Pavane pour une infante défunte

Pavane pour une infante défunte ( Pavane for a Dead Princess ) is a good six minutes impressionistic piano piece by the French composer Maurice Ravel. The composition was written in 1899 while studying under Gabriel Fauré at the Conservatoire de Paris and is one of his early works. Is dedicated to the play of his patron Winnaretta Singer, the Princess de Polignac ', a fashionable Parisian salon where Ravel often stopped off during his student days. 1910, over a decade later, Ravel posted another version of the piece for orchestra.

Background and effect

Ravel himself described the piece as " a reminder of a Pavane, which could have danced a little princess in the old days at the Spanish court "; she was " no suit for mourning a dead child, but an idea of ​​a Pavane, as they might have been danced by such a little princess in a painting by Velázquez ." Later, however, he declared to have ultimately chosen the title alone because of the assonance. In any case, the title evokes, like some other compositions of Ravel, the Spanish court of the 16th century and can be seen in the context of Spain nostalgia of the 19th century.

Was first publicly performed the piece on April 5, 1902 by Ravel's close friend Ricardo Viñes. The hitherto quite unnoticed piece was very well received by contemporary critics, and thus very popular; had his music at the time of the first publication of the piece even than " anarchist " in force, it established now his international success as a composer. Ravel himself estimated it compared to his other pieces because of too much appeal to the music of Emmanuel Chabrier's own words rather less.

Structure and Interpretation

The piece begins in G major and follows the Rondo Scheme A (bars 1-12 ), B (bars 13-27 ), A (bars 28-39 ), C (bars 40-59 ), A (bars 60 - 72). The opening theme is:

The composer intended a very slow implementation of the piece, which should emphasize the dignity and thoughtfulness of composition and so he also transposed to the dismay of critics such as Émile Vuillermoz, in his own performances. The superficially catchy melody of the work is in contrast to the novel and technically perfect harmony of Sept and Septnonakkorden. Therefore, the composition is an example of what Stuckenschmidt as the " learned naivety", as the had called " differentiated and sophisticated nursery " Ravel.

Reception

In the field of jazz Pavane pour une infante was défunte of musicians such as Hubert Laws / Buddy Collette, Willem Breuker, Regina Carter and The LA Four interpreted by Bud Shank.