Tombeau de couperin program notes

World War I had a transformational effect on Maurice Ravel. At age 39, the dapper, elegant, charming French composer enlisted in the French army in the Thirteenth Artillery Regiment, serving as an ambulance driver and a nurse. His small stature and physique prevented him from serving in any kind of infantry.

But his humor was not entirely lost during his service. Each movement was dedicated to a friend who had died in combat. Le Tombeau de Couperin actually began before the war. I will see about getting it danced at the Vatican by Mistinguett and Colette Willy in drag. A forlane is a northern Italian dance. Written for solo piano, it is literally the evocation of a seventeenth-century dance suite in six movements——each entitled with one of the traditional Baroque dances. It is a remarkably cogent example of refined Gallic appreciation of the past.

Le Tombeau de Couperin, Maurice Ravel - Program notes by William E. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.

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We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. However, his orchestral music, with the exception of his two, late piano concertos, is not related to the traditional symphonic idiom of our favorite central European composers--the French have never been known for their symphonies, for example.

Rather, almost all of it derives from the theatre or the dance, or his orchestrations of his own piano music. And that is exactly the case with Le tombeau de Couperin. It is literally the evocation of a seventeenth-century dance suite in six movements--each entitled with one of the traditional Baroque dances.