Maurice Ravel - Daphnis et Chloé | Saraste | WDR Sinfonieorchester | WDR Rundfunkchor

What the world lost when Ravel suffered brain damage from a car accident. We need more of his music but we were robbed prematurely of his genius. His work is simply wonderful. He himself thought that he wasn’t good enough, but he ranks with the best in history. This music transcends the ordinary in a magical way. And this performance is wonderful.

If you want to learn the correct way to produce a video of a classical music concert, here's a masterclass. Both the producer and the cameramen have studied the score in detail, and know the orchestra composition and arrangement; and the cameramen are reading the score in real time.

This performance is of the highest possible level. The conductor and the orchestra found the line that runs through the piece and followed it for 55 unbroken minutes. The "orchestral effects" appear with such naturalness it's unbelievable. I put those words in quotes for often they are simply effects, but here they have musical sense and beauty. His sense of accent (which is one aspect in the direction of perception) is, as far as I can tell, infallible. But I think the aspect which I found most impressive was how he was able to present an ever-changing orchestral mass; it seemed like some constant topological transformation at work.

One of the best pieces ever. The richest chords, widest instrumentation. A great performance of a masterpiece.

I have listened to this piece 500 times and never get tired of being immersed in its sonic beauty. This score is a miracle. Thank you Maurice for all the pleasure you have given me.

39:00 to 44:44 is the incredible DAYBREAK. The most beautiful part of this composition.

45:00 this string section's warm gliss chords are just the best thing i have ever heard in my entire life. And those pastorale like oboes. This is literally my favourite moment in entire orchestral repertoire

I can remember that day at school when the teacher moved onto this period of music with excerpts from Debussy (Nuages) and Ravel (Daphnis et Chloé). He personally did not like it - I was blown away! I was 14, I am now 60 - it is still fresh in my mind. But the ethereal Daphnis et Chloé is a high point.

How wonderful to see a camera operator know to highlight instruments when they're prominent. There are some shockers out there even when an instrument has a solo, the camera is pointed in a completely different direction.

If I had to be marooned somewhere with only one composition to listen to for the rest of my life, this would be it!

Perhaps the most perfect and beautiful piece written in the 20th century. He was such a beautiful human being.

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) Daphnis et Chloé (1909-12) Complete Ballet 🧝Part 1️⃣ 🧝‍♀️ A meadow at the edge of a sacred wood. 00:36 1. Introduction 03:27 2. Danse religieuse [5] In a grotto, a crowd of youngsters bow before an altar of nymphs. Girls dance around the shepherd Daphnis, kindling Chloé's jealousy. 10:55 3. Danse générale [26] The cowherd Dorcon competes for Chloé's attention. A dance contest is proposed for a kiss from Chloé. 12:23 4. Danse grotesque de Dorcon [32] The crowd mocks the rival suitor's clumsy motions. 14:11 5. Danse légère et gracieuse de Daphnis [43] With a light and graceful dance Daphnis wins the contest and accepts his reward. Daphnis and Chloé embrace. The crowd withdraws with Chloé, leaving Daphnis in ecstasy. 18:10 6. Danse de Lycéion Another shepherdess, Lyceion, tries to entice Daphnis. Pirates attack. Chloé beseeches the nymphs' protection but is carried off. 23:23 7. Danse lente et mystérieus des Nymphes (Nocturne) Daphnis searches for Chloé but collapses in despair. The nymphs come to life, revive Daphnis and supplicate Pan, the god of the shepherds. 🦹‍♂️Part 2️⃣ 🦹‍♂️ The pirate camp 26:41 8. Interlude [83] [choir a cappella] 28:21 9. Introduction 29:13 10. Danse guerrière [93] The pirates exhaust themselves in a war-like dance. Their chief orders Chloé to dance. 33:58 11. Danse suppliante de Chloé [133] As she dances in supplication, Chloé tries to escape. As the chief carries her off, fantastic satyrs surround the pirates. Pan appears and the terrified pirates flee. 🧝Part 3️⃣ 🧝‍♀️ 39:33 12. Lever du jour As day breaks, Daphnis and Chloé are reunited. An old shepherd, Lammon, explains that Pan intervened in memory of his own love of the nymph Syrinx. 45:18 13. Pantomime (Les amours de Pan et Syrinx) 46:52 [the famous flute solo] The couple mime the tale of Pan's courtship of Syrinx, whom he enchanted with a flute of reeds. Before the nymphs' altar Daphnis pledges his love for Chloé. 51:20 14. Danse général (Bacchanale) As they tenderly embrace, the entire company joins in a wild joyous dance. 55:30 Applause WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln WDR Rundfunkchor Jukka-Pekka Saraste, conductor Philharmonie Cologne Cologne, Germany 🇩🇪 February

Ravel could reach mystical proportions with the colors he could achieve from an orchestra and chorus. His popularity with each generation attesting to the brilliance and magnetic force of his music. This is an outstanding performance. BRAVO!!

43:06 and the next 30 seconds is my favorite part in the piece. Man I love that part.

The depth to this orchestral work is out of this world. Ravel truly was a genius when it came to composing meaningful, versatile music.

This music never fails to pit me in tears. It’s just perfect!

One of the greatest pieces of music ever

This piece, among many others, such as Trois Nocturnes, takes me on a journey where my inner soul feels elevated to the heavenly realm. This kind of music makes life worth living.

Immersive and transformational. The listener is transported into another realm. It is very much like the Star Trek music which was used in the 1970s when they landed on another planet. To say the Ravel was ahead of his time is an understatement. Epic.

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) Daphnis et Chloé (1909-12) Complete Ballet Tableau 1️⃣ 🧝‍♀️🧝 Une prairie a la lisiére d'un bois sacré (A meadow at the edge of a sacred grove) 00:03 1. Introduction 02:53 2. Danse religieuse [5] In a grotto, a crowd of youngsters bow before an altar of nymphs. Girls dance around the shepherd Daphnis, kindling Chloé's jealousy. 10:22 3. Danse générale [26] The cowherd Dorcon competes for Chloé's attention. A dance contest is proposed for a kiss from Chloé. 11:49 4. Danse grotesque de Dorcon [33] The crowd mocks the rival suitor's clumsy motions. 13:38 5. Danse légère et gracieuse de Daphnis [43] With a light and graceful dance Daphnis wins the contest and accepts his reward. Daphnis and Chloé embrace. The crowd withdraws with Chloé, leaving Daphnis in ecstasy. 18:05 6. Danse de Lycéion [53] Another shepherdess, Lycéion, tries to entice Daphnis. Pirates attack. Chloé beseeches the nymphs' protection but is carried off. 21:08 7. Danse lente et mystérieuse des Nymphes (Nocturne) [74] Daphnis searches for Chloé but collapses in despair. The nymphs come to life, revive Daphnis and supplicate Pan, the god of the shepherds. Tableau 2️⃣ 🦸🏻🦸‍♂️ Camp des pirates 26:06 8. Interlude [choir a cappella] [83] 28:40 9. Danse guerrière [93] The pirates exhaust themselves in a war-like dance. Their chief orders Chloe to dance. 33:25 10. Danse suppliante de Chloé [133] As she dances in supplication, Chloé tries to escape. As the chief carries her off, fantastic satyrs surround the pirates. Pan appears and the terrified pirates flee. Tableau 3️⃣ 🧝🧝‍♀️ Paysage du première 1er tableau, а la fin de la nuit (Landscape of the first 1st tableau, at the end of the night) 38:59 11. Lever du jour (Daybreak) [155] As day breaks, Daphnis and Chloé are reunited. An old shepherd, Lammon, explains that Pan intervened in memory of his own love of the nymph Syrinx. 44:46 12. Pantomime (Les amours de Pan et Syrinx) [172] The couple mime the tale of Pan's courtship of Syrinx, whom he enchanted with a flute of reeds. Before the nymphs' altar Daphnis pledges his love for Chloé. 46:16 Très lent [176] (the famous flute solo) 51:24 13. Danse général (Bacchanale) [199] As they tenderly embrace, the entire company joins in a wild joyous dance. 54:56 Applause WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln WDR Rundfunkchor Jukka-Pekka Saraste, conductor Score rehearsal numbers are shown in brackets. [ ] These time stamps from March 13, 2023 replace an older comment that I’m unable to delete. Those earlier time stamps are now incorrect (I don’t know what happened 🧐). Use this ver