Introduction In the eyes of the critics, the choice of poems was not fortuitous: Debussy and Ravel set Soupir and Placet futile to music. The comparison of the differences between the two versions of these poems has sometimes resulted in unfortunate consequences for the critics regarding their styles. Debussy had chosen Éventail from the poem Autre éventail (by Miss Mallarmé) to finish his collection on an equally dreamy note, like a refined madrigal, subtly erotic. Ravel, for "the love of difficulty", chose to put in music one of the most hermetic sonnets of Mallarmé. The "Trois Poèmes" are as follows : Soupir — dedicated to Igor Stravinsky Placet futile — dedicated to Florent Schmitt Surgi de la croupe et du bond — dedicated to Erik Satie The performance takes about twelve minutes. Premiere The premiere took place on 14 January 1914, during a concert where were presented in first audition Le Petit Elfe Ferme-l'œil by Florent Schmitt for four-handed piano, the Quatre poèmes hindous by Maurice Delage and the by Igor Stravinsky. Ravel's poems ended this concert. Influences and coincidences The instrumentation is the same as for the Trois poésies de la lyrique japonaise by Stravinsky, and close to that of the Poèmes hindous by Delage. The influence of Pierrot Lunaire by Arnold Schoenberg is often mentioned: Stravinsky and Edgar Varese had witnessed the creation of this work in Berlin in 1912. Ravel, without having heard it, had gathered their testimonies and, on their enthusiastic description, would have considered writing for a chamber music ensemble. Paul Collaer stated that "Schoenberg pointed the way for music to escape from the enormous apparatus of the great orchestra". However, Alexis Roland-Manuel would note that Émile Vuillermoz would also recall that Gabriel Fauré had arranged La bonne chanson with string quartet, and that the Chanson perpétuelle, Op. 37 by Ernest Chausson (1898) was written for soprano, piano and string quartet. Overview of the work The Trois poèmes are remarkably brief: 37 bars for Soupir, 28 bars for Placet futile and only 24 for Surgi… Soupir opens with the "fairy-like" sonority of the natural harmonics of the string quartet, in a continuous stream of quadruple eighth notes. The voice enters quietly after this introduction. As it gently rises, the piano, then the flutes, and finally the clarinets appear. The quartet resumes after a pause, offering a natural, more elegant sound. Until the end, the voice