Suite No. 2 from ‘Daphnis et Chloé’

Program notes

About the Work

Daphnis et Chloé is Ravel’s longest score, and many consider it his masterpiece. It is a vast ‘choreographic symphony,’ composed between 1909 and 1912 for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, retelling an ancient Greek pastoral romance about the shepherd Daphnis and his beloved Chloé. From the full hour-long ballet Ravel drew two concert suites; the Second Suite, published in 1913, gathers the ballet’s glorious final scene and has become one of the most beloved showpieces in the orchestral repertoire, a demonstration of Ravel’s genius as perhaps the greatest of all orchestrators.

The suite is in three linked sections. ‘Lever du jour’ (Daybreak) depicts sunrise over the sacred grove, as Daphnis is reunited with Chloé; ‘Pantomime’ enacts the lovers miming the story of Pan and Syrinx, with a famous extended flute solo; and the ‘Danse générale’ is a wild, ecstatic celebration in a driving, irregular metre. Originally the score includes a wordless chorus; in concert it is often given (as likely here) in the orchestra-only version. Either way, it is ravishing: sensuous, shimmering, building to one of the most exhilarating climaxes in music.

What to Listen For

The opening ‘Daybreak’ is one of the supreme sunrises in music. Listen for the rippling, rising figures in the woodwinds and harps (flowing water and dripping dew), over which the strings slowly unfurl a great, broad melody as the sun climbs; the music swells in a vast crescendo of pure orchestral light, dotted with flute birdsong. It is gradual, sensuous and overwhelming.

In the central ‘Pantomime,’ listen for the long, languorous solo flute, representing the panpipes of Pan, one of the most beautiful and demanding flute solos in the repertoire. Then comes the ‘Danse générale’: listen for the driving, lopsided rhythm (you can almost feel the music tripping over itself), the whirling strings and woodwinds, and the crashing percussion, as the celebration builds to a frenzied, intoxicating close. Throughout, marvel at Ravel’s orchestration, the sheer range and subtlety of colour that makes this music shimmer and blaze like nothing else.