Gaspard de la Nuit -- Ravel

This is an excellent work by Maurice Ravel (pictured left), though he is not one of my most prized composers. It consists of three movements, each based on a poem from a collection (also titled "Gaspard de la Nuit") by Aloysius Bertrand (pictured right). Regrettably, I couldn't find any free on-line translations of the poems (let alone well-done translations). If any among you are interested to search, you won't hesitate to leave a comment indicating where it is.
The work as a whole comprises some of the most technically challenging music for piano solo in standard repertoire (meaning no random obscure modern composers like Sorabji and Finnissy, both of whom wrote practically impossible pieces; however these are very obscure and modern and thus not considered "standard repertoire"). In fact, Ravel wrote it to be intentionally more difficult than Balakirev's Islamey, which was considered probably the most difficult piece before that point. I will most likely make a post about Islamey in the future.

My favorite of the three movements is the first one, Ondine (pictured center). Here is the best recording I could find. I think this particular piece is incredibly subtle, and is not emotionally straightforward. To me, the entire piece is a contrast between a certain fantastical grace or beauty and then a dark, ghoulish underside. It seems to me that much of the higher themes and parts played by the right hand mark the graceful side of the piece, whereas the deeper, more sinister left-hand parts stand in stark contrast and provide those hints of something fiendishly mischievous at work.

Still more compelling is the notion of seduction and its relevance to the piece. Supposedly, the poem by Bertrand on which this movement was based (also titled "Ondine") described a water-fairy who attempted to seduce men and lead them to her underwater kingdom. This is obviously derived from mythological origins, as an Ondine was a nymph-like creature; and it was said that, if her husband was unfaithful, the Ondine would curse him so that he would suffocate the next time he went to sleep. In both of these notions of "Ondine," it is clear to me that the beauty of the Ondine is not so much a Platonic, "pure" kind of beauty, but rather a seductive one. To me, Ravel succeeds magnificently in expressing this idea of seduction musically.
Lastly, I enjoy how the texture of the piece mimics the warbling sound of trickling water, and in the more intense sections, sounds more like waves as one would hear at the ocean. This is a fantastic touch that also contributes to the accuracy with which the piece captures the subject of the poem.

The other two movements of the work are worthy of equally lengthy analysis because they are also (in my opinion) masterfully executed; however, I chose to write about the first movement simply because it appeals to me most personally. Perhaps at a later date I'll write posts about the other two movements. Only maybe not the second one, which is quite disturbing and I oftentimes find it hard to listen to in full.