Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) originally composed his Pièce en forme de Habanera as a Vocalise etude en forme de Habanera for bass voice and piano in 1907. A song without words, Ravel took as his model the slow, sultry Spanish dance called the habanera—like most French composers of the period, Ravel was fascinated by the music of Spain—and used it as the basis of a blindingly difficult virtuoso exercise for the bass voice. Ravel later transcribed the work for cello and piano—a transcription that retains all the virtuosity of the original—and from this several other arrangements have been made for virtually any and all instruments with aspirations to virtuoso glory.

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Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) originally composed his Pièce en forme de Habanera as a Vocalise etude en forme de Habanera for bass voice and piano in 1907. A song without words, Ravel took as his model the slow, sultry Spanish dance called the habanera—like most French composers of the period, Ravel was fascinated by the music of Spain—and used it as the basis of a blindingly difficult virtuoso exercise for the bass voice. Ravel later transcribed the work for cello and piano—a transcription that retains all the virtuosity of the original—and from this several other arrangements have been made for virtually any and all instruments with aspirations to virtuoso glory.

© All Music Guide

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