In truth, what I was looking for was simply some justification to post pictures of the crows that have joined the squirrels, doves and sparrows on the rainy balcony. Poe came to mind, his famous poem about the Raven. Before you know it, I was sucked into essay after interesting essay of Poe’s influence on French artists, in particular Ravel. The composer claimed many times over that Poe’s Philosophy of Composition (which describes the process of creating the Raven in meticulous, almost mathematical ways, and can be read in full in the link) was a key influence on his own principles of composing.

Just as the Anglo world despised Poe (Henry James wrote that “an enthusiasm for Poe is the mark of a decidedly primitive stage of reflection,” Paul Elmer More thought Poe “the poet of unripe boys and unsound men,” Yeats thought “The Raven” to be “insincere and vulgar,” and Aldous Huxley thought it “shoddy and slipshod,”) the French thinkers and artists embraced him, Ravel, Debussy and Baudelaire among the biggest fans.(Ref.)

Apparently there is debate how seriously Ravel meant it when he said that his own work in composing was built on Poe’s methods, with some convinced of it, and others claiming that he was the eternal trickster, pulling off pranks and maybe luring people in wrong directions. Unclear if their shared interest in being Dandies forged a bond. I wouldn’t know. Nor do I care.

I do care for the music and everyone agrees that some of Ravel’s compositions are in direct reference to some of Poe’s writings. “A Descent into the Maelstrom” was among them, an inspiration to La Valse in 1920, for example.

What is also established, and that is interesting to me, is that Ravel refused to be roped into the rising French nationalism and its focus on ancient and regional French music. He was open to trans-nationalist influences, and looked outwards for inspiration, borrowings, and appropriations from international sources. A good role model in times, then and now, when tribalism, insularity and traditionalism try to constrict art and education on all fronts.

In 1928, Ravel’s extended, successful concert tour of the U.S. introduced him to Gershwin who took him to hear jazz in Harlem. He also visited New Orleans. The harvest of those encounters can be found in his later compositions, the Piano Concerto in G among them. It includes some jazz elements that are profoundly beautiful. Well, the whole piece is. Played by one of my heroines. (Alas, video has ads in-between movements. My favorite is the third movement, if you have only so much time.)

For a detailed biography of Ravel’s life, sexuality, artistic output and philosophy one can turn to Benjamin Ivry’s biography Maurice Ravel – A Life, reviewed here, or Roger Nichols’ Ravel, the most recent one.

Or one can simply listen to his music, with its many layers just like the crows feathers.