Ma mère l’Oye is a piano piece that Maurice Ravel wrote originally as a duet on a single piano. The title is French for “Mother Goose”. The piano four hands version was arranged for piano solo by his friend Jacques Charlot in the same year that it was published.
The original piano suite consists of five movements
I. Pavane de la Belle au bois dormant
“Pavane of Sleeping Beauty”, Lent
II. Petit Poucet
“Little Tom Thumb”, Très modéré
III. Laideronnette, impératrice des pagodes
“Little Ugly Girl, Empress of the Pagodas”, Mouvt de marche.
IV. Les entretiens de la belle et de la bête
“Conversation of Beauty and the Beast”, Mouvt de valse très modéré
V. Le jardin féerique
“The Fairy Garden”, Lent et grave
MusiClassroom has written on further details about how Ma mère L’oye was later orchestrated by Ravel. Known for his richly colored orchestra works, Ravel places each melody and harmony on a variety of instruments in unison.
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