Whether to the never-never lands of the East (Shéhérazade), the cool beauty of Classical Greece (Daphnis et Chloé), or the innocent world of childhood as expressed in the works of 17th-century fairy-tale collector and writer Charles Perrault and his contemporaries (Tales of Mother Goose), Ravel was the ultimate musical escapist. The children—unlike the lands of his imaginings—were often real, he was comfortable with them, and they adored him in turn. This side of his nature is shown in the set of piano duets, Ma mère l’Oye, that he wrote in 1908 for young Mimi and Jean Godebski, whose parents, Ida and Cyprian (“Cipa”) Godebski, were among the few close friends the composer ever had. 

Mimi would later write: “Ravel used to tell me marvelous stories. I would sit on his knee and he would begin, ‘Once upon a time...’ And it was Laideronnette, Beauty and the Beast, and the adventures of a poor mouse that he had made up for me. It was [at the Godebskis’ country home] that Ravel finished and presented us with Ma mère l’Oye. But neither my brother nor I were of an age to appreciate such a dedication and we regarded it rather as something that involved hard work.” 

Thus, the piano duets were not performed until April of 1910, and then by two other children of the composer’s acquaintance, Jeanne Leleu and Geneviève Durony.

In 1912 Ravel orchestrated the duets for a ballet, changing their order and adding numbers and transitions. He later adapted this into a concert suite, following the original piano-duet order, ending with Le jardin féerique (The fairy garden).

The enchanted finale depicts the scene in which Sleeping Beauty is awakened by Prince Charming, and the score ends in a gorgeously sonorous wash of piano, harp, and celesta glissandos. —Excerpted from a note by Herbert Glass