How many revolutions has France had, anyway? 1789, of course; then 1830; the “Les Miserables” revolution of 1832; another big one in 1848; a failed one in 1871… You might say, all throughout the 19th century, the French were a rather revolting people.
This morning on WPRB, we’ll hear musical responses to revolutionary France, including many by native composers, including Darius Milhaud’s martial Symphony No. 4, written to mark the centenary of the February Revolution of 1848.
We’ll also have Hector Berlioz’s “Symphonie funèbre et triomphale,” composed to honor those who died during the July Revolution of 1830. Of course, that was the heyday of the gunslinger-pianist, and Paris was teeming with foreign keyboard artists like Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt. The conflict of 1830 inspired Liszt to write a symphonic poem, “Héroïde funèbre.”
But Bastille Day is really all about 1789, so we’ll also include music by Luigi Cherubini and Étienne Nicolas Méhul, both important figures during what is commonly known as THE French Revolution.
Otherwise, there will be abundant apolitical celebrations of France in general and Paris in particular, including the surrealist ballet “Les mariés de la tour Eiffel” (“The Wedding Party on the Eiffel Tower”), a collaborative work by members of Les Six, and plenty of musical joie de vivre courtesy of composers like Jacques Ibert and Jean Françaix.
We’ll slather everything with French dressing this morning, from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. Je suis le grand fromage, on Classic Ross Amico.
