Petite suite, op. 111 no. 3

Gerard Billaudot Editions presents composer Nicolas Bacri's 'Petite suite' for flute and piano. Trois reveries op.111 no. 2, proposes three exercises in style (after Debussy, Ireland and Grieg) and Petite suite op.111 no. 3, consists of five short pieces of which #2, #3 and #4 already feature in piano solo version in Cahier pour Eloi and #1, Troubadour, in a collection (both published by Billaudot). In 2015, at the request of flute repertoire series manager Frederic Chatoux, I completed the cycle with the addition of #5 Humoresque, a playful reminiscence of my adopted cats’ antics, back in Walloon Brabant where I lived for four years. All these early pieces are very dear to me as an illustration of a teen composer’s confidence (I was 15 or 16 then) in his solid tonal and modal writing. They also combine a demanding contrapuntal approach with a certain lyricism. I reworked them many times to refine the compositional texture as much as possible. I was pleased and honored to have Petite suite premiered in Bangkok by two professional musicians. It was my first world premiere in Thailand, a country that, like many other Far East countries, seems to focus more and more on Western classical music. -Nicolas Bacri