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 does not refer to any real princess. Ravel said he simply imagined a pavane (a slow court dance) that a young princess might have danced long ago at the Spanish court.

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. In later years, Ravel was critical of the piece. He said its form was weak and that it was too influenced by the composer Emmanuel 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." Ravel disliked slow performances of the piece. When a pianist played it too slowly, he joked that the French title Pavane pour une infante défunte means "Pavane for a Dead Princess," not "a dead pavane for a princess" — the music itself should not sound lifeless.

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)
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