No. 3: Une barque sur l'océan

A lengthy piece dedicated to the painter Paul Sordes. The continuous arpeggios and eighth notes drifting with changing rhythmic units create an impression of ceaselessness, while focusing on the characteristic motifs, the form can be interpreted as a free rondo-sonata, structured as A–B–transition–A’–B’–C–transition–B’’–A. The motif in section A possesses a gentle and static atmosphere due to the repetition of the same melodic pattern and the sound of minor seventh chords, whereas the motif in section B has a strongly dynamic atmosphere, characterized by sharp tremolos with semitonal sounds and arpeggios that intensely ascend/descend with minor triads. In section C, diminished intervals, augmented intervals, and semitones are incorporated more boldly within the repetition of the same melodic pattern, creating a sense of tension. However, when section B returns, the music flows back to the gentle atmosphere established by the opening A section, and finally, the exact same motif as the opening A section appears, bringing the piece to a quiet conclusion.

Incidentally, Ravel wrote an orchestral version of this piece in October 1906, but later forbade its performance himself.