Petite Suite, op. 111 n° 3

Trois reveries op.111 n°2, proposes three exercises in style (after Debussy, Ireland and Grieg) and Petite suite op.111 n°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 Frédéric 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