For Daudet's play of Provencal life, L'Arlesienne, Bizet contributed a large amount of very attractive music. This was later put together for concert purposes in the form of two Suites, of which this is the first.
It has four Movements:-
(1) Prelude. A stirring rhythmic, March-like piece, based on an old Provencal folk-tune; (2) Minuet. A pleasant dance tune; (3) Adagietto. A very short piece for Strings alone. In the play it accompanies the passage where two old lovers meet, after half a century of absence from one another; (4) Carillon. A simple little three-notes bell tune pervades the piece. There is a short, contrasting middle section; otherwise, the three-note tune is heard throughout. The piece is played during the celebration of a betrothal.

Lionel Falkman (Violin) and Orchestra

Though Lalo was of pure Spanish descent, his ancestors had lived in France or Flandera for centuries, and his music is always considered typical of the lighter, most graceful side of the French character. Several of his works show a taste for foreign 'local colour'-the Norwegian Rhapsody, the favourite Spanish Symphony, and this Russian Concerto, in which he brings in several Slavonic melodies.
The Concerto contains a Prelude leading to a quick Movement, then an Introduction and a 'Russian Song'.