Suite française
for unaccompanied violin(1980)
American Composers Alliance, 9 minutes
” a three-movement tone poem…sass and swagger in Le Hot Club, the third movement” (Washington Post)
The composer writes:
“The Suite française was written in 1983 during the first of three residencies in Paris. My neighborhood was the Marais, a very old and colorful section of the city. Each movement of the suite is a sketch of something in the area. The first (“La cirque Beaubourg”) depicts the Pompidou Center bursting with cafe life and street artists and mimes, fire-swallowing acts, caricatures and political speeches all at once. The second (“La Seine en hiver”) is an impression of the view from my studio where I could see the Seine, muddy and swollen by winter rains with the dark towers of Notre Dame a few blocks distant. On the way home I nearly always passed a door leading down some cellar steps with the name “Le Hot Club” alongside. I can’t remember if I really heard or just imagined the strains of jazz floating up from the dark.”
There are three short movements: La cirque Beaubourg, La Seine en hiver, and Le Hot Club.
