In 1909, the Revue musicale mensuelle de la Société Internationale de Musique commissioned six French composers to write down items in commemoration of the centenary of the dying of Franz Joseph Haydn. Ravel’s 54-bar-long minuet is constructed on a five-note motif outlining Haydn’s title.
The French system for musical cryptograms includes all the alphabet, with H-N, O-U, and V-Z in traces underneath the unique diatonic notes A-G. In Ravel’s rating, H is represented by B pure, A and D are represented by their respective pitches, Y turns into D pure, and N turns into G pure. We hear these pitches within the rising motif within the high voice within the opening of the piece.
Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn is a dreamy exploration of the motif. With the sudden return of the opening theme, the adventurous journey of the center part is reduce quick, and we return residence.
Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho marks the a hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Ravel’s delivery, celebrated all through 2025, with an album that includes the composer’s full solo piano works and concerti.
Recordings
- Ravel: Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn, Seong-Jin Cho Deutsche Grammophon
Featured Picture: “Autumn Impact at Argenteuil” (1873), Claude Monet
