BY: DIGITAL WAX MEDIA STAFF
One might not assume there to be all that many parallels between hip-hop, the blues, and modernist-era classical composed in southwestern France over a hundred years ago. But it may be that these listeners are simply not yet familiar with “Boléro.”
Essentially a 15-minute instrumental relay, the piece cycles through a pair of melodies incessantly. These melodies are passed along between instruments as the orchestration intensifies. The piece was written for a sizable orchestra in 1928 by French composer Maurice Ravel. It was one of the musician’s final pieces and would prove to be one of his most enduring.
Breaking away from the complexity and development-focused form of his contemporaries and predecessors, with “Boléro,” Ravel broke ground on sonic territory which would heavily inform later musical forms such as hip-hop and electronic music. The similarities lie in an emphasis on repetition and simplicity.
The melodies themselves are not what one might necessarily call simple. The procession unassumingly meanders through diatonic and phrygian movements before circling back to start the process again. What’s more, the percussion was written to include just a snare batting out the same ostinato rhythm pattern for the full 15 minutes of the composition. It sounds almost like a primitive drum machine loop, though in the early 1928 the idea of a “loop” as we know it today was not yet existent, nor was the technology required to facilitate such a thing.
The driving insistence of the repeated melodies and rhythm was essentially unheard of at the time of “Boléro’s” composition. But these elements would serve as the basis of modern forms. Also, the simplicity and near-droning effect of the style mirrored aspects of the early delta blues which was being established across the pond by musicians who likely died anonymous.
The drastic stylistic deviation was no accident, however. “Boléro” didn’t simply pivot from the direction of the orchestral music of others. The piece was in equal parts a deviation for Ravel from the approach of his own works as well. It was a thought experiment – an exercise in absurdity.
The composer reportedly stated outright that he intended to compose the piece with little to no melodic development, relying solely upon dynamics and intensity to put forth a message. This is a technique commonly utilized in modern rock and pop music. Take a classic like Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” or the 3 Doors Down single, “Kryptonite.” These tracks vamp on a single progression throughout but maintain musical motion through layering and instrumental dynamics.
Like any good musical genius, Ravel would reportedly grow irate with the success of the piece along contemporary audiences. Ravel was quite aware of the absurdist exercise from which the composition emerged. But the listeners were not in on the joke. They embraced what was initially almost a novelty piece with great earnestness.
Perhaps Ravel himself did not hold as much contempt for “Boléro” as is often assumed. It has been suggested that the composition was indeed a personal statement for the artist. But given its deviation from stylistic norms and relative simplicity by the standards of the day, he harbored an insecurity regarding the merits of the piece.
In any case, “Boléro” would be cited by many as Ravel’s most popular composition. Its enduring nature comes as not so much a surprise given the musical landscape into which it has been left to grow. Ravel’s own suspected distaste for the composition notwithstanding, “Boléro” was one of the final pieces he would compose prior to his passing in 1937, and it would be to this piece he would owe much of the recognition and acclaim attached to his name in the present day.
Photo: Ravel’s Boléro, Lamoureux Orchestra, directed by Ravel himself, 1930 12″ shellac disc label – Fair Use
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