s found a spirit of genuine romantic inspiration.

[Footnote 301: While he was riding a bicycle.]

Although Ravel (1875-still living) cannot claim to be a pioneer like
Debussy--since in his music there are frequent traces of the
exuberance of Chabrier, the suavity of Faure, the atmosphere and
impressionistic tendencies of Debussy and the exoticism of the
Neo-Russians--yet he is indeed no empty reflection of these men, for
he has his own bold, fantastic style and has been a daring
experimenter in freedom of harmony and structure. One finds a power of
ironic brilliance and of unexpected harmonic transformations certainly
new in modern literature. Ravel[302] is one of the most versatile and
prolific of all the younger Frenchmen having composed significant
works in at least four fields: songs, particularly the set entitled
_Histoires Naturelles_, which reveal an unusual instinct for delicate
description; and pianoforte pieces of which _Miroirs_, the dazzling
tour de force _Jeux d'eau_, the _Valses nobles et sentimentales_, the
_Sonatine_, the _Pavane_ and, above all, the Poems, _Gaspard de la
Nuit_ (_Ondine_, _Le Gibbet_[303] and _Scarbo_) are conspicuous
examples of his style. Furthermore in the field of chamber music are
found a String Quartet, remarkable for inspiration and for certainty
of workmanship, and a Trio (for pianoforte, violin and 'cello) which
is one of the most brilliant modern works, of convincing originality
in its freedom of rhythm, _e.g._, the opening measures of the first
movement.

[Music]

[Footnote 302: The best account of his works and style is to be found
in the volume _Maurice Ravel et son oeuvre_ by Roland Manuel.]

[Footnote 303: _Le Gibbet_ is without doubt the most realistic piece
of musical description in our time.]

Finally, for orchestra his _Spanish Rhapsody_ ranks with Chabrier's
_Espana_ and Debussy's _Iberia_ as the acme of descriptive power and
of orchestral color. His _Mother Goose Suite_ (originally a set of
four-hand pieces but since orchestrated with incomparable finesse)
illustrates his humor and play of fancy. It has become a truly popular
concert number. Ravel's chef d'oeuvre the "choreographic symphony"
_Daphnis et Chloe_ displays an extraordinary synthetic grasp, for all
the factors--plot, action, the musical fabric, a large orchestra and a
chorus of mixed voices behind the scenes--are held together with a
master hand. This work ranks with Debussy's _Pelleas et Melisand