Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn (Ravel)

Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn is a minuet for solo piano written by Maurice Ravel in 1909 to mark the centenary of Joseph Haydn's death.[1]

The first 4 bars of Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn Playⓘ

Description

The piece is only 54 bars long and lasts for about a minute and a half. The theme is based on Haydn's own name as a five-note motif. The letter H represents B natural, A and D representing their respective pitches, Y as D natural and N as G natural. In the score, the use of this motif is marked using their letters including several inverted and retrograde versions.[2]

History

This work came about as a result of a commission by the Revue musicale mensuelle de la Société Internationale de Musique.[3] In total, six composers were commissioned: Maurice Ravel, ('Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn'), Claude Debussy ('Hommage à Haydn'), Vincent d'Indy, Paul Dukas ('Prélude Élégiaque'), Reynaldo Hahn ('Theme Varié sur le nom de Haydn'), and Charles-Marie Widor ('Fugue sur le nom d'Haydn').

Each composer was given the same task: to write a piece based on the musical equivalent of Haydn's name.

References
  1. Selected Piano exam pieces. The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. 2009–2010. pp. 24–25.
  2. "Allmusic Guide to Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn". Allmusic. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  3. Soucy, Jean-Phillipe (2009). Six French composers' homage to Haydn: An analytical comparison enlightening their conception of tombeau (Master of Arts thesis). eScholarship@McGill.


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