Le Tombeau de Couperin: Piano Book

The word "tombeau" is a musical term from the 17th century, meaning "a piece written as a memorial." Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) composed LE TOMBEAU DE COUPERIN as a six-movement suite (based on those of the Traditional Baroque suite) for solo piano, with each movement dedicated to the memory of a friend who had died fighting in World War I. The "Couperin" referred to in the title is François Couperin "the Great" (1668-1733), although Ravel's intentions were to pay homage to the sensibilities of the Baroque French keyboard suite in general, not one composer in general. Often light-hearted rather than sombre as one may suggest, Ravel responded, "The dead are sad enough, in their eternal silence." Movements: I. Prelude, II. Fugue, III. Forlane, IV. Rigaudon, V. Menuet, VI. Toccata.