- In 1895 Ravel left the Paris Consevatoire because he wasn’t winning any prizes or excelling in his classes. He didn’t return to the conservatory until 1897. During the time between, he worked on a number of compositions (instead of giving up! Good for you, Ravel!), including this piece.
- Menuet antique was originally written for piano. Ravel orchestrated it in 1929.
- Rather than evoking a particular historic time period in this “antique” minuet, Ravel goes for a sort of general air of historicity, using open fifths (common in Medieval and early renaissance music) and cadential flat 7th scale degrees (giving it a modal sound, rather than the sound of a modern major or minor scale). (Minuets, of course, did not exist in the Medieval or Renaissance periods!)
- Listen for: ABA form. The opening material returns at the end of the piece.1
Sources
- Barbara L. Kelly, “Ravel, (Joseph) Maurice,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed December 11, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000052145.
Cut IDs
10783, 20076, 21040, 42366