Maurice Ravel lived from 1875 to 1937. Menuet Antique Op. 7 was written in 1895 and is Ravel's earliest published work. Ravel later orchestrated the the piece in 1929. Ravel was a student at the Paris Conservatory when he composed this piece and it was written as a tribute to Emmanuel Chabrier.
Because it is such an early work in Ravel's output, it is not often performed. It is interesting that Ravel did decide to orchestrate the Menuet Antique so much later in his career. The piece is in a typical ABA ternary structure. It is highly based on sequential patterns. Another key feature of the pieces is the continual use of pervasive accented seventh chords. Here are two performances by Thibaudet and Lortie of Ravel's Menuet Antique.
Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Louis Lortie
This piece is beautiful! I wish it was performed more!
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