Description
Faure wrote his Pavane as a piano piece in 1887, describing it as ‘elegant, but not otherwise important’. He began work on the orchestral version a few months later, scoring it for modest forces, with the intention of performing it at a series of light Summer concerts that same year. At the behest of his benefactor, Elisabeth Greffulhe, he added a four-part choir, but it is rarely heard with chorus today. From the outset the Pavane enjoyed great popularity with its delicate and graceful arching melody lines underpinned by a steady pulse beating gently.
