Analytical Visualizations: Alborada del gracioso

Visualizations

Jul 8

A Timbral and Orchestrational Pluralistic Analysis of Ravel's Alborada del gracioso
  Analytical Visualizations

An in-depth look at Maurice Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso, from multiple taxonomic perspectives. This page contains the all the analytical visualizations, as well as the orchestral and piano scores with accompanying audio.

The sidebar on the top left of the page links to the write-ups pages for each of the different taxonomies or analytic techniques, as well as the audio for each excerpt of music.

In the section below, click through the tabs to view the analyses of various sections of the work and click through the embedded left sidebar to view the different analyses of one section of music.

All Write-ups

All Visualizations

Orchestral Grouping Effects

Metatimbre

Functional Orchestration

Audio Excerpts

Excerpt one mm. 1–11

Excerpt two mm. 44–58

Excerpt three mm. 72–108

Form

Form of Alborada del Gracioso [from Functional Orchestration figure 2.1]

Alborada del Gracioso is composed in a simple ternary form: [A vif / B lent (rehears. mark 9) / A’ vif (mark 23)]. Each part is divided into episodes, often imitating the sound of a dance, or a character, or instruments related to Spanish folkloric music (guitar, castanets, rasgueado, etc.).

Mm. 1–11

Section Overview

This section examines mm. 1–11 from multiple taxonomic and analytical perspectives. See the orchestral and piano scores below for reference.

Taxonomy of Orchestral Grouping Effects

Orchestral Score

Piano Score

Mm. 44–58

Section Overview

This section examines mm. 44–58 from multiple taxonomic and analytical perspectives. See the orchestral and piano scores below for reference.

Taxonomy of Orchestral Grouping Effects

This passage contains a large-scale timbral juxtaposition, contrasting the timbres and textures in the foreground layer of mm. 44-52 with those in the foreground in mm. 53-28 (Figure 2).

Concurrent Grouping

mm. 44-51: Transforming, sustained emergent blend
mm. 45-46: Stable, sustained augmentation
mm. 45-46: Stable, sustained emergence
mm. 47-48: Stable, sustained augmentation
mm. 47-48: Stable, sustained emergence
mm. 50-51: Stable, sustained augmentation
mm. 53-59: Stable, sustained timbral augmentation
mm. 53-59: Stable, sustained emergent blend

Sequential Grouping

mm. 44-53: Transforming stratification
mm. 48-53: Transforming stream integration
mm. 53-58: Transforming stratification

Segmental Grouping

mm. 44-48: Antiphonal contrast
mm. 44-58: Timbral juxtaposition (coincides with Episode 3 of Part A in Lévy’s functional orchestration analysis)
mm. 47-50: Orchestral gesture (gradual addition)

Functional Orchestration

Functional analysis of the orchestration of the Episode A3 (mm.44-58): imitation and magnification of the sound of a flamenco tremolo.

Instrumentation principle for the mm.44-47 (Introduction, antecedent)
Crescendo/decresc. and space and focus changes (mm.48-52)
Instrumentation of the release of the motif A3 (step-wise crescendo, mark 7, mm.59-63)

Orchestral Score

Piano Score

Mm. 72–108

Section Overview

This section examines mm. 72–108 from multiple taxonomic and analytical perspectives.

Taxonomy of Orchestral Grouping Effects

Exemplifications of this taxonomy from mm. 72–108. This passage involves a series of timbral juxtapositions between a lyrical solo bassoon and a complex, stratified orchestral texture with rhythmic material in the foreground and more sustained harmonic material in the background (Figure 3).