Maurice Ravel's Pavane for a Dead Princess

Another one of my favorite pieces to listen to is by Maurice Ravel. It is entitled "Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte", "Pavane for a Dead Princess". This piece was first premiered by Ricardo Viñes in 1902. Upon hearing this piece at a concert at the University of Utah, I remember that I had to find out what piece the artist was playing, since it was part of her encore and it was not in the program. It touched me in such a way that immediately after, I ran up to a friend of mine to ask him what piece she played. He said, "Amy, it was the Pavane for a Dead Princess!" I felt so embarrassed not knowing what piece it was and at that moment it was engraved in my memory. It was a work of art and I will never forget how moved I was that evening.

Here's a quick brief history of this marvelous work. A Pavane is a slow processional dance that was popular in the sixteenth century, Ravel's pavane was actually dedicated to Princess Edmond de Polignac, a painter and wealthy member of the french aristocracy. With this knowledge, you can understand clearly that it was an expression of ceremonial dignity.

When I decided to learn this piece, I had previously read that it should not be overly interpreted and be in a strict time and as quoted by Ravel, "do not attach more importance to this title than it has. Avoid dramatizations. This is not the funeral mourning for a girl who has just died, but the evocation of a pavane which could have been danced by a small princess in days of old, at the court of Spain." It is a piece that I enjoy playing and feel it is one to be included as one of the many great classics.

Take a listen and you decide for yourself.