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Pavane pour une infante defunte - Maurice Ravel

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To end the week you can drift away on a profound and elfin piece from the beginning of what older folks think of as this century - the 1900s in France. Maurice Ravel (not to be confused with Maurice White) wrote this first as a piano piece and then orchestrated it for orchestra lite. So noble and yet it deeply charms. The title is 'Pavane for a dead princess'. A pavane is a slow, stately European court dance. But don't be afraid of the somber title, Ravel was imagining a little princess dancing at court. When asked how he arrived at the title Pavane pour une infante défunte, Ravel replied, "Do not be surprised, that title has nothing to do with the composition. I simply liked the sound of those words and I put them there, c'est tout". Orchestrationally, he puts the melody in the elegant French horn and also gives the english horn prominent lines in the lower register. Obviously gotta love that harp. 6.5 minutes of pure heaven.

Pavane pour une infante defunte - Maurice Ravel

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