Thanks to two successful performances (including the world premiere) of L’Ours Chinois, I’ve had a number of inquiries as to what the specific influences of composer Maurice Ravel are, in regards to the formation of exotica — and particularly, my piece “L’ours Chinois.”

Without a doubt, one of the easiest ways to answer this question is the obvious use of Ravel’s faux Orientalist melodies. Quite often, he would write material that used pentatonic/modal scales that are commonly used by Chinese and Japanese traditional songs. To buttress these melodies, he would harmonize them using seventh and ninth chords; particularly of the Major 7 and minor-Major 7 variety.

Even a cursory comparison of the String Quartet in F Major and a tune like Les Baxter’s “Jungle River Boat” can quickly turn heads of unassuming listeners. I conducted an experiment this weekend, when carousing with my colleagues in Project Copernicus: I played a few short snippets of Martin Denny and Les Baxter recordings, and asked them to name what composers came immediately to mind. Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy were among the most frequently cited.

Further parallels can be found when examining instrumentation and orchestration techniques. Ravel chose Western instruments that could mimic those found in other civilizations; such as the epic flute solo in the second Daphnis and Chloe suite. Through the usage of the middle and low ranges of that instrument, he was able to paint tone colors different from what his contemporaries were using. Flute in its low register is commonly found in exotica, particularly through the uses of the Alto Flute.

… To be continued … (I’m at the airport and need to pack up my computer, sorry!)

PROGRAM NOTES FOR L’Ours Chinois

L’Ours Chinois (French for “the Chinese bear”) is a violin showpiece inspired by the works of Fritz Kreisler and Martin Denny. I originally composed “L’Ours Chinois” for my Boston-based exotic ‘tiki’ lounge ensemble WAITIKI, but with encouragement from Chung Park, re-orchestrated and expanded it for Project Copernicus. It is dedicated to violinist Helen Liu (a.k.a. “Mistress Helenini” of WAITIKI).
The WAITIKI version is scored for solo violin, vibraphone, bass, ratchet, and drum kit, however the expanded version (to be premiered at these performances) is scored for solo violin, clarinet, vibraphone, snare drum, Japanese temple bowls, tam-tam, tambourine, bass drum, suspended cymbal, ratchet, and strings.

Inspired by Martin Denny’s vibraphone showstopper, “Firecrackers” (which Wong believes itself was influenced by Kreisler’s “Tambourin Chinois”), “L’Ours Chinois” is intended to be a pastiche of French impressionist, Chinese, and Okonkulukuian styles. Thus, in order to appreciate L’Ours Chinois, one must first be aware of its primary influences.

Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) was a violinist and composer, who was hailed by critics as one of the finest musicians of his generation. Kreisler composed pieces that showcase his virtuosity and humor; these works have become standard literature in the vast repertory available for that instrument. Many of his compositions are light-hearted imitations of works by other composers, and quite a few connect styles that would be otherwise unrelated. Tambourin Chinois, which was one of Kreisler’s favorite compositions, is one such work.

Martin Denny (1911-2005) was a pianist and composer from Honolulu, Hawai`i, best known for his recording of Les Baxter’s “Quiet Village.” The success of Denny’s recording established, in the eyes of record producers and the music industry, a genre of music whose musical building blocks were imitations of cultural music from the far east, the orient, Oceania, and tribal villages across the globe; this genre is known as “exotica,” after Denny’s debut album of the same name.

The groundwork for Denny’s successes was laid by Kreisler, Maurice Ravel, Bela Bartok, Charles Ives, and other musicians that sought to weave exotic harmonies, indigenous folk melodies, American jazz, and popular songs into European classical music. Each of the aforementioned composers has works that are championed by musicians and musicologists for the seamless, and unforced, melding of foreign (or otherwise, unrelated) musical ideas. Although Denny’s music is often perceived as some pseudo form of Latin jazz, it could also be considered chamber music, not unlike that written by the aforementioned musicians. L’Ours Chinois is a modern attempt at these same principles, as is the entire library of works written and performed by WAITIKI.

It should be noted that, although Martin Denny’s music is commonly associated with squawking animal calls and exotic bird whistles, Denny himself was not directly responsible for the inclusion of these sounds in his exotic textures. Rather, these sounds were introduced by Denny’s sidemen Arthur Lyman (vibraphone) and Augie Colon (percussion), and have since become canon to exotica-philes. Because those Lyman’s and Colon’s birdcalls were made by them live, the composer considers those sounds unique to their work, and irreproducible. Thus, L’Ours Chinois does not contain exotic birdcalls of any kind, but the audience is welcome to chime in, as is musically appropriate, and in accordance with city, state, and federal laws.

For more information about exotica, please visit http://www.waitiki.com

-Randy Wong