Practice Journal - Maurice Ravel's Miroirs

While practising Une Barque sur l'Océan, I became curious about the title of the larger set it belongs to: Miroirs. The word Miroirs means "Mirrors" in French, but I couldn't immediately see the connection between the music and mirrors.

Autumn Sunset in Sydney

The five pieces in Ravel's Miroirs are:

• Noctuelles (Night Moths)

• Oiseaux tristes (Sad Birds)

• Une Barque sur l'Océan (A Boat on the Ocean)

• Alborada del gracioso (Morning Song of the Jester)

• La Vallée des cloches (The Valley of Bells)

At first, these pieces seem unrelated. However, when I listened to the whole set, I noticed that the music often feels distant, mysterious, and dreamlike. Instead of clearly describing an object or telling a story, Ravel gives us an impression of it. It is almost as if we are seeing these images through a reflection rather than looking at them directly.

This made me think that Miroirs might not refer to actual mirrors. Perhaps the pieces are reflections of ideas, memories, feelings, and experiences.

This connects strongly to the piece I am currently learning, Une Barque sur l'Océan. Rather than literally hearing a boat on the sea, I feel that Ravel is presenting his reflection of the ocean. Through shimmering textures, flowing arpeggios, and changing dynamics, the music creates an image of the sea that is personal and imaginative rather than realistic.

A fun fact is that each piece in Miroirs was dedicated to one of Ravel's friends. In this way, the title may also represent reflections of the people who inspired him.

The more I study Une Barque sur l'Océan, the more I think that Ravel was not trying to paint a picture of the ocean. He was inviting us to imagine our own reflection of it.