Rapsodie Espagnole, Mother Goose Suite, and Pavane for a Dead Princess

Description With the premiere in 1908 of Rapsodie Espagnole , Ravel’s first entirely orchestral composition, the French composer achieved renown as a highly original and imaginative composer. In 1911 he recast the Mother Goose Suite , his extremely successful work for piano four-hands as an orchestral work. Based on five fairy tales, among them 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Tom Thumb' and 'Beauty and the Beast', this collection continues to enchant listeners of all ages with its variety of moods. After a decade after its initial appearance as a piano work, Ravel transcribed his evocative Pavane For A Dead Princess for orchestra, now one of his best-known and most frequently performed compositions. These three rich orchestral settings are presented in full score in this authoritative edition. Songlist Mother Goose Suite Pavane For A Dead Princess Rapsodie Espagnole

Although the moods may vary throughout these evocative works, the elegance and subtly shifting energies of their musical language could only be those of Maurice Ravel. To study them in this full-score edition is to become more fully aware not only of his great originality but also of the constant striving for perfection of form and style that prompted Stravinsky to compare him admiringly to the most perfect of Swiss watchmakers. The Rapsodie Espagnole was Ravel's first entirely orchestral composition. A work whose exotic fantasy and subtle craftsmanship clearly express Ravel's distinctive musical personality, it was first performed publicly at the Théâtre du Châlet in Paris in 1908, confirming the young composer's reputation as an orchestral poet of scintillating originality. In 1911 Ravel re-created for orchestra his highly successful composition for two pianos, the Mother Goose Suite, a truly magical work whose moods range from haunting desolation to tender exaltation. Similarly, Ravel recast his brilliant 1911 piano composition Valses Nobles et Sentimentales as an orchestral score in 1912 (a ballet based on its premiere that year in Paris) and arranged his evocative 1899 piano work Pavane for a Dead Princess for orchestra in 1910. The rich orchestral settings of all four works have made them popular favorites on concert stages worldwide. This superbly prepared edition brings together in one volume authoritative full scores of these four works, reprinted from original French editions. Dover (1989) republication of Rapsodie Espagnole, Ma mère l'Oye, and Valses Nobles et Sentimentales, originally published by Durand, Paris, 1908, 1911, and 1912, respectively, and of Pavane pour une infante défunte, originally published by Max Eschig, Paris, 1910.