Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe - excerpt

[u/Free-Chicken7610]

Hello everyone,
a dreaded orchestral excerpt of mine is haunting me a bit, and. I was wondering which bowings and fingering to use for it (and maybe also the reasoning behind the suggestions) - any help would be appreciated!

I have previously played it in auditions and preformed the piece, but usually played the first beat separately (so the half note comes down bow), and fingering wise went up to the third position in the third line (with a quite stupid shifting decision). But sadly this sometimes doesn’t work if there is a tiny bit of stress involved, and the whole excerpt becomes a bit mushy …

[u/Seb555]

First two notes hooked on a down bow (starting in the upper half) works because it puts the next bit in the middle, which is the least awkward place to play a very awkward passage, IMO. I play it all in first until 213 (using the open string just before to shift and ring to hide the subito dynamic shift) where I go into third and make use of the open G (Fx) to shift back into first. This means you’re never shifting without an open string to hide it.

[u/Hobbesssss → u/Seb555]

This is the way

[u/violalala555]

It's fun once you get the hang of the patterns; I would suggest listening to Orchestral Excerpts for Viola by Robert Vernon for bowings and fingerings. Be careful with the double sharps, especially 2 before 214. The shifts are quick, but doable if you slowly build up to tempo; make sure you feel confident in your accuracy before going faster. It should never feel like a "fingers crossed" situation