Petite Pastorale - Le Petit Poucet from Ma mère l'Oye (Mother Goose) - Hop- o'-My-Thumb.

Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In the 1920's and 1930's Ravel was internationally regarded as France's greatest living composer.

By the latter part of the 1900s Ravel had established a pattern of writing works for piano and subsequently arranging them for full orchestra. He was in general a slow and painstaking worker, and reworking his earlier piano compositions enabled him to increase the number of pieces published and performed. There appears to have been no mercenary motive for this; Ravel was known for his indifference to financial matters.

Ma mère l'Oye (English: Mother Goose, literally "My Mother the Goose") is a suite by Maurice Ravel. The piece was originally written as a five-movement piano duet in 1910. In 1911, Ravel orchestrated the work.

Not all six of the transcriptions come from "Ma mère l'Oye", but the three that I've done do.

I've had these transcriptions for MANY years, but, due to their awkwardness, always said, "Maybe I'll do them next year..."

Since my life has reached the zenith of awkwardness, I figured now was the time! :-)

This transcription was done by G. Choisnel, but I have no information about him. The registrations given are typically French, but there is NO way that they actually work!

The fourth piece in the transcription collection is "Petit Poucet" (Little Tom Thumb / Hop o'my Thumb Beauty)". It is the second movement of the original piano suite.

It deals with HORRIFIC story which centers around ogres killing and eating children! Just the thing for a little bedtime entertainment...

The piece is effective enough, with it's cuckoo calls, but having read the tale, I can see NO relation to the music.

The score is attached below, as well as several photos of Maurice Ravel, and of his grave.