A Little Love, a Little Kiss ( Un peu d'amour )

A Little Love, a Little Kiss, originally titled Un peu d'amour, is a romantic waltz composed by Lao Silesu and published in 1912. The original French lyrics were written by A. Nilson Fysher, while Adrian Ross wrote the English lyrics. The song became widely known through vocal and instrumental performances and recordings in Europe and the United States.

Django Reinhardt recorded A Little Love, a Little Kiss on 26 April 1937 in Paris with the Quintette du Hot Club de France. The session featured Stéphane Grappelli on violin, Django Reinhardt, Pierre “Baro” Ferret and Marcel Bianchi on guitars, and Louis Vola on double bass.

Musical character:
A Little Love, a Little Kiss is an elegant and sentimental waltz with a flowing melody and a distinctly nostalgic atmosphere. Its lyrical theme leaves plenty of space for expressive phrasing, while the three-beat pulse gives the piece a graceful movement that works equally well as a romantic popular song or an instrumental jazz performance.

Connection to Manouche Jazz:
The connection to Manouche Jazz is direct through Django Reinhardt's 1937 recording. Although the composition was not originally written as Gypsy Jazz, Django and the Quintette du Hot Club de France transformed it into an acoustic jazz interpretation built around guitars, violin and improvisation. It is therefore a good example of how Django incorporated older European popular music into his repertoire.

Interesting facts:

• The original title of the composition is Un peu d'amour, while the English version became known as A Little Love, a Little Kiss.
• The music was written by Lao Silesu, a Sardinian-born Italian composer who spent much of his career in Paris.
• The original French lyrics were written by A. Nilson Fysher, and the English lyrics by Adrian Ross.
• Published sheet music from 1912 survives in both French and English versions.
• Django Reinhardt recorded the piece in Paris on 26 April 1937 with the Quintette du Hot Club de France.
• The same session also produced Liebestraum No. 3, Miss Annabelle Lee, Mystery Pacific and several other recordings.

A Little Love, a Little Kiss is a beautiful example of Django Reinhardt's ability to take an older romantic melody and reshape it through the language of swing. Its graceful waltz character, lyrical melody and genuine place in Django's recorded repertoire make it a natural fit within the wider Manouche Jazz tradition.

Interesting connection: Django Reinhardt recorded A Little Love, a Little Kiss in Paris on 26 April 1937, during the same recording session in which the Quintette du Hot Club de France recorded their interpretation of Franz Liszt's Liebestraum No. 3. It is a fascinating pairing: A Little Love, a Little Kiss originated as a romantic popular song, while Liebestraum No. 3 came from the world of 19th-century classical music. Django and the Quintet transformed both into performances with their unmistakable Hot Club sound, showing just how wide their musical inspiration could be.