La Fête Française

We begin our “French Party” with the fresh elegance of young prodigy Lili Boulanger’s Renouveau (Renewal) and the exquisite simplicity of Calm Nights, Flowers and Trees by Camille Saint-Saëns. Bask in the lusciousness of Impressionist Era Claude Debussy’s Trois Chansons de Charles d’Orleans. Then, let the fun commence with the “Doll Aria” from Tales of Hoffman, the fervency of Edith Piaf, and Bizet’s celebratory “Toreador Song” from Carmen. Marc Antoine Charpentier’s “Prelude” announces the culminating masterwork to the patron saint of music by Charles Gounod – the St. Cecilia Mass – like an opera in grand style masquerading as a sacred mass. This excursion through iconic French music is not to be missed.