Anniversaire de Frère Jacques

Frère Jacques is eighty and this is the occasion to flip through his album carrying the pictures of his busy existance. Surprises will never lack. The piece begins with the birth (Naissance) gently underscored by the sound of bells; shortly afterward the very young Jacques (Jeux d'Enfant) is grappling with his first plays; a tarantella is going to present Punchinello-dressed Frère Jacques who amuses himself in a carnival parade (Au Carnaval). Through an adagio (Prière) an encounter with God takes place: Frère Jacques set up his mind about his existence to come and later we can find him very proud and perhaps a slightly drunk (la goutte du Couvent) for having distilled a first-rate elixir that will permit the Monastery to come back to its ancient prime saving it from ruin. During one of his frequent trips our friar stays onto the Mexican Land (A la Mission de San Cristobal), where he may appreciate the Middle America's fiery musical rhythms. It's now getting late and many friends are waiting for him. Frère Jacques closes his album and peacefully makes his way toward the party organized in his honor (Fète d'Anniversaire); the famous theme which the whole piece is built on echoes joyful and solemn in the Band's deep and powerful sounds.