Maurice Ravel : Introduction et allegro
Henry Woolf, flute
Yuhsin Su, clarinet
Maria Ioudenitch, violin
Lun Li, violin
Keigo Suzuki, viola
Zachary Mowitz, cello
Héloïse Carlean-Jones, harp

Performed on Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia

Maurice Ravel’s lovely Introduction and Allegro, while often presented as a work of chamber music, is in truth a miniature harp concerto with the accompaniment of a string quartet, flute, and clarinet. It therefore stands out in the minds of harpists, who program it often. Still, within Ravel’s body of work it functions mostly as a precursor to the ballet Daphnis et Chloé, reflecting the influence of Chabrier and Franck. Ravel himself omitted it from the catalog of his works and never mentioned it in his autobiography.

The Introduction begins with a tender and tentative melody which begins in the winds and passes to the strings, before the harp unveils itself with a dramatic chromatic arpeggiation. After a pause, the cello sings a new theme over a shimmering texture of arpeggios laid by the winds and remaining strings. The septet gains speed and picks up energy, but instead of diving straight into the new section, the ensemble relaxes and cedes the spotlight to the harp, which begins its first solo moment and leads the audience into the easygoing but spirited Allegro. Later on, the development builds to a climax which is derailed suddenly by the harp’s extended cadenza. The piece resolves itself with a straightforward recapitulation and a concise, exciting close.