Suite francaise

" 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