Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Ravel's Pavane

I just finished listening to Mel/Dannylux's beautiful version of this piece, so I'm thinking about putting it on my "near future" list. My question is to Mel or anyone who has learned this: How hard is it to play this? It doesn't sound like the notes are fast or impossible, but I always worry when I hear a piece that has lots of chords that form the melody--I'm afraid I'll make it sound like a march instead of the beautiful, delicate piece I've listened to.

Does anyone know if this was originally written for piano, or is the version in my book a piano score adapted from a full orchestral work?

Mel, this was gorgeous. I'm so glad Sandy mentioned it in a different thread or I would have missed it.

Thanks,

Nancy

What a good choice Nancy ... "Pavane for a Dead Princess" by Ravel ... judge the difficulty for yourself.

Here's the first page to get you under way ...

web page


You might like to know that the inspiration for this work was the large Velazquez canvas (1656) called "Las Meninas" in the Prado, Madrid ...
which enchanted Ravel.

The jagged chord interaction of Ravel's opening measures immediately captures the sad mood of his brief glimpse of a bygone era ... the sheer
loneliness of the regal lifestyle ...while saying "we have it all" ... and yet perhaps the yawning boredom of really having nothing ...thus Ravel reaching out over the centuries to honour a Dead Princess with a last Spanish Dance. Here's "Las Meninas" ... a picture tells a thousand words!

web page

Thanks very much, Nancy. Very kind of you.

You're completely right, the piece is not difficult to get the notes. But just keep on practicing it and you'll be able to play it in a smooth and flowing manner.

My playing certainly sounded clunky while I was learning the Pavane over the course of a number of months. When it finally felt secure in my fingers, I was able to relax and eventually, let it flow.

I'm happy with the recording in my signature.

There's an earlier recording I submitted for Recital II. It's a minute slower than my later version and is more like a Dead Pavane for a Princess, rather than a Pavane for a Dead Princess.

Ravel composed the piano solo version in 1899 when he was a student at the Paris Conservatoire. He orchestrated it in 1910, so the piano solo is the original version.

I'd highly recommend that you start learning it. I think you'll find that the first seven lines are fairly easy. I roll the 10ths in the second half of page 2. The middle section, starting on page 3, I learned without the grace notes and then added them later. The timing is tricky. Page 4 is fun.


Mel

btb--Thanks for the history of this piece and the link to the painting. I really enjoyed your explanation, and I think it will help me as I start to work on this.

Mel--I laughed at your "Dead Pavane" comment. I've felt that way about a few of my pieces, also. I appreciated your hints on learning it.

I have a piece picked out for my teacher's adult Christmas recital (Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# minor, which I've been off and on with since January), so I was looking for a spring recital piece. I always have trouble deciding on something that I think people will enjoy hearing and at the same time be fun for me to work on. I think I've found it!

Nancy

I have tried this piece several times over the last couple of years. The first couple of pages are not out of reach, although they are difficult to play well. The piece gets much harder about halfway through.

This may be one of those kinds of pieces where I -- finally -- only play part of the piece. Fortunately, the first page does not sound too bad played alone. The haunting melody of the first two staves is my favorite part.

Good luck. You may find it more difficult than some of the respondents would let you believe.