeah, so that I can hold Bb in 2 (although I let it go at that time because I talk about the chord only)

[@aliceloke2679]

Thank you for all your works. Its heaven sent for amateur piano players like me to learn how a piece is analysed.

[@SonataSecrets]

Glad you like them! :)

[@noobsauce]

Thank you so much for this incredible analysis! Lortie's performance has been my favorite rendition of this piece and you seem to have an extremely similar touch to his. Nimble and dynamic while still keeping the implied polyrhythm so in the pocket. That natural minor section following the spooky chords is such an emotive peak.

[@m44p25]

By far my favorite movement!! And so interesting seeing it analyzed, Great work!

[@slyslaughter5115]

It's such an amazing piece that has captivated me for decades. Your analysis is superb. Thank you very much.

[@chriscamp6971]

Love Gaspard De La Nuit. Great video!

[@oudompianist5594]

I love this piece so much! This was an amazing analysis. I recently started learning this piece because I had learned Ondine a few years ago. My biggest struggles are the wide chords and the "spooky chord" sections because of my small hands 🤣 trying to figure out how to not ruin the mood of the piece when playing broken chords.

[@bkkcedric]

Thank you for this excellent analysis!

[@SonataSecrets]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@MrInterestingthings]

Great analysis ! Roberts' book I hadn't heard about it. A must have !

[@saxy1player]

Your analyses are so rich! Thanks for your sharing your interpretations :)

[@harryzarick5826]

Good to see that you are planning to do Chopin Ballade 1 :D

[@simonragnarson22]

Amazing, love this type off lessons!!!

[@PianoDawg1620]

Oh my gosh, you did it! This is my favourite from this suite and my second favourite from the entire piano repertoire! I really want to tackle it, how technically difficult would you say it is? It's obviously very musically difficult.

[@SonataSecrets]

I think it's a really good exercise in sound balance and control, to make the layers clear. That's the hard part. Then maybe look at the wide chords to see how they feel, some are quite uncomfartable for me and I'm not sure how to do them with a smaller hand...

[@PianoDawg1620]

@@SonataSecrets Alright thank you!

[@herbiejames4785]

Fantastic tutoriaL....(*I'm beginning work on it currently) So this will Def be on repeat for a while. Respect.

[@FreedomJesus594]

Thanks!

For those interested in Ravel's Le Gibet, take a look on this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZ3HkKx_e7usaqM

[@keithkunikida1222]

Now waiting for Scarbo, the Scarbo is obviously also rejected by my family because of the absence of a home key and the heaviness

[@tekraynak]

Scarbo has a key. Starts in g#m and ends in B major (or is it b minor?😮), just with a whole lot of double notes added in to complicate things 😊

[@MrRagaje]

I've started on this. A couple measures a day is the only way I know how to learn it. It's may take years but that's ok.

[@DanielAlvarezVeizaga]

Toujours ppp section is based from an octatonic collection

[@Medtner26]

You know we all are waiting for scarbo now 😎😎😎😎😎

[@-theliterarychick]

Thank you so much for this! I’m working on the piece now and I also found it inspiring to write the poem beneath the measures.

[@mmmmSmegma]

Do you have any suggestions for people whose hand size isn't big enough to reach some of these chords? I'm trying to learn this piece right now and I am rolling my hand into the chord with results that to my ear aren't that bad. The only thing that kind of annoys me is that doing this kinda sorta throws off the rhythm a teeny tiny bit. It wouldn't such a big deal if these chords weren't so numerous but in this piece they are. What I try to do is just force the rhythm as much as I can. Maybe if I play at a slower tempo it won't throw off the rhythm?

[@tekraynak]

Do not roll the chords, it fundamentally alters the texture of the music. It’s ok if you have to remove some notes to fit your hands.

[@Youssef-iu8dn]

Waiting for Scarbo...

[@someonethatyoumayknow9590]

Quarantine seems to have caused lots of uneveness You should care more about your health Erik!

[@themukhtalef]

You need a diet my friend ;)

[@javmbz_schlithler]

The approachable part of Gaspard de la Nuit, I guess :p might give it a try. Thanks for the video!