A playful Ravel is evident in
Noël des jouets (1905), in which he made his debut as author. Each of the five verses has its topic: the sheep in the toy crib, the Virgin Mary in her crinoline (echoes of Massenet), the sinister dog Beelzebub lurking (low, Musorgskian major seconds) to eat up Jesus who is made of coloured sugar, and the final adoration.
from notes by Roger Nichols © 2009
