Boléro
BOLERO
1. Let's work on this interesting piece which had an impact in music history.
As an introduction, these are words from the composer about it...
Writing to a friend shortly after finishing the work, Ravel described it as having
“no form in the true sense of the word, no development, and hardly any modulation”
And to the Swiss composer Arthur Honegger, he confided,
“I’ve written only one masterpiece – Boléro. Unfortunately, there’s no music in it”.
Despite these misgivings, Boléro’s instant success was a delightful surprise for the composer.
A few years later, on entering the casino at Monte Carlo, he was asked if he would like to gamble. He declined by saying,
“I wrote Boléro and won — I’ll let it go at that”.
2. We will now listen to it and try to write as much as we can to describe what's going on. Here some guidance:
- -Try to write the order of the first 6 instrument's appearance. (if you don't remember the name, name the family)
- -What happens with the base-rhythm? look for the word ''ostinato'' . Who plays it?
- -How many main melodies can you recognize?
- -What about the intensity (volume). Why? what changes?
- -What do you think about the ending? how would you describe it?
3. Let's try playing the rhythm:
4. Now, the melody:
AND THESE TWO, TO VISUALIZE IT:
| Part | Instruments that follow the... | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ... snare drum rhythm | ... melody | ... three-beat quarter/eighth-note rhythm | |
| Intro | 1st snare drum (pp) | 1st flute (pp) | violas, cellos (both in pizz., pp) |
| 1st | 2nd flute (pp) | 1st clarinet (p) | violas, cellos |
| 2nd | 1st flute (p, also snare drum) | 1st bassoon (mp) | harp, violas, and cellos (all p) |
| 3rd | 2nd flute | E♭ clarinet (p) | harp, violas, and cellos |
| 4th | bassoons | oboe d'amore (mp) | 2nd violins (pizz.), violas, cellos, and double bass (pizz.) |
| 5th | 1st horn | 1st flute (pp), and 1st trumpet (mp, con sord.) | 1st violins (pizz.), violas, cellos, and double bass |
| 6th | 2nd trumpet (mp, con sord.) | tenor saxophone (mp, espressivo, vibrato) | flutes, 2nd violins, cellos, and double bass (all mp) |
| 1st clarinet (interchanged from 2nd flute, last four bars) | |||
| 7th | 1st trumpet | sopranino saxophone (original score) / soprano saxophone (either instrument, mp, espressivo, vibrato) | oboes, cor anglais, 1st violins, violas, cellos, and double bass |
| soprano saxophone (original score, interchanged from sopranino saxophone, mp, last four bars) | |||
| 8th | 1st flute (mp, same with snare drum), 2nd horn (mf) | 2 piccolos (pp), 1st horn (mf), and celesta (p) | bass clarinet, bassoons, harp, 2nd violins, violas, cellos, and double bass |
| 9th | 4th horn, 3rd trumpet (con sord.), 2nd violins, and violas (all mf) | 1st oboe, oboe d'amore, cor anglais, and clarinets (all mf) | bass clarinet, bassoons, 1st/2nd trumpets (con sord.), harp, 1st violins, cellos, and double bass |
| 10th | 1st flute, 2nd horn, and violas (arco) | 1st trombone (mf, sostenuto) | clarinets, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, harp, 2nd violins, cellos, and double bass |
| 11th | 4th horn, 1st trumpet (senza sord.), and 2nd violins (arco, all f, also snare drum) | piccolo, flutes, oboes, cor anglais, clarinets, and tenor saxophone (all f) | bass clarinet, bassoons, contrabassoon, harp, 1st violins, violas (pizz.), cello, double bass (all f) |
| 12th | 1st/2nd horns | flutes, piccolo, oboes, clarinets, and 1st violins (arco) | 1st oboe, clarinets (both at first two bars), and below |
| bassoons, contrabassoon, 3rd/4th horns, timpani, 2nd violins (pizz.), violas, cellos, double bass | |||
| 13th | 3rd/4th horns | flutes, piccolo, oboes, cor anglais, clarinets, tenor saxophone, and 1st/2nd violins (2nd violins arco), | 1st oboe, clarinets (both at first two bars), and below |
| bass clarinet, bassoons, contrabassoon, 1st/2nd horns, sopranino saxophone, timpani, harp, violas, cellos, and double bass | |||
| 14th | 1st/2nd horns | flutes, oboes, cor anglais, 1st trumpet, and 1st/2nd violins | flutes, oboes (first two bars), and below |
| clarinets, bassoons, contrabassoon, 3rd/4th horns, sopranino saxophone, tenor saxophone, 1st/2nd trombone, tuba, timpani, harp, viola, cello, double bass | |||
| bass clarinet, 4th horn (interchanged from 1st trumpet), and violas (arco, interchanged from 2nd violins, last four bars) | Above, and 2nd violins (pizz., interchanged from violas, last four bars) | ||
| 15th | 1st–4th horns | flutes, piccolo, oboes, cor anglais, clarinets, sopranino saxophone, 1st trombone (sostenuto), 1st/2nd violins, violas, and cellos (2nd violins, cellos in arco) | 2nd violins and cellos (both pizz., first two bars), and below |
| bass clarinet, bassoons, contrabassoon, trumpets (2nd/3rd trumpets senza sord.), 2nd/3rd trombones, tuba, timpani, harp, and double bass (arco) | |||
| bass clarinet, tenor saxophone (last four bars, tenor interchanged from sopranino) | |||
| 16th | flutes, piccolo (first two bars), and below | flutes, piccolo, D piccolo trumpet, C trumpets, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, and 1st violins (all ff) | C trumpets (first two bars), and below (ff) |
| oboes, clarinets, horns, 2nd violins, violas, cellos (all strings in pizz.), and a second snare drum playing throughout (all ff) | bass clarinet, bassoons, contrabassoon, trombones, tuba, timpani, harp, and double bass (all ff) | ||
| 17th | flutes, piccolo (first two bars), and below. | flutes, piccolo, D piccolo trumpet, C trumpets, 1st trombone (ff possibile), soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, and 1st violins | C trumpets, 1st trombone (first two bars), and below |
| oboes, clarinets, horns, 2nd violins, violas, and cellos (all strings in arco) | bass clarinet, bassoons, contrabassoon, 2nd/3rd trombones, tuba, timpani, harp, and double bass | ||
| Finale (last 5 bars) | flutes, piccolo, horns, D piccolo trumpet, C trumpets, 1st/2nd violins, violas, and cellos | Glissando: trombones, sopranino saxophone, and tenor saxophone (no glissando note on the saxophones) | oboes, cor anglais, clarinets, bass clarinet, bassoons, contrabassoon, tuba, timpani, harp, and double bass; together with the bass drum, cymbals, and tam-tam |
The accompaniment becomes gradually thicker and louder until the whole orchestra is playing at the very end. Just before the end (rehearsal number 18 in the score), there is a sudden change of key to E major, but C major is reestablished after just eight bars. Six bars from the end, the bass drum, cymbals, and tam-tam make their first entry, and the trombones play raucous glissandi while the whole orchestra beats out the rhythm that has been played on the snare drum from the very first bar. Finally, the work descends from a dissonant B♭ minor over F minor chord to a C major chord.
