Pastorale de Provence, Op. 12b

Franco Cesarini composed this four-movement piece originally for concert band in memory of Provençal composer Darius Milhaud.

Pastorale de Provence is a piece rich in musical references and the names of the movements La villageoise  (The Villager), Le petit berger (The little Shepherd), La princesse (The Princess) and Le lutin (The Imp) – have been inspired to Franco Cesarini by t18^th century French composers who often used descriptive titles to underline the character of their pieces.

Another important facet of this composition is the form of the different movements: ancient dance form has been incorporated into each movement, namely a round in the first movement, a musette in the second, a pavane in the third movement, and in the fourth a farandole.