Pavane (Fauré)

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The Pavane in F-sharp minor, opus number 50, was a composition for orchestra and optional chorus written by the French composer Gabriel Fauré in 1887. Obtaining its rhythm from the slow processional Spanish court dance known as the pavane, the piece gently but persistently builds up and subsides in turn from a series of harmonic and melodic climaxes, conjuring a cool Belle Époque elegance that can be haunting. It is scored for only modest orchestral forces consisting of strings and one pair each of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns. A typical performance lasts around seven minutes.

When Fauré originally began work on the Pavane, he envisaged a purely orchestral work for a series of light summer concerts to be conducted by Jules Danbe. After Fauré decided to dedicate the work to his patron, the Countess Élisabeth Greffulhe, he was encouraged to create a grander arrangement and introduced dancers and an invisible chorus to accompany the orchestra. The parts for chorus were based on some inconsequential verses à la Verlaine on the romantic helplessness of man, contributed by the Countess' cousin Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac.

The orchestral version was first performed at a Concert Lamoureux under the baton of Charles Lamoureux on November 25, 1888, while the choral version premiered three days later at a concert of the Société Nationale de Musique. Later in 1891, the Countess finally helped Fauré produce the version with dancers and chorus in a "choreographic spectacle" to grace one of her garden parties in the Bois de Boulogne. From the outset, the Pavane enjoyed immense popularity, with or without chorus, and entered the staple repertoire of the Ballets Russes in 1917, where it was alternatively billed as Las Mininas or Les Jardins d'Aranjuez. Fauré's example was also imitated by his pupils who went on to write pavanes of their own: Ravel's Pavane pour une infante défunte and Debussy's Passepied from his Suite bergamasque.

[edit] In popular culture

Rapper Xzibit achieved his first solo success with the song "Paparazzi" from his album At the Speed of Life, a song whose opening and instrumental backing are both from Fauré's Pavane.

The piece was famously used by the BBC in the title sequence for its coverage of the 1998 World Cup. When the tournament ended, it was played again during a retrospective montage of emotionally-charged clips from the competition, in which the presenter and analyst Des Lynam read the lines of Rudyard Kipling's poem "If—" to great effect.

This piece is also featured in the S Club 7 song Natural from the album, 7; a cover version of the Norma Ray song Tous Les Maux D'Amour.

Sweetbox, a pop band known for sampling classical pieces, used Pavane as well, but to a more vengeful extent, in their Hip-Pop-esque song, Human Sacrifice, from the album, Jade. An acoustic version of this track can also be found on the special edition re-release, Jade - Silver Edition.

The popular nu-metal band Avenged Sevenfold based their song "I won't see you Tonight (part 1)" on the melodic structure of Pavane.

The Irish-Norwegian duo Secret Garden's 1996 song Song from a Secret Garden is also based upon Pavane, as are Angels Cry by The Kennedys (1998) and the second half of the song Fantasy by Earth, Wind & Fire (1976).

Guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani also used Fauré's Pavane on the song Crowd Chant from his CD released in 2006, "Super Colossal". A call and response choral arrangement is featured on this track, perhaps in tribute to the arrangement that premiered on November 28, 1888 that included an invisible chorus.

A version with lyrics was sung by Charlotte Church and Billy Gilman titled Dream a Dream, on the album of the same name (2000).

The saxophonist, Joolz Gianni, created his own electronica version of the piece. The song features as track 13 on Open Space: The Classic Chillout Album.

On the popular British television show Top Gear, the song is played during a review of the Ferrari F430 by Jeremy Clarkson.

It was played in episode 86 ('The One') of Sex and the City.

Chris Botti, a classical jazz musician, also did a rendition of Pavane on the trumpet as a bonus track (Exclusive to Borders Book Stores) on his 2004 album release, "When I Fall In Love"