Maurice Ravel: Pavane pour une infante defunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess)

This is a beautiful piece of sad classical music, that holds a melancholy tone throughout the 6 to 7 minutes that it usually spans. I do not think it is the saddest piece of sad classical music out there, but this is of course subjective. It is an emotional ride that gives me images of defeat on the battlefield. The piece, to me, seems to dip into the pits of sadness and just before reaching its depths, rockets the listener back to more stable emotional ground. The tension and release of this piece of sad classical music is unmistakeable.

Maurice Ravel composed this piece when he was only 24(!) in 1899, while studying under Gabriel Faure at the Paris Conservatoire. The piece carries an interesting title, of which Ravel explains:

[it is] a slow Spanish dance to which a little princess may once have danced

The piece was originally written for solo piano. The video above is a recital of the orchestrated version that Ravel constructed in 1910. I really like the orchestration, but then again I am a lover of stringed instruments. A rendition I like of the solo piano piece is below:

Links to other sites with further information:

Pavane pour une infante défunte from Wikipedia

Maurice Ravel Pavane for a Dead Princess Program Notes from barbwired.com

Maurice Ravel: Pavane pour une infante defunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess), 9.2 out of 10 based on 5 ratings