Luthéal
Encyclopedia
The luthéal is a kind of prepared piano
which extended the "register" possibilities of a piano by producing cimbalon-like sounds in some registers, exploiting harmonics of the strings when pulling other register-stops, and also some registers making other objects, which were lowered just above the strings, resound. The instrument became obsolete partly because most of its mechanics were too sensitive, needing constant adjustment. The only pieces in the general repertoire to feature the luthéal are L'Enfant et les Sortilèges
(1920–25) and Tzigane (1924) by Maurice Ravel
, performances of which tend to substitute an upright piano, either prepared
with paper or straight.
used it in Tzigane for violin and piano, and in the opera L'Enfant et les sortilèges.
It generates a range of hallucinatory colours, at times like a guitar
, a harmonica
.
The luthéal was, in Ravel's day, a comparatively new piano attachment that had several registrations
that could be engaged by pulling stops above the keyboard. One of these registrations had a cimbalom-like sound, which fitted well with the gypsy-esque idea of the composition. The printed version of the original score of the Tzigane piece contained instructions for these register-changes during execution. The Luthéal, however, did not survive: by the end of the 20th century the first print of the luthéal version of the accompaniment was still at the publishers, but the chamber
version of the piece had long been performed in Ravel's alternative specification for the ordinary piano.
A surviving original luthéal was discovered in storage in the museum of the Brussels Conservatory and has been restored to playing condition. A new instrument was commissioned in 1987 by the French government on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Ravel’s death, and is now in the Musée de la Musique, Paris.
recently recorded a performance of Ravel's Tzigane that features a reconstructed luthéal, which Hope describes in a National Public Radio interview as "a cross between a typewriter and an organ that attaches to the strings of a piano" and produces "an amazing sound world."
Prepared piano
A prepared piano is a piano that has had its sound altered by placing objects between or on the strings or on the hammers or dampers....
which extended the "register" possibilities of a piano by producing cimbalon-like sounds in some registers, exploiting harmonics of the strings when pulling other register-stops, and also some registers making other objects, which were lowered just above the strings, resound. The instrument became obsolete partly because most of its mechanics were too sensitive, needing constant adjustment. The only pieces in the general repertoire to feature the luthéal are L'Enfant et les Sortilèges
L'enfant et les sortilèges
L'enfant et les sortilèges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties is an opera in one act, with music by Maurice Ravel to a libretto by Colette. It is Ravel's second opera, his first being L'heure espagnole...
(1920–25) and Tzigane (1924) by Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
, performances of which tend to substitute an upright piano, either prepared
Prepared piano
A prepared piano is a piano that has had its sound altered by placing objects between or on the strings or on the hammers or dampers....
with paper or straight.
History
The attachment was created by the Belgian organ builder Georges Cloetens, who first patented it on 28 January 1919 and named it the "Jeu de harpe tirée". Maurice RavelMaurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
used it in Tzigane for violin and piano, and in the opera L'Enfant et les sortilèges.
It generates a range of hallucinatory colours, at times like a guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, a harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
.
The luthéal was, in Ravel's day, a comparatively new piano attachment that had several registrations
Registration (organ)
Registration is the technique of choosing and combining the stops of a pipe organ in order to produce a particular sound. Registration can also refer to a particular combination of stops...
that could be engaged by pulling stops above the keyboard. One of these registrations had a cimbalom-like sound, which fitted well with the gypsy-esque idea of the composition. The printed version of the original score of the Tzigane piece contained instructions for these register-changes during execution. The Luthéal, however, did not survive: by the end of the 20th century the first print of the luthéal version of the accompaniment was still at the publishers, but the chamber
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
version of the piece had long been performed in Ravel's alternative specification for the ordinary piano.
A surviving original luthéal was discovered in storage in the museum of the Brussels Conservatory and has been restored to playing condition. A new instrument was commissioned in 1987 by the French government on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Ravel’s death, and is now in the Musée de la Musique, Paris.
Revivals
Violinist Daniel HopeDaniel Hope (violinist)
Daniel Hope is a British violinist. A soloist, he has also been a member of the Beaux Arts Trio since 2002.Hope was born in S. Africa but raised and educated in England. Hope studied at and received a degree from the Royal Academy of Music, and was tutored by the Russian pedagogue Zakhar...
recently recorded a performance of Ravel's Tzigane that features a reconstructed luthéal, which Hope describes in a National Public Radio interview as "a cross between a typewriter and an organ that attaches to the strings of a piano" and produces "an amazing sound world."
Sources
- Cotte, Roger J. V. 2001. "Luthéal [Piano-Luthéal]". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley SadieStanley SadieStanley Sadie CBE was a leading British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , which was published as the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.Sadie was educated at St Paul's School,...
and John TyrrellJohn Tyrrell (professor of music)John Tyrrell was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia in 1942. He studied at the universities of Cape Town, Oxford and Brno. In 2000 he was appointed Research Professor at Cardiff University....
. London: Macmillan Publishers.
Further reading
- Anon. 1973. "Séances de la Société: séance du jeudi 14 juin 1972". Revue de Musicologie 59:317. [Report on Roger Cotte, "Un instrument de musique peu connu, le luthéal, utilisé par Maurice Ravel".]
- Cotte, Roger J. V. 1976. "Le luthéal". Hi-fi stéréo: 221–24
- Davies, Hugh. 1988. "Maurice Ravel and the Luthéal". Experimental Musical Instruments 4, no. 2 (August): 11–14.
- DeVoto, Mark. 2000. "Harmony in the Chamber Music". In The Cambridge Companion to Ravel, edited by Deborah Mawer, 97–117. Cambridge Companions to Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-64026-1 (cloth); ISBN 0-521-64856-4 (pbk).
- Marcuse, Sibyl. 1975. Musical Instruments: A Comprehensive Dictionary. The Norton Library. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-393-00758-8.
External links
- "Pleyel Grand Piano with 'Luthéal' Mechanism". Musical Instruments Museum website (Accessed 17 June 2010).