Pavane pour une infante défunte

"Pavane pour une infante défunte" ("Pavane for a Dead Infanta") is a now well-known piece written for solo piano by the French composer Maurice Ravel in 1899 when he was studying composition at the Conservatoire de Paris under Gabriel Fauré. Ravel also published an orchestrated version of the "Pavane" in 1910. A typical performance of the piece lasts between six and seven minutes.

The piece evokes the dignified elegance of a reception at the royal Spanish court as a young princess moves gracefully through the steps of the pavane, a slow processional dance that enjoyed great popularity in the courts of Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

This antique miniature is not meant to pay tribute to any particular princess from history, but rather expresses a nostalgic enthusiasm for Spanish customs and sensibilities which Ravel shared with many of his contemporaries (most notably Debussy and Albéniz) that is evident in some of his other works such as the "Rhapsodie espagnole" and the "Boléro". By some accounts, Ravel may have been thinking about Princess Margarita, a daughter of King Philip IV of Spain, but this is far from certain.

Ravel dedicated the Pavane to his patron, the Princesse de Polignac. The Spanish pianist Ricardo Viñes gave the first performance on April 5, 1902. The Pavane was warmly welcomed by the public, but received much more subdued reviews from Ravel's fellow musicians. Indeed, Ravel himself complained that it "lacked daring". Subsequent performances tended to be much too slow and plodding. In one instance, Ravel attended just such a performance, and afterward mentioned to the pianist that it was called "Pavane for a Dead Princess", not "Dead Pavane for a Princess".

Interpretations

In 1972 guitarists John Williams and Julian Bream recorded the Pavane as a duo for two guitars, on their album "Together".

In 1973 Brazilian jazz musician Eumir Deodato recorded the Pavane on his second album "Deodato 2".

In 1979 Japanese electronic musician Isao Tomita recorded an electronic version of the Pavane on his "Daphnis et Chloé" album.

In 1997 British opera singer Lesley Garrett recorded a specially arranged version for the "Tribute" album dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales who had died in August that year, and guitarist Ottmar Liebert recorded it on his album Leaning Into The Night.

In 2000, electronic musician William Orbit arranged the piece for his album of ambient electronic arrangements of "classical" pieces, "Pieces in a Modern Style". It was subsequently released as a single, with a different arrangement. Both Ravel's Pavane and Barber's Adagio For Strings were remixed by Ferry Corsten. As well in 2000, Japanese video game music composer Yoshino Aoki arranged the song for the game Breath of Fire IV.

In 2003, rock/polka band Brave Combo included an arrangement of the piece on their album "Box of Ghosts".

A recording of the work played by Ravel himself has survived on piano rolls. This recording has been available on CD since April 2004.

In 2008, Chicha Libre arranged the piece as a cumbia on track 7 - "Pavane" of their release "Sonido Amazonico."

In 2008, a Japanese visual kei band [http://www.euclidagency.com/mannequin/ MANNEQUIN] arranged Pavane as the intro and the outro of their album "Empty Flowers".

Media

Further reading

*Cite book
publisher = Redwood Symphony
last = Heninger
first = Barbara
others = Eric Kujawsky, Peter Stahl, Wyatt Doug (eds.)
title = Maurice Ravel: Pavane for a Dead Princess (program notes)
accessdate = 2008-08-17
date = 2001-11-23
url = http://www.barbwired.com/barbweb/programs/ravel_pavane.html