Ravel’s “Daphnis et Chloé” Suite No. 2
Notes by TŌN violist Yuxuan Zhang
French composer Maurice Ravel is an Impressionist master on par with Claude Debussy. Born in 1875 in a small French town near Spain, he was the son of a Swiss-born engineer and a mother from Spain. This unique family background endowed him with both precision and passion—a duality vividly reflected in his music. His works are renowned for their precise structure and brilliantly colorful harmonies and orchestration. He was called “the most perfect of Swiss clockmakers” by Stravinsky.
Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 is one of his best-known works. It is drawn from the ballet of the same name, which is based on an ancient Greek pastoral romance by the writer Longus, telling the love story between the goatherd Daphnis and the shepherdess Chloé. The complete ballet premiered on June 8, 1912, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. However, because Ravel’s score was so exquisitely complex, its brilliance arguably overshadowed the choreography. In addition, the premiere was overshadowed by that of Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun with Nijinsky’s choreography, which premiered a week earlier, so the initial performance was not a major success. Later, Ravel extracted the finest sections from the ballet music and arranged them into two concert suites. The Second Suite, which premiered in 1913, was a great success and quickly became one of the most popular staples of the concert repertoire, frequently performed to this day.
The music of the Second Suite is taken entirely from the third act of the ballet. It begins with the woodwinds playing rapid figures, the harp playing glissandos, and the basses playing a melodic gesture—all extremely soft, creating the atmosphere of dawn. Shortly after, the piccolo and violin depict birdsong, and the musical color gradually brightens. The viola and clarinet suggest that the sun is about to rise. Daphnis awakens and searches everywhere for Chloé. As the music reaches its climax, they find each other with the help of the god Pan and embrace. In the middle section, the music tells why Pan came to their aid: he was moved by their plight, reminded of the nymph Syrinx whom he had deeply loved in his youth but could not attain. To give thanks, Daphnis and Chloé act out this story of Pan’s pursuit of Syrinx in the form of a mime. This section is expressed by a flute solo. Finally, the piece ends with a rapid dance, depicting the frenzied group dance of the Bacchanal. Amidst the cheering and dancing crowd, Daphnis and Chloé pledge their union.