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pauraque_bkI know you took this question back, but as you've probably guessed, Impressionist music is one of my favorite subjects, which I very rarely get a chance to discuss, so I hope you don't mind if I answer it anyway. *g*
1. I know you love Ravel and one of my favorite pieces is "Pavane Pour Une Infante Defuntée" by Ravel. I love classical music but very haphazardly so, and I *know* nothing about it. So can you teach me something about that piece now, besides the fact that it's sad, slow and pretty? :) (Of course, now you're going to tell me that this is the one piece of Ravel that you really can't stand... *g*)
Heh, no. It's not my favorite, but I do like it. I'm no expert in music analysis and theory, but I can give you my take on the piece.
Pavane pour une infante défunte is one of Ravel's earlier works, composed while he was still studying at the Conservatoire. The title is transparent -- it's usually translated "Pavane for a Dead Princess", which I think it literally was, though I'm not sure which princess. A pavane is dance music, though a very slow and courtly dance. I'm fairly certain that the piece is about grieving.
It starts out with a traditional-sounding melody, which is very orderly, though sad. It goes where you expect for a few bars, but then hesitates and breaks into these deep, passionate triplet chords, like sobs. Then the piece pulls itself together and becomes more orderly again, returning to the slow dance-like rhythm, only to break down a second time. This pattern repeats several times, with variations in structure and intensity. The calmer stretches are sometimes sweet and nostalgic as well as sad. The "sobs" sometimes have muffled echoes of dissonance -- the only noticeable dissonance in an otherwise very harmonic piece.
It strikes me as a vignette rather than a story; it doesn't build to a climax, it just ends. It's a portrait of grief: The face of socially acceptable mourning you put forth to the world, and the happy memories you have of the person you've lost -- combined with the more raw, private anguish that others don't see.
The feelings expressed are strong, but not extremely complex. It's just wishing a person you love were still here -- grief untainted by guilt or lingering resentment. So, although it is sad, it also has an innocence that's very appealing. It makes for an interesting contrast with some of Ravel's later, darker works.
I listened to this piece several times while I was writing this, over my lunch break. I actually grew to like it more and more, the closer I listened and the more I thought about it. My co-workers may have thought it was a little strange that I played it so many times in a row, though. ;)
1. I know you love Ravel and one of my favorite pieces is "Pavane Pour Une Infante Defuntée" by Ravel. I love classical music but very haphazardly so, and I *know* nothing about it. So can you teach me something about that piece now, besides the fact that it's sad, slow and pretty? :) (Of course, now you're going to tell me that this is the one piece of Ravel that you really can't stand... *g*)
Heh, no. It's not my favorite, but I do like it. I'm no expert in music analysis and theory, but I can give you my take on the piece.
Pavane pour une infante défunte is one of Ravel's earlier works, composed while he was still studying at the Conservatoire. The title is transparent -- it's usually translated "Pavane for a Dead Princess", which I think it literally was, though I'm not sure which princess. A pavane is dance music, though a very slow and courtly dance. I'm fairly certain that the piece is about grieving.
It starts out with a traditional-sounding melody, which is very orderly, though sad. It goes where you expect for a few bars, but then hesitates and breaks into these deep, passionate triplet chords, like sobs. Then the piece pulls itself together and becomes more orderly again, returning to the slow dance-like rhythm, only to break down a second time. This pattern repeats several times, with variations in structure and intensity. The calmer stretches are sometimes sweet and nostalgic as well as sad. The "sobs" sometimes have muffled echoes of dissonance -- the only noticeable dissonance in an otherwise very harmonic piece.
It strikes me as a vignette rather than a story; it doesn't build to a climax, it just ends. It's a portrait of grief: The face of socially acceptable mourning you put forth to the world, and the happy memories you have of the person you've lost -- combined with the more raw, private anguish that others don't see.
The feelings expressed are strong, but not extremely complex. It's just wishing a person you love were still here -- grief untainted by guilt or lingering resentment. So, although it is sad, it also has an innocence that's very appealing. It makes for an interesting contrast with some of Ravel's later, darker works.
I listened to this piece several times while I was writing this, over my lunch break. I actually grew to like it more and more, the closer I listened and the more I thought about it. My co-workers may have thought it was a little strange that I played it so many times in a row, though. ;)
