Bolero, M. 81 Cover Image

Bolero, M. 81: Full Orchestra, SS

$15.99 USD
$15.99 USD
Skip to product information
Bolero, M. 81 Cover Image
Bolero, M. 81: Full Orchestra, SS

Bolero, M. 81: Full Orchestra, SS

By Maurice Ravel

Item: 36-S015801
$15.99
Shipped

One moment…

Related Items

Bolero, M. 81: Full Orchestra, Conductor Score

$35.00
View

Bolero, M. 81: Full Orchestra, OS

$68.00
View

Bolero, M. 81: Full Orchestra, Conductor Score & Parts

$160.00
View
Description
Maurice Ravel's (1875-1937) Boléro, M. 81/ IMR 4, is a piece that grew out of an orchestration exercise based on a rhythm common in the title Spanish dance. Today, it's usually performed as an orchestral concert piece, but it was originally intended to be a ballet written at the request of dancer Ida Rubinstein. Boléro is known for its repetition and relative lack of variation, instead relying on the introduction of new instruments periodically throughout the piece to provide variety through changes in color. Boléro premiered in Paris in November, 1928. Instrumentation: 2(2nd d. Picc)+Picc.2(2nd d.Obd'am)+EH.2+ECl, BCl.2+CBsn: SSSax.SSax(d. TSax): 4.3+PiccTpt.3.1: Timp.Perc(5): Clst.Hp: Str (9.8.7.6.5 in set). Study Score. (16:00)

Bolero, M. 81: Full Orchestra, SS isn't in MakeMusic Cloud just yet...but it could be. Let us know you'd like to see it, and you'll help shape what comes next. In the meantime, start a free trial and dive into thousands of interactive titles your students can play along with today.

Request This Title

Tell us you want it.

Start Your Free Trial

Explore everything that's ready to play right now.
Sample Pages

Sample Audio
No sample audio found.
Sample Video
No sample videos found.
Additional Details
Series: Kalmus Study Score Series
Publisher: Keiser Productions, Inc.
ISBN10: 8-895633-24-5
ISBN13: 979-8-895633-24-3
UPC: 659859367989
SKU: 36-S015801
Instrumentation: 2(2nd d. Picc)+Picc.2(2nd d.Obd'am)+EH.2+ECl, BCl.2+CBsn: SSSax.SSax(d. TSax): 4.3+PiccTpt.3.1: Timp.Perc(5): Clst.Hp: Str (9.8.7.6.5 in set)

More about this title

About the Composer: Maurice Ravel

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) stands as one of the most influential orchestrators of the twentieth century. His meticulous approach to instrumental color and his fascination with how different timbres could create dramatic effect defined his compositional voice and shaped generations of composers who followed.

Ravel's output spans ballet, concertos, chamber works, and solo pieces, but his orchestration techniques remain his most enduring legacy. He approached each instrument family with the precision of a painter selecting pigments, understanding that orchestral beauty arises not from harmonic innovation alone but from the deliberate, strategic introduction of new colors and doublings.

Why we love this

Boléro rewards patient, controlled conducting and demands ensemble discipline in the finest sense: sixteen minutes of unwavering rhythmic foundation while orchestral voices enter and depart with surgical precision. Directors love this piece because it strips away the need for large-scale harmonic development and asks instead for absolute clarity of purpose, making it an exceptional tool for teaching orchestral balance and the power of instrumental contrast.

What to expect

Hypnotic and relentless, a single melody that builds almost imperceptibly through accumulated orchestral color rather than harmonic change. The piece feels simultaneously monotonous and mesmerizing, as if the same moment keeps arriving in slightly different light.

Who it's for

Orchestras with strong fundamental section control and the stamina to sustain attention through subtle instrumental shifts. This score suits orchestras that have mastered basic ensemble discipline and are ready to explore orchestration as a primary compositional tool.

How to get the most out of it

  • Establish the foundational rhythm as immovable bedrock. The snare drum and timpani pattern must remain metronomic throughout; even micro-fluctuations in tempo undermine the piece's hypnotic design.
  • Mark each instrumental entrance clearly in parts and conduct them into the texture. Many players expect their cue; prepare them to enter with confidence when you release them from the beat.
  • Balance the harp and castanets so they support rather than overshadow the melodic line. These colors should enhance the rhythmic foundation without drawing focus.
  • Rehearse the woodwind doublings and brass entrance points as distinct choreography. Each new timbral layer should feel intentional and slightly surprise the listener.

How to use it

Program Boléro as a concert centerpiece alongside contrasting works. Its singular focus and extended single-idea structure make it a natural anchor for a program that otherwise moves through contrasting forms and harmonic language.

Skills your students will build

  • Maintaining steady pulse and rhythmic precision as rhythm section voices enter and sustain for extended passages
  • Orchestration analysis through listening: tracking how instrumental color creates variety without melodic or harmonic change
  • Balance and blend within dense doublings, especially distinguishing between supporting voices and primary melodic lines
  • Ensemble awareness across widely distributed entrances and the discipline required to enter on count without visual cue

You May Also Like