Liner Notes / Sleeve Notes
Information
Official French Title: À la manière de… Borodine (often subtitled Valse)
English Title: In the Manner of Borodin / In the Style of Borodin
German Title: Nach der Art von Borodin
Italian Title: Alla maniera di Borodine
Catalogue Number: M. 63, No. 1 (Marnat Catalogue)
Year of Composition: 1912–1913
Year of Publication: 1914
Key: D-flat major
Tempo Marking: Valse: Allegretto giusto
Dedication: Ida Godebska (daughter of Ravel’s close friends Cipa and Ida Godebski)
Historical Context & Usage
This piece was originally conceived as part of a set intended to parody or pay homage to various composers. While the Borodin movement is the most famous from this specific impulse, it is frequently paired with its companion piece, À la manière de… Emmanuel Chabrier (M. 63, No. 2).
Ravel composed the Borodin tribute by evoking the Russian composer’s lyrical, soaring melodic lines and specific harmonic shifts, particularly those found in Borodin’s own piano miniatures and Petite Suite. Despite being a “pastiche,” it remains a staple of the Impressionist piano repertoire due to its elegant construction and quintessential Ravelian charm.
General Overview
Written between 1912 and 1913, À la manière de Borodine is a charming piano pastiche that demonstrates Maurice Ravel’s extraordinary ability to inhabit the harmonic and melodic language of other composers. The piece was originally commissioned by Alfredo Casella for a collection of musical parodies and was published alongside a companion piece dedicated to the style of Emmanuel Chabrier. In this work, Ravel adopts the form of a waltz—marked Allegretto giusto—to pay homage to Alexander Borodin, specifically echoing the lyrical Russian romanticism found in works like Borodin’s Petite Suite.
Musically, the composition is set in D-flat major and is characterized by its graceful, swaying triple meter and a distinctively Slavonic melodic contour. Ravel utilizes lush, extended harmonies and frequent modulations that evoke the “oriental” and nationalist flavors of the Mighty Handful, yet he filters these elements through his own refined French sensibility. Though brief and technically less demanding than his major cycles like Gaspard de la nuit, the piece is celebrated for its sophistication and its affectionate, rather than mocking, imitation of Borodin’s style. It remains a popular encore and an insightful example of Ravel’s mastery of musical mimicry and historical tribute.
History
The history of À la manière de Borodine is rooted in a collaborative project initiated by the Italian composer and pianist Alfredo Casella. In the early 1910s, Casella invited several prominent composers to contribute to a collection of musical parodies and homages titled À la manière de…. Ravel, who possessed a legendary talent for stylistic mimicry, responded to this invitation by composing two pastiches: one in the style of Alexander Borodin and another in the style of Emmanuel Chabrier.
The Borodin tribute was composed between 1912 and 1913, a period during which Ravel was at the height of his creative powers, having recently completed Daphnis et Chloé. Rather than a simple imitation, the work was a sophisticated “reconstruction” of the Russian composer’s lyrical sensibility. Ravel had long admired the “Mighty Handful,” and his choice of Borodin allowed him to explore the specific brand of Russian Romanticism—characterized by folk-like melodies and lush, exotic harmonies—that had influenced French music since the late 19th century.
Ravel chose the form of a waltz for this homage, specifically nodding to Borodin’s piano miniatures. The piece was published in 1914 by Éditions Mathot and was dedicated to Ida Godebska, the young daughter of his closest friends, Cipa and Ida Godebski. This dedication reflects the intimate, playful nature of the composition. While it originated as a commissioned exercise in parody, the work quickly became recognized as a genuine contribution to the piano repertoire, illustrating how Ravel could maintain his own meticulous craftsmanship while speaking through the musical “voice” of another.
Characteristics of Music
À la manière de Borodine is a masterclass in stylistic synthesis, where Maurice Ravel seamlessly blends his own meticulous French craftsmanship with the lyrical, nationalist language of Alexander Borodin. The composition is cast as a Valse in D-flat major, a key often associated with romantic warmth and resonance. Its primary musical characteristic is a soaring, expansive melody that utilizes the distinctively Russian “long-breathed” line, frequently featuring the lowered sixth and seventh degrees of the scale to evoke a Slavic folk flavor. This melodic contour is supported by a rhythmic foundation of a graceful, swaying triple meter, marked Allegretto giusto, which provides a light, dance-like framework for the more complex harmonic explorations.
Harmonically, the piece is defined by a sophisticated use of extended chords—such as ninths and thirteenths—and subtle chromatic shifts that are hallmark Ravelian touches, yet they are voiced in a way that mimics Borodin’s specific brand of “orientalism.” Ravel employs transparent textures and a clear, bell-like upper register, often juxtaposing simple diatonic movements with sudden, lush modulations. The mid-section of the work introduces a more melancholic, introspective atmosphere, characteristic of Russian romantic miniatures, before returning to the initial waltz theme. This creates a balanced, ternary-like structure where the precision of the French school meets the emotional directness of the Russian school, resulting in a work that feels simultaneously like a sincere tribute and a sophisticated intellectual exercise in musical mimicry.
Style(s), Movement(s) and Period of Composition
Stylistically, À la manière de Borodine occupies a unique space as a modern pastiche that intentionally looks backward while utilizing contemporary French techniques. At the time of its composition in 1912, the music was considered “new” in its chronological release, yet it was deliberately “old-fashioned” in its aesthetic intent, as it was designed to mimic the Russian Romantic style of the previous century. It sits at a crossroads between Nationalism and Impressionism, serving as a bridge where Borodin’s 19th-century Russian lyricism is reinterpreted through Ravel’s 20th-century harmonic refinement.
The work is fundamentally homophonic rather than polyphonic, featuring a clear, dominant melody supported by a rich chordal accompaniment in a waltz rhythm. While it draws heavily from Romanticism and Post-Romanticism through its emotional expressive qualities and lush textures, the precision of the writing and the specific use of dissonant extensions align it with Modernism. It is neither Baroque nor strictly Classical, though it possesses a “Neoclassical” spirit in its disciplined form and its focus on a historical tribute. Rather than being Avant-garde, the piece is a sophisticated exercise in Traditionalism, proving that even within the innovative atmosphere of pre-war Paris, Ravel remained a master of tonal beauty and historical continuity.
Episodes & Trivia
The creation of À la manière de Borodine is steeped in the collaborative spirit of the Parisian avant-garde, particularly the circle known as Les Apaches. One of the most notable episodes surrounding its origin involves Alfredo Casella, who was not only a fellow composer but a close friend of Ravel. Casella was obsessed with the idea of musical mimicry and challenged his contemporaries to write pieces that captured the “soul” of other composers. Ravel’s contribution was so effective that many critics noted it didn’t just sound like Borodin; it sounded like what Borodin would have written had he been born in France thirty years later.
A fascinating piece of trivia lies in the dedication to Ida Godebska. Ravel was notoriously private and often appeared cold to adults, but he possessed a deep, sincere affection for children. By dedicating this sophisticated waltz to the young daughter of the Godebski family, Ravel signaled that the piece was meant to be viewed with a sense of playfulness and innocence, rather than as a dry, academic exercise. This mirrors his work on Ma mère l’Oye, which was also written for the Godebski children, highlighting a period where his most “human” and accessible music was inspired by his role as a family friend.
Another intriguing aspect of the work is its relationship to Ravel’s own creative process. He was a meticulous perfectionist who often spent years on a single orchestral work, yet he could produce these “in the manner of” pieces with remarkable speed. Despite the “parody” label, Ravel took the assignment seriously enough to ensure the piano writing remained highly idiomatic. Interestingly, the Borodin tribute is often grouped with a piece written “in the manner of” Emmanuel Chabrier, but while the Chabrier piece is a parody of a specific opera (Faust by Gounod), the Borodin piece is a more general stylistic portrait, making it a purer example of Ravel’s ability to “ghostwrite” for the masters of the past.
Genres: Impressionist, Piano Solo, Piano Suit, Piano Piece, Salon Music
Similar Composers: Claude Debussy, Déodat de Séverac, Gabriel Fauré, Charles Koechlin
Cover Art: « Jeune homme au piano (Martial Caillebotte) » (1876) de Gustave Caillebotte
from Allemagne, ALLMGN013
Released 8 May, 2026
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