The author and poet Jules Renard often mocked the characters in his own work, treating them in a particularly sarcastic, even cruel manner. This is particularly the case in his Histoiries naturelles, a collection of poems based on the 44-volume zoological treatise by the 18th-century French naturalist Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon. In this work, Renard elevates the animals by making them archetypes of human personalities, and in doing so rather animalize men. Published in 1895, it became quite popular, and eleven years later Maurice Ravel selected five of Renard’s poems to set to music under the same title. Ravel’s settings are witty and humorous, certainly taking their cue from the lighthearted nature of the poems themselves, and which was seemingly lost on the audience at its premiere performance in 1907. Nonetheless, the charm of Ravel’s picturesque settings has nonetheless made Histoires naturelles a favorite among the composer’s vocal music.
Leading the song cycle is “Le paon”, or “The Peacock.” The elegant and spectacular plumage of the bird is depicted in the song’s majestic and grandiose manner. Yet, there is an underlying hint of loneliness, coaxing the listener to feel sorry for the bird, despite its haughty manner. Each day he waits for his fiancée. Each day she does not come. So sure of himself and his beauty, he maintains his proud and stately demeanor, thinking that it is inevitable that she will eventually come. He climbs the rooftop and calls for her. The other birds, tired of his show, pay him no heed. Receiving no answer, he retreats, confident that his wedding will be the next day. Atop this pathetic accompaniment rendered by the piano, Ravel treats Renard’s text as if the voice must only recite the words to musical tones. The natural and fluid rhythm of the poetry is unhindered by Ravel’s melodic line and followed meticulously by the accompaniment. Joseph DuBose
Classical Music | Baritone
Maurice Ravel
Le paon, from Histoires naturelles Play
Recorded on 07/31/2011, uploaded on 09/24/2011
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
The author and poet Jules Renard often mocked the characters in his own work, treating them in a particularly sarcastic, even cruel manner. This is particularly the case in his Histoiries naturelles, a collection of poems based on the 44-volume zoological treatise by the 18th-century French naturalist Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon. In this work, Renard elevates the animals by making them archetypes of human personalities, and in doing so rather animalize men. Published in 1895, it became quite popular, and eleven years later Maurice Ravel selected five of Renard’s poems to set to music under the same title. Ravel’s settings are witty and humorous, certainly taking their cue from the lighthearted nature of the poems themselves, and which was seemingly lost on the audience at its premiere performance in 1907. Nonetheless, the charm of Ravel’s picturesque settings has nonetheless made Histoires naturelles a favorite among the composer’s vocal music.
Leading the song cycle is “Le paon”, or “The Peacock.” The elegant and spectacular plumage of the bird is depicted in the song’s majestic and grandiose manner. Yet, there is an underlying hint of loneliness, coaxing the listener to feel sorry for the bird, despite its haughty manner. Each day he waits for his fiancée. Each day she does not come. So sure of himself and his beauty, he maintains his proud and stately demeanor, thinking that it is inevitable that she will eventually come. He climbs the rooftop and calls for her. The other birds, tired of his show, pay him no heed. Receiving no answer, he retreats, confident that his wedding will be the next day. Atop this pathetic accompaniment rendered by the piano, Ravel treats Renard’s text as if the voice must only recite the words to musical tones. The natural and fluid rhythm of the poetry is unhindered by Ravel’s melodic line and followed meticulously by the accompaniment. Joseph DuBose
More music by Maurice Ravel
La Valse
Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Faure
Noctuelles from Miroirs
Daphnis and Chloé, Suite No. 2
Une barque sur l'océan, from Miroirs
Alborada del Gracioso, from Miroirs
Pièce en Forme de Habanera
Cinq Mélodies Populaires Grecques
Rhapsodie espagnole
Concerto No. 2 in D Major for Piano and Orchestra
Performances by same musician(s)
Mon cadavre est doux comme un gant, from Fiançailles pour rire
Le grillon, from Histoires naturelles
Le pintade, from Histoires naturelles
A green lowland of pianos, from Three Songs, Op.45
Le martin-pêcheur, from Histoires naturelles
Now have I fed and eaten up the rose, from Three Songs, Op.45
Levommi il mio pensier in parte ov'era, from Tre sonetti del Petrarca
O boundless, boundless evening, from Three Songs, Op.45
Quel rosignuol che sì soave piagne, from Tre sonetti del Petrarca
La vita fugge e non s'arresta un'ora, from Tre sonetti del Petrarca
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