Gaspard de la Nuit

The complete three part suite that Ravel had originally intended as a satire of Romanticism, but which turned to to be taken very much seriously by listeners and performers alike. Full-length, original keys throughout. Many octave leaps and grace octaves removed. Extensive harmonic respelling to facilitate reading. Melodies and basslines intact. Re-assignment of notes from and to either hand. occasional thinning of harmony, usually for better ease of execution of wide leaps, chromaticism, and wide intervals. Audio sample is of Scarbo, the most extensively edited of the three movements. While Ravel did write a Sonatine, this is really his Grande Sonata, disguised as a tour de force of virtuosity, color, and sonic depiction of the characters from A. Bertrand's poem. Ondine, the Water Sprite, Le Gibet, the Gallows, and Scarbo, the gnomish dwarf that haunts our dreams. Typeset for maximum ease of pageturns and visual clarity of this extraordinarily complex yet compelling music.