Le Gibet

E752066

Le Gibet is the haunting, tolling-bell-centered middle movement of Maurice Ravel’s piano suite Gaspard de la nuit, renowned for its eerie atmosphere and technical subtlety.

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Statements (41)

Predicate Object
instanceOf movement
musical composition
piano piece
associatedImagery corpse hanging at sunset
distant gallows
distant tolling bell
basedOn poem "Le Gibet" by Aloysius Bertrand
composer Maurice Ravel NERFINISHED
compositionPeriod early 20th century
cycle Gaspard de la nuit: Trois poèmes pour piano d'après Aloysius Bertrand NERFINISHED
dedicatedComposerWork Gaspard de la nuit dedicated to Ricardo Viñes
difficulty advanced
firstPublicationWork Gaspard de la nuit (1909) NERFINISHED
followedBy Scarbo NERFINISHED
genre solo piano
instrumentation piano
key E-flat minor
languageOfTextSource French
mood desolate
haunting
somber
movementNumber 2
nationalityOfComposer French
notableFeature eerie atmosphere
extreme control of tone and voicing
persistent tolling bell motif
partOf Gaspard de la nuit NERFINISHED
performancePracticeNote bell tone usually maintained in the same register throughout
requires strict rhythmic steadiness
positionInWork middle movement
precededBy Ondine NERFINISHED
style Impressionist
symbolist-influenced
technicalDemand delicate pedaling
evenness of repeated notes
precise voicing of inner parts
subtle control of dynamics
tempoIndication Très lent
texture ostinato-based
sparse and static
writtenFor concert performance

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Gaspard de la nuit movement Le Gibet