Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra was written by Maurice Ravel, a composer who was born in the Basque region of France, and was of Basque and Swiss descent. The Basques are Europe’s most ancient people with a continuous history, culture, and language. By at least 8,000 years ago the Basque language was widely spoken, and well eastward into what is now modern-day France. There were several ancient languages similar to Basque (Euskera) spread throughout Europe, but by 3,000 years ago the Indo-European languages dominated the continent, and today only Basque is left. Basque cultural attitudes are very different from Indo-European cultural norms. Ravel was in part a product of this old and proud Basque culture, which gave him a certain natural empathy for another distinct and oppressed culture: the Gypsies (Roma, Romani). In 1924, he composed Tzigane, which means “Gypsy,” for the violinist Jelly d’Aranyi; Béla Bartók (1881-1945) also composed for her.
“Gypsy” life is stereotyped as happy, free, and devil-may-care, but their history is one of the saddest of all. By about the year 400 they left northwest India in large numbers, migrating toward Europe by way of Persia (even then they were in demand for their music). Along the way, some of them established a short-lived, small kingdom, destroyed not long after it was established. After that, they were stateless, as they remain to this day. Around the year 1000 they came to Turkey, then Greece. They arrived in Europe in the 14th-century, and got to Hungary, often associated with their music, in the 15th century – in time to be blamed for the plague. Right up until the 19th century they were persecuted and murdered in one country after another; from England to Spain to Sweden, everywhere; male or female, they were accused of witchcraft, cannibalism, or general criminality, and burned or hung without trial. In Austro-Hungary in 1721, the Emperor, Karl VI, decreed that all Roma in his empire should be exterminated. As late as the early 19th century there were “Gypsy-hunts” in Germany. After Hitler came to power, the Roma (Gypsies) were more persecuted than the Jews. Very few of them survived the Nazi death-camps; Auschwitz was a grim summation of their history to that point. For a detailed look, check The Patrin Web Journal – Timeline of Romani (Gypsy) History online. The name “Gypsy” came from them being mistakenly called “Egyptians,” corrupted eventually to “Gypsy.” There were few bright spots, but one was Hungary, during and after the reign of Empress Maria Theresa of Hungary – she made laws favoring Gypsies. Within a few years, Gypsy music flourished in Hungary, and János Bihari (1764-1827) and his little orchestra made the music widely popular. It became known as Hungarian music, and was the music that inspired Liszt, Brahms, Johann Strauss, and many others to compose “Hungarian” Dances, Rhapsodies, and so forth. Not until Bartók’s and Zoltán Kodály’s (1882-1967) folk-song research did true Hungarian Magyar come to light, music quite different from the highly ornamented and florid Gypsy style upon which Ravel based his very beautiful and powerful Tzigane.
In Tzigane he captures the essence of Gypsy (Roma, Romani) culture and history. All of that pain and suffering as well as the joy of Gypsy freedom is poured into their music, every time a Gypsy violinist plays. However fast and joyful Gypsy music might seem to be, there is always a tinge of deep sadness, and the slow music cries out with passion. One finds all of this, the entire Gypsy gamut of emotion, style, and technical wizardry in the fantastic and difficult Tzigane of Ravel. Listen, relax, imagine yourself in front of a campfire – perhaps a fortune-teller is there…a dance begins…for a brief time, share the sadness, happiness, and passion of the Gypsy life…
For an excellent recording, check out:
