LA FETE NATIONALE

posted by James Reel

July 14 is Bastille Day, the big national holiday in France, commemorating the 1789 storming of the Bastille, Paris' fortress-prison (which at the time was holding only a handful of political prisoners), and becoming a seminal event in the French Revolution. (The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen was proclaimed just a few weeks later.) At KUAT-FM, we're joining the celebration with a full day of French music. You'll get an idea of the range of possibilities just by looking at the schedule for the 6 a.m. hour, which, among other things, sandwiches the Harp Concertino by 20th-century composer Germaine Tailleferre between pieces from the 16th and 17th centuries. The most substantial works through the day will include the Violin Concerto No. 3 of Saint-Saens, the complete incidental music that Bizet provided for the play L'Arlesienne, the full ballet score Coppelia by Delibes, Ravel's Valses nobles et sentimentales (and much else by that composer), the Berlioz Symphonie fantastique, the rarely heard Symphony No. 2 of Charles Tournemire, Roussel's ballet The Spider's Feast, Poulenc's Aubade, and selections from Rameau's delightful opera-ballet Les Indes galantes. Many Gallic hors-d'oeuvres in between, as well. Bon appetit!