''Suite française'' (French Suite),
FP 80, is an
orchestral suite for
wind instruments,
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
and
harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...
(or harp ''ad libitum'') by
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...
. It was composed in a
neoclassical style in 1935 for
Édouard Bourdet's ''la Reine Margot'', and it was inspired by
Claude Gervaise's dance collection ''Le livre de danceries''.
Structure
#
Bransle
A branle ( , ), also bransle, brangle, brawl(e), brall(e), braul(e), brando (in Italy), bran (in Spain), or brantle (in Scotland), is a type of France, French dance popular from the early 16th century to the present, danced by couples in either ...
de Bourgogne
#
Pavane
The ''pavane'' ( ; , ''padovana''; ) is a slow processional dance common in Europe during the 16th century (Renaissance).
The pavane, the earliest-known music for which was published in Venice by Ottaviano Petrucci, in Joan Ambrosio Dalza's ...
# Petite marche militaire
# Complainte
# Bransle de Champagne
#
Sicilienne
# Carillon
* A typical performance lasts 14 minutes.
References
Sources
*
*
*
{{italic title
Suites by Francis Poulenc
1935 compositions
Orchestral suites
Chamber music by Francis Poulenc
Compositions for orchestra without strings
Incidental music
Neoclassicism (music)
Arrangements of classical compositions