Claude Renoir Painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

I love French culture. Consequently, I cannot allow Bastille Day (July 14) to pass without a tribute to France.

The French are greatly misunderstood. Too often Americans travel to Paris for a week, meet a few rude people, and leave with an unfavorable view of the culture. No doubt, the streets of Paris have attracted a few malcontents, but to judge France by the behavior of the disaffected would be like judging America by the rants on talk radio.  

For those who have experienced the plays of Molière, the poetry of Victor Hugo, the paintings of Renoir; who have seen a play at La Comédie Française or an opera at Le Palais Garnier; who have visited La Sainte Chapelle or strolled the streets of Montmartre, French culture has a sublimity that's hard to duplicate.

Jean Renoir Drawing by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

In the West, conversations about national culture are rare, perhaps because the increasing heterogeneity within nations renders generalizations about culture arcane.

Yet, when we examine European high art, we see certain trends. The floating Italian arias differ from the cerebral German sonatas, which differ from the passionate Russian symphonies. And so we are not remiss if we remember Italian music as graceful and melodic, German music as profound and intel-lectual, and Russian music as passionate and evocative.  

But what about France? 

France is heir to all the great artistic movements of Europe, of which Impressionism is arguably the most representative. While the terms "baroque," "classical," "romantic," and "modern" rarely evoke images of a particular country, Impressionism is inextricably linked with France.

The Skiff by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Why Impressionism? 

I submit that Impressionism has a "lightness of being" that is characteris-tically French. By "light," I don't mean superficial or frivolous. I mean unburdened, airy, and rarefied -- qualities not easily transplanted to countries where life is arduous and grim.

I can think of no better way to celebrate the "lightness" of French culture than with the music of Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), arguably France's greatest composer. In 1909, Ravel composed music to the ballet, Daphnis et Chloé. The ballet opens with "Daybreak," a sublime musical description of Nature's awakening. As the sun rises (in the strings), the leaves rustle, the streams flow, the birds chirp (in the woodwinds).  Nature gleams in radiant garb.

This is Impressionism at its finest. Don't expect Italian merriment, German cerebration, or Russian passion. Here you'll only find light, color, air, and glory-- all exquisitely French.