Ravel Le gibet (from Gaspard de la nuit)

The persistent, repetitive B-flat ostinato in "Le gibet" represents the tolling of a bell over a corpse hanging from a gibbet. Ravel intended this macabre scene, which lasts throughout the entire second movement of his 1908 suite "Gaspard de la nuit", to evoke a desolate, haunting atmosphere.

"Le gibet" is the second movement of "Gaspard de la nuit", a suite famously written by Ravel to be more difficult to play than Balakirev's "Islamey". While technically less explosive than the third movement, "Scarbo", "Le gibet" requires immense tonal control and endurance to maintain its unyielding ostinato.

The suite "Gaspard de la nuit" is based on a collection of poems of the same name by Aloysius Bertrand. Ravel wrote the three movements, including "Le gibet", to vividly translate the dark, gothic visions of the 1839 text into music.

"Le gibet" is generally performed at a slow, deliberate tempo, typically lasting around six to seven minutes. It serves as the middle section of the three-movement suite "Gaspard de la nuit", resting between "Ondine" and "Scarbo".