Compare & Contrast: La Campanella with Jeux D'Eau

La Campanella & Jeux D’Eau are two famous and well-known pieces written for piano. The latter is written by French composer Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) while the former is written by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt (1811-1886). Although the two pieces were written in two very different eras (La Campanella having been written in the Romantic era while Jeux D’Eau having been written in the early Modern era), the two works have surprisingly similar characteristics.

Liszt’s piano work was inspired by a theme from Niccolò Paganini’s Violin Concerto no. 2 in B Minor, and come from a collection with the original title Études d’éxecution transcendante d’après Paganini while Ravel’s was derived from one of Liszt’s other piano works entitled Jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este, which in addition, is similar to Jeux D’Eau in many ways. Both feature virtuosic writing as constituting for one of the main elements of the pieces. La Campanella is a piano étude originally written in 1838 with the revisions following in 1851, while Jeux’D’Eau is listed as a solo piano work written in 1901. The name La Campanella translates to “The Little Bell” in English, while the name Jeux D’Eau in English translates to “Water Games.” Jeux D’Eau also takes inspiration from the movement water, particularly that found in fountains, waterfalls, and streams. La Campanella is in the key of G sharp minor, while Jeux D’Eau is in the key of E major. The form of La Campanella is based on a variation-type style (ABA1B1A2B2A3 coda), whilst Jeux D’Eau resembles something like sonata form. Both are marked Allegretto, however La Campanella is in a compound (6/8) time whereas Jeux’D’Eau is in common time (𝄴). 

Both pieces start off very delicately, with Liszt’s work featuring wide right-hand leaps with dual purposes: 1. intended to imitate the sound of a little bell punctuated by left-hand chords marked p, and 2. The repeated high D sharp is a pedal point. This section is then repeated with embellishment. On the other hand, Ravel’s piece starts off dolcissimo (“as sweetly as possible”), with the right hand playing rapid arpeggiating figures evoking the imagery of water and the left hand securing the E major tonality. The harmonic language of this piece consists of many seventh and ninth chords, chromaticism, and unresolved dissonances, not to mention whole-tone, pentatonic, and other non-traditional scales, which are all characteristics of Impressionism. The elements create a unique colour palette and creates a euphoric/hypnotic feeling. In contrast, while La campanella does feature chromaticism at times, it is mostly grounded in the primary key of G-sharp minor, with the B section venturing off to B major (relative major). Liszt’s work demonstrates the ideals of Romanticism: emphasis on the expression of emotions, as well as technical facility. While Jeux D’Eau does not overtly exaggerate its virtuosic nature as with La Campanella, the work does require a subtle, delicate, and nuanced touch that is crucial for evoking the image of water, which by itself needs a great deal of technical skill and dynamic control.

La Campanella and Jeux D’Eau are both triumphs in their respective eras. Both are great examples of their own istyles: While Liszt’s La Campanella showcases the principles of Romanticism: virtuosity and an emphasis on expressive melodic lines and emotion, Ravel’s Jeux D’Eau is the epitome of Impressionism, stressing on tone colour, harmonic innovation, atmosphere, and refined elegance. Both works set a high standard in terms of technical demands and artistry, but do so using different compositional techniques. It is these characteristics that make them enduring classics in their own right, and both works will certainly stand the test of time for years to come.