First and third bar in Deux Oiseaux of Ravel

[faa2010]

When I see the first and third bar in Ravel's "Deux Oiseaux", I think that there is a legato, so both notes have to sound as one (Bb in first bar and Eb in third bar).  However, in the recordings, the notes are not played as legato.

Why the notes are played as two even though a legato is what I see written?

[cliffy]

Hi Faa,

This is my first post on this forum. The piece you are referring to, I assume, is "Osieaux Tristes," the second piece in the suite "Miroirs."

You are correct that two of the same notes connected by a tie are meant to be played as one, normally. The Ravel, though, has (at least in my score) additional articulation marks, however; there's an accent over the first and third note in each case, and a staccato mark over the second and fourth. I would personally consider the staccato more of a very weak accent mark. Since you can't have different articulations on the same note on the piano, it necessitates striking the note a second time. It still has to be played without a break, though, and the second note only barely distinct from the first. There must be a (faintly perceptible) "bump" so to speak.

There are two components of perfect legato. One is that there is no break between the notes; the second is that there is the second note begins at the approximately the same volume the first ends at. This is being played legato, but only partially, in that the first requirement is being fufilled, not the second. Ravel wrote incredible piano effects, and here actually makes use of an insufficiency in the instrument's nature to achieve a very haunting sound world.

Are you planning on learning this piece?

All the best,
Cliffy

[faa2010]

Hello cliffy,

Thanks for the information.

You are right, the correct name of the piece is "Oiseaux Tristes" (I was mixed up with the name of the whole work: Mirroirs, and this is the second one).

Yes, I want to play it so I can play more pieces of him (another piece of Mirroirs and Jeux d'Eau)

Until now, I have only been in the first page of "Oiseaux Tristes", because I want to improve the first part before I advance.

[cliffy]

You're quite welcome Faa.

My one piece of advice would be to first make sure that the piece offers no technical challenges to you. My score shows all the technical issues on the second through fourth pages. I'd recommend sight-reading through these and working on them first. The reason is mostly psychological: it's always easier to go from a hard section to an easy one while learning a piece. Because it's so tempting to practice easy parts indefinitely if you know them first, you will be more motivated to get the whole thing down if the hard part(s) is(are) out if the way. Of course, if all that's already solved, ignore this. If not, you might outline the piece.

Cliffy