Ex. 3-11: Pavane pour une infante défunte (edited)

Written in 1899 while Ravel was a student at the Conservatoire de Paris under Gabriel Fauré. Originally for solo piano, Ravel published an orchestral version in 1910. The title evokes "a pavane that a little princess might, in former times, have danced at the Spanish court" — not a tribute to any specific historical figure, but a nostalgic vision of old Spain.

Ravel dedicated it to his patron, the Princesse de Polignac. It attracted little notice until the Spanish pianist Ricardo Viñes performed it in 1902, after which it became widely known. Ravel himself later judged the piece harshly, calling it "poor in form" and too influenced by Chabrier.

When asked about the title, Ravel once smiled and replied: "It has nothing to do with the composition. I simply liked the sound of those words." After hearing a sluggish performance, he quipped that it was called "Pavane for a dead princess, not a dead pavane for a princess."

Note: This version has been edited from the original piano/orchestral work and adapted for vocal range to make it suitable for sight-singing practice. Some passages differ from the original.

Vlado Perlemuter studied all of Ravel's solo piano works with the composer himself in 1927, making his interpretations among the closest to Ravel's own intentions.
Track 7 from the album Ravel: Piano Works (1979)