Tag: Yann Tiersen

Listen to “The French Connection” Ep. 7

This Sunday’s FRENCH CONNECTION on WRIU 90.3 FM celebrates the musical scores from four wonderful French films: Les Choristes from 2011, Amelie from 2001, Ascenseur pour L’échafaud from 1957, and Black Orpheus, from 1959.


( This program originally aired on WRIU, Kingston, 90.3 FM on Sunday, August 17 )

The French Connection 8-17-25

Notes:

Our guest in studio is mon ami Wayne Cresser, host of Picture This: Film Music on the Radio.

FIRST SET: from “Les Choristes” (2011) | Composed by Bruno Coulais; Performed by the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra, with the boys choir Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc.



– “Les Avions En Papier”
– “Vois Sur Ton Chemin (Les Choristes)”
– “La Nuit”
– “Compère Guilleri”
– “Lueur D’été”
– “Cerf-Volanther notables”

The story of Les Choristes was inspired by the origin of an actual boys’ choir The Little Singers of Paris.

At the 77th Academy Awards, Les Choristes was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Song (the latter for “Vois sur ton chemin“)

Notably, Les Choristes was director Christophe Barratier’s first feature film.


SECOND SET: from “Amelie” (2001) | Composed and performed by Yann Tiersen

– “La valse d’Amélie”

-“Comptine d’un autre été : L’Après-midi”

-“Les Jours tristes” 

-“L’Autre valse d’Amélie”

Amélie is rated #37 among the “50 Greatest Romantic Comedies of All Time” by Rolling Stone magazine, and in 2025, the film ranked number 41 on The New York Times‘ list of “The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century.” 

Yann Tiersen is a  French- Breton musician and composer. In just two weeks, he composed nineteen pieces for ”Amelie.”

Tiersen just recently released an introspective new album called Rathlin from a Distance | The Liquid Hour.

THIRD SET: “Ascenseur pour l’échafaud” (1957) | Composed and performed by Miles Davis

– “Sur L’autoroute”

The soundtrack for Ascenseur pour Léchafaud, scored by American trumpeter Miles Davis, became an instant jazz classic, known for its atmospheric, moody, and improvisational style –  perfectly complementing the film noir mood of Louis Malle’s movie.

On December 4,1 957, Davis brought his four sidemen to a French recording studio without any practice or preparation. Once the plot of the film was explained, Miles and his band improvised what would become the classic soundtrack.

The musical ideas explored on Ascenseur pour L’échafaud paved the way for Miles Davis’s later masterpiece, “Kind of Blue”.

FOURTH SET: “Black Orpheus” (1959) | Composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim & Luis Bonfa

-“Manhã de Carnaval”

-“Manhã de Carnaval / La Chanson d’Orphée” performed by Pauline Croze

-“Samba de Orfeu”

Black Orpheus is a 1959 romantic tragedy film directed by French filmmaker Marcel Camus.

The film is particularly notable for its soundtrack by two Brazilian composers: Antônio Carlos Jobim, whose “Manhã de Carnaval” and “Samba de Orfeu” have become classics of bossa nova. 

Black Orpheus won the 1960 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

CLOSING SONG: Sidney Bechet “Si Tu Vois Ma Mere” (1952)

Yann Tiersen’s new recording with Gruff Rhys

Yann Tiersen has announced a new album, ‘Portrait’, featuring tracks from across his career re-recorded with guest musicians, including John Grant, Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys and Stephen O’Malley of Sunn o))). Blonde Redhead also join him on one of three new songs written for the release.

“The apparent lightness or simplicity of some of my tracks has always been a disguise or reaction to their darker side”, he says of revisiting his older work. “For instance ‘La Dispute’ is about extreme violence, blood, death and the strange state of shock you feel in the moments after something horrible has happened”.

He then goes on: “That’s one of my darkest tracks and I’ve always felt uncomfortable with the idea of people thinking it’s a romantic thing to listen to on a date. People seemed to understand it when it was first released, but the use of my music for cinematic purposes put a sort of false mask on the face of the monster. I feel that ‘Portrait’ puts my tracks in context again so people can listen to my music and see it for what it is and not for what it’s been used for”.