拉威爾鋼琴作品《加斯巴之夜》詮釋報告

Abstract

摩利斯‧拉威爾(Maurice Ravel, 1875-1937)為法國印象樂派的代表作曲家之一，他身處於兩世紀之交的動盪時代，受法國學院式的厚實訓練和文學、繪畫等藝術之薰陶，在延續法國音樂傳統的同時，融合其他各類型的音樂語彙建立個人獨特的音樂風格。

鋼琴家柯爾特(Alfred Cortot, 1877-1962)曾讚嘆鋼琴作品《加斯巴之夜》：「作曲家創作了最驚人之器樂作品，豐富了我們這個時代」。拉威爾受到十九世紀前期法國詩人阿洛伊休斯‧貝特朗(Aloysius Bertrand, 1807-1841)的詩集《加斯巴之夜：林布蘭特及卡洛特式的幻想集》(Gaspard de la Nuit: fantaisies à la manière Rembrandt et de Callot, 1836)所啟發，將詩篇中充滿浪漫與幻想的文字化為極具炫技性的三首樂曲，分別為〈水妖〉(Ondine)、〈絞刑台〉(Le Gibet)、〈史卡波〉(Scarbo)。整首作品彷如工藝品一般細緻、華麗，又因其繁複困難的表現技巧，不僅為法國鋼琴作品立下里程碑，亦被後世公認極具挑戰性，成為比賽角逐首獎的常見曲目。

為了深入了解此作品與拉威爾，筆者先探討十九世紀法國音樂、文學與繪畫對拉威爾的影響，以及拉威爾的生平、音樂風格等，之後探究鋼琴作品《加斯巴之夜》其創作背景，並就旋律素材、和聲變化、結構與曲式等作樂曲解析。以上述的研究做為演奏詮釋的參考，並融合筆者個人練習方法、課堂心得、臨場演奏經驗與錄音資料，陳述筆者對此作品的理解與詮釋。

Towards the end of 19th century, Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was one of the most important composers in Impressionist movement. His music derives from his deep understanding of literature, acknowledgement of painting, and other form of arts. His unique style and musical vocabulary emerges from both the French tradition and his own developments.

Pianist Alfred Cortot commented upon the work Gaspard de la nuit “(these works)…enrich the repertory of our time by one of the most astonishing examples of instrumental ingenuity ever contrived by the industry of composers.” Ravel was inspired by the collection of poems Gaspard de la Nuit: Fantasies à la maniére de Callot et de Rembrandtearly that was written by early 19th century French poet Aloysius Bertrand. Ravel converted the romantic and fantasy filled verses into three virtuoso pieces, including “Ondine”, “Le Gibet”, and “Scarbo”. The piece became a milestone and set a standard for a new generation of pianistic works. Its elegant, brilliance and the required technique of the piece made its way to the final stages of many international piano competitions.

In order to understand the composer and the piece, I made an inquiry into 19th century French music, literature, and painting. And then I conducted a research on how these influence Ravel's compositional life and musical style. Further, I analyze Gaspard de la nuit its melodies, varied harmonies and the structures aspects. In addition to the above analysis as a point of reference, I include my personal experiences, recordings, and classroom reaction to convey my interpretation of this work.