During World War I, French composer Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) wrote a six-movement suite for solo piano titled Le tombeau de Couperin. A “tombeau” (“tomb” in French) is a musical tribute to someone who has passed away.
The musical world was deeply affected by the conflict, as composers and musicians were among those serving in the military. Orchestras lost members, and many composers shifted focus from large-scale works to smaller, sparser pieces.
Ravel, who worked as an ambulance driver in the war (he was nearly 40 when the conflict began), was profoundly changed by the experience, and he wrote a piece to commemorate some of the lives affected by the war.
Although a tombeau was most often written for one person, Ravel dedicated the individual movements to his contemporaries.
Here is pianist Yoel Eum Son to play this fr you:
