Daphnis et Chloé – 1er Suite

The ballet, a masterpiece of Impressionist orchestration, is now followed by Urtext editions of the well-known Daphnis Suites, both edited by Ravel expert Jean-François Monnard. Ravel extracted two suites, two Fragements Symphoniques: the work now known as the First Suite was published before the first performance of the ballet.

It served as a test for the composer, who wanted to present the just orchestrated pages in concert. Suite No. 1 was premiered in April 1911, but its reception was “disastrous”. It was not until three years later that Suite No. 2 was performed. It takes up the third and last part of the ballet unchanged. It is largely thanks to this suite, with its richness of color in the famous “Lever du jour”, that the work is known.

The large format of the conducting score as well as the orchestral parts allow good readability and support the clarity and transparency of the modern notation. The already published piano reduction EB 9422 can also be used for the suites due to the double bar count and information about the layout of the suites.