§ Maurice Ravel — 1928, M. 81
Bolero.
Ballet — premiered at the Opéra de Paris, 22 November 1928
A scholarly edition established from the complete 1928 orchestral manuscript held at the Morgan Library, together with all preparatory sources — the first monumental French edition. Editorial direction: François Dru and Quentin Hindley. Two scores in the volume — the unprecedented ballet version 1928 and the concert version 1929.
Ravel Papier à musique — a documentary on the Bolero.
Video series dedicated to Ravel facing his manuscripts, in collaboration with the Maurice Ravel Foundation and the Maurice Ravel Festival / Academy.
01 // Manuscript
Primary source
1928 Complete orchestral manuscript held at the Morgan Library, New York. Preparatory sources at the BnF, the British Library and the Archives of the Palais princier de Monaco.
02 // Premiere
Ballets Ida Rubinstein
22.XI.1928 Premiered at the Opéra de Paris by the Ballets Ida Rubinstein. Restored 1928 ballet version: Concertgebouw Amsterdam, George Benjamin conducting, January 2019.
03 // Volume
Collector's edition
212 pages Format 24.5 × 34 cm, sewn binding, 120 gsm paper. Two scores, critical apparatus and discography. Price: €71 excl. VAT.
Editorial direction & reading committee
Conductor
Louis Langrée
Conductor & musicographer
Alain Pâris
Conductor & editor
Quentin Hindley
Conductor
Pascal Rophé
Editorial direction
François Dru and Quentin Hindley, editors of the 1928 ballet version; Quentin Hindley, editor of the 1929 concert version.
My Bolero with Nathalie Stutzmann.
Nathalie Stutzmann long refused the Bolero — too much colour, not enough shade. Until a musicologist friend led her to rediscover the score in its original ballet version (Ida Rubinstein, 1928). Hilan Warshaw's documentary follows the conductor and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra through this rediscovery. Available on VOD at medici.tv.
Introduction
Two scores, two gestures
To reproduce the 1928 manuscript as it stands — absent-mindedness included — as a documentary basis, then to publish the 1929 concert version corrected after Ravel and the great conductors who championed it.
Volume I of the Ravel Edition is dedicated to Bolero. This scholarly edition introduces never-before-published workings based on the complete 1928 orchestral manuscript held at the Morgan Library (New York), the composer's preparatory manuscripts (Bibliothèque nationale de France, British Library and Archives of the Palais de Monaco) and numerous other sources presented for the very first time in this collector's volume — « historic » scores owned by Maurice Ravel, Piero Coppola1, Arturo Toscanini, and correspondence2.
This « ballet 1928 » version, as restored by the Ravel Edition, was performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam under George Benjamin in January 20193.
The 1928 ballet version
Editors: François Dru and Quentin Hindley.
A reproduction of the 1928 version as it was created by the Ballets Rubinstein at the première at the Opéra de Paris. Edition established from the manuscript held at the Morgan Library. This engraving — unprecedented — replicates the exact musical notation and markings the composer himself left in the orchestral score he laid down in ink in 1928.
We have only considered the handwritten corrections left by Ravel in ink, as well as those resulting from scraping operations, modifications made during 1928.
We wished to present, without any intervention on our part, the mistakes and absent-mindedness of the composer left on his manuscript. On the 1928 ballet version
This faithful engraving, which reproduces Ravel's recurring markings and distinctive handwriting, is intended to be used as a documentary basis against which to gauge the editorial evolution that led to the creation of the first edition less than a year after the Parisian première.
The 1929 concert version
Editor: Quentin Hindley.
Corrected edition based on Ravel's own markings and other corrections introduced by illustrious conductors on the basis of the composer's modern first editions.
We also considered the various letters, notes and improvements introduced by the composer and conductors, revealing the many editorial issues and engraving errors with which the score and parts have historically been peppered. For this 1929 version, a publishing committee formed of conductors Louis Langrée, Alain Pâris and Pascal Rophé was consulted regarding the various questions raised by our sources4.
This engraving is intended to be used as a documentary basis against which to gauge the editorial evolution. On the articulation between the 1928 ballet and 1929 concert versions
This editorial work was carried out in collaboration with the following institutions: Les Amis de Maurice Ravel, The Morgan Library (New York), the New York Philharmonic Digital Archives, The British Library, the Archives of the Palais princier de Monaco, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Archives of the Théâtre royal de La Monnaie in Brussels, and the Royal Library of Belgium.
Note on the correction of the cello part after W. Mengelberg's material5
Note on the correction of the cello part after W. Mengelberg's material
On 8 March 1930, Willem Mengelberg conducted the Dutch première of Bolero in The Hague. In less than a month, this concert was followed by five further performances across the Netherlands.
On 31 May 1930, in the Grote Zaal of the Concertgebouw, Mengelberg recorded Bolero for the Columbia label. This session was the fourth of the year devoted to this score. On this occasion, a modification to the cello part can be heard.
From January to April 1930, Ravel, Coppola and Koussevitzky all recorded the first ten bars with two quarter notes (per bar) — entry of eighth notes at bar n°10. Unlike his colleagues, wishing to respect the published Orchestral Score (sic), Mengelberg asked his section to modify a part he believed to be defective.
For the record, on the manuscript deposited at the Morgan Library, Ravel wrote, in ink, quarter notes up to bar 10. On the same manuscript, eighth notes were added in pencil — without date or possible authentication of the correcting hand — on this same cello part, taking up the « mechanical » pianistic octave movement, as inscribed in the reduction to accompany the dancers.
The archives of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam present the list of Bolero performances conducted by W. Mengelberg.
Critical notes
- Piero Coppola (1888-1971), Italian conductor, artistic director of the Compagnie française du gramophone from 1923, made several reference recordings with Ravel — including the first authorised recording of Bolero in January 1930. His annotated scores are among the volume's major sources.
- The correspondence used for this edition draws on the collections of Les Amis de Maurice Ravel, the American archives (New York Philharmonic Digital Archives, Morgan Library) and the Monegasque archives of the Fondation Maurice Ravel collection held at the Palais princier.
- Concertgebouw Orkest, George Benjamin conducting, Grote Zaal of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, January 2019 — modern première of the 1928 ballet version as restored by Ravel Edition.
- The reading committee ruled on the discrepancies observed between the 1928 orchestral manuscript, the 1929 corrected proofs, the annotated scores of the next generation of conductors, and the earliest recordings. It intervened only on the 1929 concert version, the 1928 ballet version being deliberately delivered without interpretive intervention.
- Willem Mengelberg (1871-1951), principal conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. The orchestral material he used and annotated provides invaluable testimony for resolving several ambiguous points in the cello part.
Ravel Edition · Volume I
A collector's volume, 212 pages, two scores
The first monumental French edition of Bolero, produced by a team of French musicologists and conductors.
Texts & critical apparatus
- General foreword — 25 pages. Manuel Cornejo traces the history of the work and its reception.
- Alain Pâris — comparative analysis of the first recordings of Bolero and their impact on our reading of the score.
- Discography 1930-1939 compiled by Jean Touzelet — complete survey of early phonographic testimonies.
- Critical apparatus — 27 pages. Previously unpublished analyses of the 1928 manuscript held at the Morgan Library and of the orchestral sketches at the BnF.
- Corrections and notes — 10 pages. Survey of editorial issues, omissions and errors in early editions.
- Full English translation of the texts and critical apparatus.
Iconography
- Facsimile reproduction of a page from the 1928 orchestral manuscript (Morgan Library).
- Letters from Maurice Ravel.
- Scores from the first print runs annotated by Maurice Ravel, Piero Coppola and Arturo Toscanini.
- Photographs of the Ballets Ida Rubinstein, recording sessions and historical documents.
Two scores in the volume
- Ballet version 1928 (unprecedented) — editors: François Dru and Quentin Hindley. Faithful engraving of the orchestral manuscript, as a documentary basis.
- Concert version 1929 — editor: Quentin Hindley. Corrected edition following Ravel and the great conductors, under the eye of the reading committee.
Recordings of the revised edition
Two landmark recordings
The Ravel Edition of Bolero has been recorded twice recently, championed by a British and a French conductor.
Order