On the edge of the Rambouillet forest, in Montfort-L’Amaury, the house museum dedicated to the composer Maurice Ravel received a historic donation. Engravings, sandstone bust, painting and correspondence… Since mid-November, the life and work of the author of “Boléro” have become clearer. We visited it for you.
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Reading time: 6 min
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We would still hear the melody of Bolero waltz from room to room. We would almost still see the composer livening up his Erard piano or serving drinks to his Ravelian guests. You can almost still feel the smoke from his Gauloises Caporal impregnated in the curtains, which once opened provide a breathtaking view of the Rambouillet forest.
Located not far from the Anne-de-Bretagne tower, the highest point of the feudal village of Montfort-L’Amaury (Yvelines), the “Belvédère” was purchased by the composer Maurice Ravel in 1921. This house, whose view overlooks the impressive Saint-Pierre church, “reflects the intimacy of the composer”, underlines Anne Million-Fontaine, curator at the Maurice Ravel Museum. For good reason, almost all of the objects and furniture belonged to the composer, who took pleasure in arranging and decorating each room of the building.
The “mischievous”
The month of November was historic for the house: the Belvédère received a donation from the Friends of Maurice Ravel association. Since then, the objects have already found their place. In the cramped kitchen, tiled from floor to ceiling, several picture frames have been proudly placed. The visitor’s eye is immediately attracted by a new arrival, the engraving Wall Street, created by the American modernist Arnold Rönnebeck. Representing New York skyscrapers, it is marked with a dedication to the composer: “To Maurice Ravel, With feelings of deep gratitude for unforgettable conversations on art. Denver, Colorado, February 20, 1928.”
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In the adjacent room, a copy of Maurice Ravel’s bust is displayed in the windows. Made of sandstone by the French decorator Léon Leyritz, the “cubist” bust was offered to the composer in 1928. Alongside it, a reproduction of the hand of Marguerite Long, famous pianist and friend of the composer, was offered to the Belvédère by her family. These recent acquisitions were placed in the middle of around twenty games and small objects adored by the artist. “Maurice Ravel was a mischievous character. He loved to play and solve problems”, notes Anne Million-Fontaine. As evidenced by “The Divorce Question”, a puzzle consisting of pulling a rod trapped by metal fins. Games that can be found hidden in boxes throughout the rooms of the house, including machines. “Here, everything moves. Everything is in motion and makes sound.”
Ravel, “the king of cocktails”
“Maurice Ravel takes this taste for construction and reflection from his father Joseph, an engineer by profession”, specifies the museum’s conservation officer. And he put these skills directly to the benefit of Belvédère. The composer designed the cozy feel of the house from which we can see the stone roofs of the village, but also the pretty alcove of the gray living room with black stripes. Behind one of his windows, Maurice Ravel imagined a “secret room” in order to pile up a pile of trinkets, numerous scores and “letters not opened by the composer”.
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These narrow rooms and “intimate”, arranged in a row, once received the composer’s friends. The famous Colette, the pianist Hélène Jourdan-Morhange, the academician Jacques de Lacretelle, the composer Jacques-Alphonse De Zeegant… The majority of her relatives were met in the Parisian salons of “Winnie”, princess of Polignac, at to whom Maurice Ravel dedicated his famous Pavane for a deceased infanta (1899). “By coming to Montfort-L’Amaury, Maurice Ravel sought to leave Parisian life for more tranquility. However, he continued to receive guests who readily nicknamed him the king of cocktails”specifies Anne Million-Fontaine, with a smile on her lips.
“The strange Belvedere”, cradle of the “Boléro”
In Montfort-L’Amaury, “the locals said of him that he was always dressed in Sunday best. He was a very elegant man. A dandy”, explains Christiane Metreau, first deputy mayor of the town. It is in this neat appearance and in this “modern cocoon”featuring among other things a wall telephone, a cooler and a cast iron heater, which Maurice Ravel composed all his works post 1921. Lyrical fantasy The Child and the Spells (1925), the three melodies Madecassian songs (1926), the Concerto for the left hand (1932)… Without forgetting the famous Bolero (1928).
Maurice Ravel composes these works from the music room or the balcony of the Belvédère, facing his now disappeared vegetable garden. “He worked a lot at night because he couldn’t sleep”, specifies Anne Million-Fontaine. She imagines these insomnia and anxieties experienced in the “yellow and damp room” of the Belvedere, a direct consequence of the First World War. In 1916, Maurice Ravel left for Verdun with the ambulance corps, recalls the Philharmonie de Paris. From this was born the piano suite The Tomb of Couperin (1917), produced in tribute to his comrades who died at the front.
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Being a “modest man”, Maurice Ravel refused the Legion of Honor which was awarded to him in 1920. From this date, the composer began to show signs of an incurable brain disease which would worsen over time. In 1933, his condition presented writing, language and motor skills disorders which led to his death on December 28, 1937. “I did not have the sadness of seeing Ravel diminish. In Monfort-l’Amaury, his solitude and his strange Belvedere protected him from public decline”Colette will tell after the disappearance of her friend.
Between tribute and filming
Today, Maurice Ravel is the French composer most listened to internationally. So that the Bolero would be played every six minutes worldwide. “Our visitors come from all countries. However, we note that half of the foreigners come from Asia, a continent very appreciated by Maurice Ravel who was inspired by it to create his garden”, explains Anne Million-Fontaine. The conservation officer also remembers a striking scene: “One day, a Japanese woman specially came to France to visit the Belvedere in ceremonial dress. This trip was for her a tribute to her husband who died in Japan while listening to the Bolero by Maurice Ravel.”
The life and work of the composer are more coveted than ever a few months before the 150th anniversary of his birth. Director Anne Fontaine filmed the musical biopic in this house Bolero, whose release is announced for March 6. It will feature the actors Raphaël Personnaz, Doria Tillier and Jeanne Balibar. Next fall, a major exhibition dedicated to the composer will also begin at the Philharmonie de Paris. She also named Bolero, it will be enriched by loans of objects from Montfort-L’Amaury. Until then, Belvédère continues to scrutinize the auctions: “There is nothing to throw away in the work of Maurice Ravel.”