Post-classical, Neoklassik, Minimal Music, Ambient, BGM, Piano Solo, Piano Duo & Duet, Piano Trio, String Quartet / Classical Music Recording: Erik Satie, Charles Koechlin, Mel Bonis, Maurice Ravel, Gabriel Fauré, Gabriel Pierné, Cécile Chaminade, Reynaldo Hahn, Charles Gounod, Enrique Granados, Edvard Grieg, Béla Bartók, Leopold Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Literary Studies: Paul Auster, Haruki Murakami, Jean-Philippe Toussaint | Poetry Translations: Paul Éluard, Anna de Noailles, Rupert Brooke, Sara Teasdale
Tracklist:
01 Furniture Music I
02 Furniture Music II
03 Furniture Music III
04 Furniture Music IV
05 Furniture Music V
06 Furniture Music VI
07 Blue Twilight I
08 Blue Twilight II
09 Blue Twilight III
10 Small Garden I
11 Small Garden II
12 Small Garden III
13 Furniture Music I (American Piano Version)
14 Furniture Music III (American Piano Version)
15 Furniture Music IV (G Minor American Piano Version)
16 Furniture Music IV (E Minor Japanese Piano Version)
17 Furniture Music V (American Piano Version)
18 Blue Twilight II (C Minor American Piano Version)
19 Blue Twilight II (F Minor Japanese Piano Version)
20 Small Garden I (American Piano Version)
21 Small Garden I (G Minor Japanese Piano Version)
22 Small Garden II (American Piano Version)
23 Small Garden II (F Minor Japanese Piano Version)
24 Small Garden III (American Piano Version)
25 Small Garden III (G Minor Japanese Piano Version)
Genres: Post-classical, Ambient. BGM, Environmental Music
Similar Composers: Erik Satie, Federico Mompou, Ryuichi Sakamoto
Frédéric Chopin’s Prelude No. 7 in A major is one of the most beloved and accessible pieces within his Op. 28 collection. Unlike the more turbulent or melancholic pieces in the set, this prelude is characterized by its grace and simplicity. It functions as a brief, poetic Mazurka, lasting only sixteen measures and typically under a minute in performance.
The piece is built upon a repetitive rhythmic motif known as the Mazurka rhythm, which places a slight emphasis on the second or third beat of the triple-meter measure. The melody is elegant and folk-like, floating over a steady accompaniment of chords. Its structure is perfectly symmetrical, consisting of two eight-measure periods that create a sense of balanced, effortless movement.
Technically, it is often assigned to intermediate students because the notes are not overly complex, yet it demands a high level of control over touch and dynamics. To play it well, a pianist must maintain a light, singing tone in the right hand while keeping the left-hand chords soft and steady. The use of the pedal is crucial here to connect the harmonies without blurring the crystalline texture of the melody.
Historically, this prelude became a symbol of romantic nostalgia. It was famously used by the composer Federico Mompou as the theme for his Variaciones sobre un tema de Chopin, and it remains a staple of the repertoire for its ability to convey a complete emotional narrative in an incredibly condensed form. It represents a moment of serene clarity amidst the more intense and experimental preludes that surround it in the opus.
Genres: Romantic, Prélude, Piano Solo
Similar Composers: Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, John Field, Alexander Scriabin, Sergei Rachmaninoff
Cover Art: “Girl at Piano” (1887) by Theodore Robinson
Composé en 1909, le Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn est une pièce courte mais d’une grande finesse, écrite par Maurice Ravel à l’occasion du centenaire de la mort de Joseph Haydn. Cette œuvre s’inscrit dans une commande collective de la Revue musicale de la Société Internationale de Musique, à laquelle ont également participé des compositeurs comme Debussy et Dukas. Le défi consistait à bâtir une partition à partir d’un motif musical imposé, dérivé du nom de Haydn selon un système de correspondance alphabétique où H-A-Y-D-N devient la suite de notes Si-La-Ré-Ré-Sol.
Dans cette miniature pour piano, Ravel fait preuve d’une ingéniosité remarquable en manipulant ce motif de cinq notes avec une rigueur presque mathématique, tout en conservant une élégance purement française. On y retrouve le motif original, mais aussi sa version renversée et sa version rétrograde (jouée à l’envers). Malgré cette structure intellectuelle stricte, la pièce ne sonne jamais comme un exercice aride. Au contraire, elle dégage une atmosphère de nostalgie raffinée, typique de l’hommage ravelien qui cherche moins à imiter le passé qu’à le transfigurer à travers un prisme moderne.
L’écriture harmonique est subtile, mêlant la clarté classique du menuet à des frottements de secondes et des résolutions inattendues qui signent le style de l’époque. En à peine deux minutes, Ravel parvient à condenser son génie de l’économie de moyens : chaque note compte, et le motif initial irrigue toute la texture jusqu’à une conclusion d’une douceur transparente. C’est un témoignage parfait de son amour pour les formes anciennes et de sa capacité à transformer une contrainte formelle en un moment de pure poésie pianistique.
Notes – English
Composed in 1909, Maurice Ravel’s Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn is a masterclass in elegant constraint. It was written as part of a collective tribute organized by the Revue musicale S.I.M. to commemorate the centenary of Joseph Haydn’s death. The piece is built entirely around a musical cryptogram where the letters of Haydn’s name are mapped to specific pitches: H (B-natural in German notation), A, Y (D), D, and N (G). This five-note motif serves as the DNA of the entire work, appearing in various guises including its original form, inversion, and retrograde.
Despite the mathematical nature of its construction, the Menuet avoids sounding like a dry academic exercise. Ravel infuses the work with a characteristic blend of classical poise and early 20th-century harmonic sophistication. The piece maintains the rhythmic grace of a traditional minuet while utilizing subtle dissonances and transparent textures that feel distinctly modern. It is a delicate balance of formal rigor and sensitive phrasing, showcasing Ravel’s ability to pay homage to the past while maintaining his own unique voice.
The work is brief, typically lasting under two minutes, yet it achieves a remarkable sense of structural completeness. Every note is placed with precision, leading to a quiet and luminous conclusion. This miniature remains a significant example of Ravel’s fascination with “ordered” beauty, proving that even a strict alphabetical puzzle can be transformed into a work of profound poetic clarity.
Genres: Impressionist, Piano Solo
Similar Composers: Claude Debussy, Gabriel Fauré
Cover Art: « Jeune homme au piano (Martial Caillebotte) » (1876) de Gustave Caillebotte