The Old French Song is a piano piece composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1878. It is the second piece in Opus 39, entitled Album for Children, a collection of twenty-four short pieces intended for piano instruction, but whose expressive richness far exceeds the pedagogical framework. Inspired by the composer's stay in Western Europe and his interest in foreign musical traditions, this work evokes an idealized French folk song, without however drawing on an authentic folk theme.

The piece is characterized by a gentle, melancholic atmosphere, carried by a simple, lilting melody accompanied by sober harmony. Tchaikovsky adopts a deliberately refined style, reminiscent of the aesthetics of old songs, while retaining his romantic sensibility. The moderate tempo and regular rhythm reinforce the nostalgic character of the work, like an evocation of the past seen through the prism of memory.

With its discreet elegance and emotional depth, the Old French Song illustrates Tchaikovsky's talent for expressing intimate feelings with simple musical means.

Frédéric Cellier

Tchaikovsky is the dominant figure of 19th-century Russian Romanticism.

An eclectic composer, he wrote eleven operas, six symphonies, four orchestral suites, five concertos, three ballets, one hundred and six melodies and some one hundred piano pieces.

His work, more Western in inspiration than that of his compatriots, incorporates Western and even exotic elements alongside Russian folk melodies.

He composed in all genres, but it was in his symphonies, suites and concertos that, in addition to his melodic flair, he was able to display his orchestration skills to the full.

With his three great ballets, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, he also established his credentials in a genre previously considered minor.

Along his university studies (DEA in musicology, University of Paris IV-Sorbonne), Frédéric Cellier was awarded three first prizes and a development prize at the CNR of Nice and won first prize at the International Competition of Musical Execution - soloist category – of Stresa (Italy).

He is the laureate of the Fondation de France and the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation and accredited teacher at the CNR of Nice, the CNR of Marseille, and at the CRR Olivier Messiaen of Avignon (France).

Frédéric Cellier is the interpreter of Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for clarinet Bb and piano with Jean-Michel Damase, Jean Françaix or Gabriel Tacchino, as well as his own arrangements for clarinet and harp of Erik Satie's Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes with the great French harpist Elizabeth Fontan-Binoche, and for clarinet, piano, and string orchestra of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in blue for Wynton Marsalis or under the baton of Adrian Gershwin, grandson of the composer.

Founder and artistic director of STRADIVARIUS Editions, he is the author of light music pieces played around the world and a considerable number of arrangements of all styles and for all instruments, acclaimed by many personalities in the music world, including Michèle Auric, Jean Françaix, Adrian Gershwin, Wynton Marsalis, Yehudi Menuhin, Madeleine Milhaud, Manuel Rosenthal, Gabriel Tacchino, and Ornella Volta.

"Frédéric Cellier has produced a number of adaptations of Georges Auric's works with such talent and precision that I consider them a natural addition to his chamber music catalogue."
Michèle AURIC - Georges Auric's widow

"To Frédéric Cellier, excellent musician and tireless arranger."
Jean FRANÇAIX - Composer and pianist

"Arranging a musical work is always a delicate and risky exercise, because it requires both modifying it so that it can be played by the desired instruments and preserving its very essence. But that is exactly what Frédéric Cellier has done, preserving the nuances, subtleties and soul of the original works while breathing new life into them.
His arrangements give all the musicians the chance to perform these compositions specially revisited for their instrument, and make music lovers rediscover them in a new light."
Adrian GERSHWIN - George Gershwin’s grandson

"Congratulations for your beautiful new orchestration and rendition of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in blue."
Wynton MARSALIS - Trumpet player, composer, bandleader, general and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York

"It is outstanding that Frédéric Cellier has managed to transpose Saxophone Marmalade from the saxophone to the clarinet. I thank him for it and wish its great and deserved success. "
Manuel ROSENTHAL - Conductor, composer and Maurice Ravel’s pupil

"I am very happy to tell you how much I appreciated your transcription of the Capriccio, based on Francis Poulenc's Le Bal Masqué. It perfectly reflects the spirit and verve of the score for two pianos that I had the opportunity to play and record with Jacques Février, and it was a great pleasure for me to premiere it in Montpellier."
Gabriel TACCHINO - Pianist, Francis Poulenc’s specialist

"I must tell you that I really like your transcriptions and that I think the tone of the instruments you have chosen suits perfectly our beloved composer."
Ornella VOLTA - Musicologist, president of the Erik Satie’s Foundation