# Francis Poulenc



## Mirror Image

Francis Poulenc was the leading composer of Les Six, the French group devoted to turning music away from Impressionism, formality, and intellectualism. He wrote in a direct and tuneful manner, often juxtaposing the witty and ironic with the sentimental or melancholy. He heavily favored diatonic and modal textures over chromatic writing. His music also shows many elements of pandiatonicism, introduced around 1920 by Stravinsky, whose influence can be heard in some of Poulenc's compositions, such as the religious choral work, Gloria. Poulenc is regarded as one of the most important twentieth century composers of religious music, and in the realm of the French art song he is also a major voice of his time. Poulenc was also a pianist of considerable ability.

Poulenc was born into a wealthy family of pharmaceutical magnates. The agrochemical giant Rhone-Poulenc is the present-day corporation started by his forebears. His mother was a talented amateur pianist who began giving him piano lessons at age five. Later Poulenc studied with a niece of César Franck, and then with the eminent Spanish virtuoso Ricardo Viñes, for whom he would later write music.

At age eighteen, Poulenc wrote Rapsodie Nègre for baritone and chamber ensemble, which made him an overnight sensation in France. The young composer served in the military during the years 1918-1921, during which time he composed the popular Trois Mouvements Perpétuels (1918).

By 1920, Les Six -- Georges Auric, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Germaine Tailleferre (the sextet's lone female representative), Louis Durey, and Francis Poulenc -- had begun making its impression on the music world. In 1923, Poulenc wrote the ballet Les Biches, which Diaghilev staged the following year with great success, the public finding its mixture of lightness, gaiety, and occasional moments of sentimentality irresistible. Poulenc continued writing at a fairly prolific pace in the late 1920s and early 1930s, producing many piano compositions, songs and other works. In 1935, he rekindled his friendship with baritone Pierre Bernac, thus launching a productive and enduring professional relationship. He also returned to the Roman Catholic Church that year when close friend Pierre-Octave Ferroud was killed in an automobile accident. Thereafter he wrote many important works of a religious nature, the first of which were Litanies à la Vierge Noire, for soloists, chorus and organ, and Mass in G for mixed a cappella chorus, both from 1936.

During the war, Poulenc remained in German-occupied France, writing music of an antiwar or defiantly anti-Nazi bent, sometimes writing songs on texts by banned authors, such as Lorca. He also wrote a ballet Les Animaux Modèles (1940-1941), Sonata for violin and piano (1942-1943; rev. 1949) dedicated to Lorca, and the masterful Figure Humaine (1943), a choral cantata which is a hymn to freedom.

In the postwar years, Poulenc turned out his Sinfonietta (1947) and Piano Concerto (1949), both not entirely successful. In the period 1953-1956, Poulenc produced his most ambitious work, the opera Dialogue of The Carmelites, considered by many the greatest French opera of the twentieth century.

Poulenc finished his last opera in 1958, La Voix Humaine, a work whose lone character talks (sings) on the phone to her deserting lover for the work's 45-minute length. Notable also in this period is his Gloria (1959), a work shorn of sanctimony and rich in communicative simplicity and fervent religiosity. Poulenc's last major work was his Sonata for Oboe and Piano in 1962, dedicated to the memory of Prokofiev, whom he had befriended in the 1920s. Poulenc died suddenly of a heart attack.

Andre, already posted a thread about, _*Les Six*_, but I think Poulenc's music is in a class by itself and he warrants his own thread, because of his originality.

What do you guys think of this amazing composer?


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## JoeGreen

Well what could I say? One of my favorite all time French Composers that's for sure, wonderful gift for melody and harmony, loved to juxtapose the witty and melancholic, a Mahlerian complexity if you will but on a smaller scale, and his orchestration wasn't to shabby either definite hints of Ravel in it.


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## Mirror Image

JoeGreen said:


> Well what could I say? One of my favorite all time French Composers that's for sure, wonderful gift for melody and harmony, loved to juxtapose the witty and melancholic, a Mahlerian complexity if you will but on a smaller scale, and his orchestration wasn't to shabby either definite hints of Ravel in it.


Absolutely, Joe. That's a very good description of his music. He was a totally unique composer. He had such an individual style that it only takes a few measures to know it's his music.

Do you have any favorite compositions?


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## JoeGreen

I would have to say...

*Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra

The Nocturnes

Dialogue of The Carmelites

The Sonata for Flute and Piano*


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## Krummhorn

Being an organist, my most favorite work of Poulenc is:
_Concerto in G Minor for Organ, Strings & Timpani_. I have the EMI recording, Georges Pretre conducting and Maurice Durufle on the organ.


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## Mirror Image

Krummhorn said:


> Being an organist, my most favorite work of Poulenc is:
> _Concerto in G Minor for Organ, Strings & Timpani_. I have the EMI recording, Georges Pretre conducting and Maurice Durufle on the organ.


"Concerto for Organ, Strings, and Tympani" is a great piece Krummhorn.

Here are my favorite Poulenc pieces:

Les Biches
Sinfonietta
Les Animaux Modeles
Aubade
Gloria
Stabat Mater
Piano Concerto
Concerto for 2 Pianos
Sextet for piano, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn
Sonata for oboe and piano


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## Sid James

I have heard a number of his works. Highlights would have to be:

_*Concerto for Organ, Strings & Timpani *_- the colours he coaxes out of the organ and the relatively modest forces accompanying are really amazing. Beats Saint-Saens' _Organ Symphony _hands-down for me.

_*Piano Concerto *_- called "not entirely successful" in the article. Sure, it's not the greatest piano concerto ever written, but I like it's sense of nostalgia & song-like quality.

_*Les Biches *_- Displays qualities typically associated with Poulenc, what others have noted above: witty, urbane & sophisticated.

One minor criticism can be that his works are somewhat too highly polished compared to the others in_ Les Six_. But surely, we should not hold this too much against a composer. Surely being a master craftsman is more of an asset than a liability?...


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## Mirror Image

Andre said:


> One minor criticism can be that his works are somewhat too highly polished compared to the others in_ Les Six_.


I don't really see how this could be bad. Look at Ravel and Strauss for example. You won't get more polished than those two composers.

Having a ton of Poulenc's music now. I can seriously count him as one of my current favorites. I will investigate his chamber works now.


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## JoeGreen

after a recent rehearing of it, I'll have to also add the...

*Concert Champetre*


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## Mirror Image

Listening to some of the Dutoit Decca box set of Poulenc right now and it's really good. Poulenc was such a melodic composer. The interesting thing I have noticed is that there are definite traces of Debussy and Ravel in his music. It seems Saint-Saens was perhaps an influence as well.


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## Guest

I'd certainly go along with the idea - mentioned in the opening posting - that DIALOGUES OF THE CARMELITES is a candidate for most outstanding French opera of the C20th. (Hmmm, but PELLEAS ET MELISANDE - from 1902, so just-about in the C20th! - is another major contender).

The story is set in the days of the French Revolution. The Revolutionaries order all religious communities to be closed, but the nuns of the Convent of Compiegne refuse to comply. For their audacity in refusing to obey the orders of the Revolutionary Committee, they are all sent to the guillotine. The story particularly features the life of a Novice who has recently joined the Order, and wobbles in her faith before joining her sisters in the final scene.

The opera was written after WW2, and appeared in the 1950s. At a Press Conference some time later, a perceptive journalist put a very direct question to Poulenc - "Your opera is set in the C18th...but isn't it really an allegory of how Vichy France handed over the jews to the Nazis?". "No comment" replied Poulenc.

Instead of the "notorious" final scene, here's a snippet from earlier on - when Blanche is telling her infuriated father and brother that she's decided to enter the convent.... (cond Konstantin Chudovsky, prod Dmitry Bertmann. This is the Helikon Opera production from Moscow, which was later performed in Paris).


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## Guest

I have not heard a Poulenc work that I dislike but I have yet to *listen* to Les Biches


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## Zuo17

I've just purchased a CD with *Rutter*'s _Gloria_, *Bernstein*'s _Chichester Psalms_, and *Poulenc*'s _Quatre Petites Prieres de St Francois d'Assise_(_I can't read French_).

_I'm going to listen to it right now and see if I like Poulenc's music...._=)

Until again,
Zach


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## danae

Poulenc used to be one of my favourites when I started writing music. I had associated him with Prokofiev then, probably because of his sonata for flute and piano, which to me sounded a lot like Prokofiev sonata for violin and piano (the 2nd I think), which he transcribed for flute. 
The result of these was my first attepmt at composition with a piece for flute and piano. It's a mix of Poulenc and Prokofiev elements. Sadly, it remains the best thing I've written.


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## Mirror Image

Andante said:


> I have not heard a Poulenc work that I dislike but I have yet to *listen* to Les Biches


"Les Biches" is a great piece of music. You must hear it and when you do make sure Charles Dutoit is conducting. He's the best Poulenc conductor and has probably recorded more of his work than anyone.


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## JoeGreen

danae said:


> Poulenc used to be one of my favourites when I started writing music. I had associated him with Prokofiev then, probably because of his sonata for flute and piano, which to me sounded a lot like Prokofiev sonata for violin and piano (the 2nd I think), which he transcribed for flute.
> The result of these was my first attepmt at composition with a piece for flute and piano. It's a mix of Poulenc and Prokofiev elements. Sadly, it remains the best thing I've written.


Yes, when it comes to composing, Poulenc's harmonic language is somehting I definitely look up to (and Astor Piazolla's).


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## starthrower

I just thought I'd add another thumbs up for Poulenc. I've enjoyed the Chamber Music disc on DG for several years, and I just got the Decca 2-CD set of his keyboard concertos, sonata for two pianos, and Gloria. I don't know what it is about his music, but it really moves me as a listener. He has a signature sound that I can recognize right off!


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## violadude

Francis Poulenc-

Pieces I have by Poulenc

Violin Sonata
Cello sonata
Bagatelle for violin and piano
Clarinet Sonata
Flute Sonata
Sextet for piano, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn
Oboe sonata
Trio for piano, oboe, and bassoon
Villanelle for pipe and piano
D'Apres Le Bal Masque for 2 pianos
Sonata for 2 pianos
Elegie for 2 pianos
L'Embarquement Pour Cythere for 2 pianos
Sonata for piano duet
Sonata for 2 clarinets
Sonata for clarinet and bassoon
Sonata for horn, Trumpet and Trombone
Le Bal Masque
La Bestiaire Ou Cortege D'Orphee
Four Poems by Max Jacob
Rapsodie Negre
Cocardes
Elegie for Horn and Piano
Sarabande for Guitar
Incidental Music for Play "L'invitation Au Chateau"
Incidental Music for Play "Leocadia"
The story of Babar, the little elephant (French and English versions)

Poulenc is a really fun composer to listen to. His music seems to flow out so effortlessly and gracefully. His music always has a way of making me smile. I can't say much about this composer because I haven't listened extensively to this collection I have of his, but whenever I do listen to him it's a joy!


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## starthrower

Which set do you have? I've been trying to decide whether to get the Decca or Brilliant Classics piano/chamber music set.

I bought the Decca concertos/choral music set a few weeks back.

I'm glad you mentioned "gracefully" concerning Poulenc's music. I was thinking about this last week when some members described his music as lightweight. I'd say the music is light on it's feet like a disciplined graceful dancer who makes it look easy.


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## violadude

starthrower said:


> Which set do you have? I've been trying to decide whether to get the Decca or Brilliant Classics piano/chamber music set.
> 
> I bought the Decca concertos/choral music set a few weeks back.
> 
> I'm glad you mentioned "gracefully" concerning Poulenc's music. I was thinking about this last week when some members described his music as lightweight. I'd say the music is light on it's feet like a disciplined graceful dancer who makes it look easy.


I have the Naxos set. They came out with a series of his complete chamber music, and the pieces I listed above are what is in that series.


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## starthrower

I forgot about the Naxos set. They have so much good stuff these days. I definitely want to hear more of the chamber music, as I only have a single CD on the DG label.


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## Rasa

I'm playing the piano concerto this year. I'm not sure why it's quality is under discussion. It's a well-constructed neo-classicist work and the orchestration is splendid!


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## starthrower

^^^^^^^^^^
Yeah, I love it! The organ concerto is a great work as well. Inspired music!


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## neoshredder

Underrated composer imo.


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## PetrB

neoshredder said:


> Underrated composer imo.


I can only strongly second that.

A 'conservative' in the context of his time, there is just a lot of truly superb music there, of the highest craft and integrity.

I think because the nature of some of it is 'lighter' and that it has that 'du trottoir' 'sidewalk popular' accent to it at times, it is thought of as less.

But his overall 'stature' as set among the other 20th century moderns is often much lower than I rate him.

Yes, a very very fine composer.


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## PetrB

Rasa said:


> I'm playing the piano concerto this year. I'm not sure why it's quality is under discussion. It's a well-constructed neo-classicist work and the orchestration is splendid!


Poulenc himself somewhat 'defended' that piece, basically saying that music which was more of 'divertissement' than a heavy-duty dialogue had as much place in the field as anything else.

But there is that perfect example of why he is so often 'dismissed.' as a welterweight, which overlooks the freshness of the music and the profound quality of the craft displayed.

Lucky you, break a leg - a truly lovely piece.


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## elgar's ghost

In the fullness of time I'd like to buy the Harmonia Mundi recording of La Voix humaine featuring Felicity Lott (twinned with the monologue La dame de Monte Carlo) but it looks to be out of print so it's a bit pricey on the marketplace.


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## Norse

I'll just mention a couple I haven't seen so far.

Suite (pour piano): An early little three movement suite, not too different from Satie's Sonatine Bureaucratique. Very clear and simple writing, with a lot of 'baroque' drive and perpetuum mobile.

Suite Francaise: I've always thought of this as one of Poulenc more well-known and recorded works, so it's a little suprising to not see it mentioned. It's based on French renaissance dances by Claude Gervaise, and to be honest I'm not sure how exactly how much Poulenc did with them, except from the completely obvious harmonic twists etc. They're definetely not pure 'transcriptions'. There's a piano version and version for wind ensemble, harpsichord and snare drum. I think I might lean towards the piano version myself, I think it brings out the simple tenderness of some of the pieces better, and sounds less christmas carol-y.


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## Minifozzy

The work elegie, for solo horn and piano accompaniment, composed by Poulenc in memory of Dennis Brain - a wonderful horn player - opens with a twelve tone scale, and only gets better  it is a really fun piece to play and would recommend it to any horn players reading this.


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## science

Any fans of his songs?


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## elgar's ghost

science said:


> Any fans of his songs?


I've got this, which serves well as a 'starter pack' for his melodies - I quite like the five-song Banalities cycle which strike me as being Poulenc in quintessential curling cigarette smoke mode, and, on the opposite side of the coin, 'C', which is more or less an elegy for France on the verge of disaster in 1940.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HfJbL9SuL._SY300_.jpg

There are also some entertaining songs (particularly the Max Jacob settings) on this, for forces other than voice and piano:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ZWH8B6D0L.jpg


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## Guest

science said:


> Any fans of his songs?


Yes, though I probably prefer the piano ones to the chamber ones.


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## TurnaboutVox

science said:


> Any fans of his songs?


Yes; I picked up two LP's of his songs back in the 80's, and I discovered more when we did the 'TC art song' project.

His chamber music is beautifully crafted, I can only agree with what's already been posted here. Most of what I have is on cassette (recorded from LPs from the record library in my home town many moons ago) and I've not written down the performers etc., but I recently picked up the first two volumes of the Naxos set, which are very good.


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## PetrB

I like the rather offbeat / zany _Rapsodie nègre_, for baritone, flute, clarinet, string quartet and piano.

I love -- and remain deeply impressed with the incredible virtuosity of, _Le bal masqué_









another performance:


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## DrKilroy

Recently when I was exploring French vocal music, I found Poulenc's Chansons francaises. Very beautiful especially No. 5 for me (the first one in the second video):











Best regards, Dr


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## clavichorder

This here, is a truly wonderful little piano piece, the Intermezzo in A flat:


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## Cosmos

Love at first hearing with the Two Piano Concerto. I got the Decca box that also included:

(one) Piano Concerto
Organ Concerto
Two Piano Sonata
Concerto Champetre
the Sextet [which is a LOT of fun]
and his Gloria

A great set if you ask me!


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## hpowders

I like Poulenc's Concerto for Organ, Timpani and Strings. Unjustly neglected.


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## Vaneyes

Re recs, the Poulenc chamber works series on Naxos is excellent value, some featuring Tharaud.

I had the pleasure of seeing Argerich/Freire/OSM/Dutoit perform the Concerto for Two Pianos. The recording that comes closest to that occasion for me is Le Sage/Braley/Liege O./Deneve (RCA).

Other suggestions, Cello Sonata w. Isserlis & Devoyon (Virgin), Violin Sonata, w. Little & Lane (EMI), Solo Piano w. Roge (Decca).:tiphat:


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## Dirge

Francis POULENC: _Quatre petites prières de Saint François d'Assise_ (1948)
:: Nethsingha/The Vicars Choral of Wells Cathedral [Griffin, 1992]
https://play.spotify.com/album/4svKPqBu2qz9SS2Q1LMIc2 (tracks 14-17)

This is a strong, earnest, spiritual performance that eschews the near-sensuality of some accounts and opts instead for more sheer devout intensity, including impressively assertive climaxes that leave no doubt that God will hear these little prayers. The singing is very accomplished and beautifully and unaffectedly phrased if not quite "French" sounding in accent; curiously, the Vicars strike me as sounding more American than English. The soloist who opens the fourth prayer is superb, striking the perfect balance between Gregorian chant and Poulencian lyricality and perfectly setting up the dusky choral entrance that inevitably (but not entirely expectedly) builds to a hair-raising little climax that- And the prayer is over before you know it.

The performance initially struck me as sounding a mite too aggressive, but now it's my favorite and other performances strike me as sounding a mite too lame. The voices are beautifully balanced and blended and recorded in a large and resonant but well-focused acoustic space with an appropriately monastic feel about it.


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## starthrower

science said:


> Any fans of his songs?


I'm considering one of the several box sets available, and I'm leaning towards the Hyperion set.
The male vocals and piano playing sound the best to my ears on these recordings.


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## ganio

Am I dreaming or is there some kinship between both main themes?


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## TurnaboutVox

Figleaf having drawn my attention back to my old post (above, #33), I bought the Hyperion box set of Poulenc's complete songs last autumn and I have been getting to know them better at my leisure. Although there's much here that's fine, I have a special fondness for "Les chemins de l'amour". "La dame de Monte-Carlo" I prefer in the version with orchestral accompaniment, but that's probably influenced by having long had a recording of the excellent Mady Mesplé sing it with the Monte-Carlo Orchestra. That minor personal preference apart, I would recommend this highly, as with almost everything, it seems, that Graham Johnson touches.












> As always, Johnson matches singers to songs meticulously. There are some outstanding performances: Christopher Maltman's account of Miroirs brûlants and La fraîcheur et le feu (both based on Eluard), and the Calligrammes (on Apollinaire's texts) are worth the price on their own, while Sarah Fox is just as persuasive in Les chemins de l'amour as she is in Tel jour telle nuit. There are telling contributions, too, from Ailish Tynan, Susan Bickley and Ben Johnson, and a brief appearance in the Quatre chansons pour enfants by the English grande dame of French song Felicity Lott. Touchingly, one work also features the voice of baritone Pierre Bernac, Poulenc's recital partner, for whom many of the songs were composed; he's the narrator in a 1977 recording of L'histoire de Babar and the whole set is dedicated to his memory. It's a gorgeous collection, and for sometime Poulenc sceptics like me, a real revelation.
> 
> Andrew Clements, The Guardian 10/13


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## Figleaf

I have the Erato 20 CD box 'Francis Poulenc- Oeuvres Completes'. Most of the attraction was that the recordings are mostly vintage and mostly French, some of them duplicating the Bernac/ Poulenc CDs I already had, but much of it new to me. English singers in French song is something I don't generally care for much- though one of the standout performers in the Erato box is the American baritone William Parker, a Souzay pupil with a beautiful voice. He died very young and seems to have left few recordings. I was put off Felicity Lott by a televised Poulenc recital about twenty years ago: the combination of Englishness, grotesque face-pulling and the female operatic voice (a taste I have never fully acquired) was too much for me, and she got switched off. Nowadays, French art songs on terrestrial TV would be unthinkable, and I would probably be more grateful to Ms Lott!


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## hpowders

hpowders said:


> I like Poulenc's Concerto for Organ, Timpani and Strings. Unjustly neglected.


Also, hp, Poulenc's Sonata for Oboe and Piano is a sparkling, witty piece-like champagne bubbles tickling your nose!


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## Guest

I also have the Erato 20 CD Set and have been going through it at a steady pace. Some of the chamber music is a revelation. The sonatas for piano and flute, oboe and clarinette are outstanding! 

Poulenc's music is bubbly like a good champagne. Rossini of modern age, but with more profundity.


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## Figleaf

DoReFaMi said:


> I also have the Erato 20 CD Set and have been going through it at a steady pace. Some of the chamber music is a revelation. The sonatas for piano and flute, oboe and clarinette are outstanding!
> 
> Poulenc's music is bubbly like a good champagne. Rossini of modern age, but with more profundity.


I've also found myself listening to piano and chamber music on that set which I would probably never have encountered otherwise. At the moment I'm revisiting CD 18, and William Parker singing 'Banalités'. I adore Bernac, but sometimes it's nice to listen to a conventionally attractive voice!


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## Johann Sebastian Bach

Immerse yourself in his Gloria.

Parts of it are absolutely hilarious - intentionally so - reminding one alternately of circus clowns and Hollywood horror movies. Burlesque is there to - even a hint of ragtime, if I remember correctly. The orchestration's a masterpiece of skilful tone colour.

Given the tragic circumstances in his life at the time of composition, the effervescence to which DoReFaMi refers ^^^^ must have made him a lovely man to know.


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## Joachim Raff

A new release and super quality performances. Worth a listen if you have a streaming service


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## HerbertNorman

Joachim Raff said:


> View attachment 137050
> 
> 
> A new release and super quality performances. Worth a listen if you have a streaming service


Thanks , I'm going to give this a go tonight.


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## mparta

JoeGreen said:


> Yes, when it comes to composing, Poulenc's harmonic language is somehting I definitely look up to (and Astor Piazolla's).


When Prokofiev was working out piano concerti (I guess the 2nd and 3rd?) in Paris, Poulenc played the second. He referred to Prokofiev's pianism as something like watching a formula one racer taking the curves (someone could look up the quote).

hard to believe with that kind of exposure that there wouldn't be some cross fertilization. I find many common virtues to their music, especially the melodic gift and the tendency to the spicey harmony and occasional musical raspberry ut:

Two of my absolute favorites and each with a version of depth that requires a little searching, it's there, just not on the surface. I guess depth usually isn't on the surface  Maybe you get my gist.



















Two of my favorite discs. The Mauillon has the big cycles that I love, especially Travails du Peintre.
The Allen the ensemble pieces that are delightful, deep, gorgeous

I'd missed this thread, i have a thing for this music. For me, as a form, his songs and choral work are the highlights but Carmelites and the concerti (my favorite the 2 piano), and the sextet and trio and.... oh, I could go on.


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## Pat Fairlea

DoReFaMi said:


> I also have the Erato 20 CD Set and have been going through it at a steady pace. Some of the chamber music is a revelation. The sonatas for piano and flute, oboe and clarinette are outstanding!
> 
> Poulenc's music is bubbly like a good champagne. Rossini of modern age, but with more profundity.


'Rossini of modern age' - oh, that's perfect.


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## Roger Knox

mparta said:


> When Prokofiev was working out piano concerti (I guess the 2nd and 3rd?) in Paris, Poulenc played the second. He referred to Prokofiev's pianism as something like watching a formula one racer taking the curves (someone could look up the quote).
> 
> hard to believe with that kind of exposure that there wouldn't be some cross fertilization. I find many common virtues to their music, especially the melodic gift and the tendency to the spicy harmony and occasional musical raspberry ut:
> 
> Two of my absolute favorites and each with a version of depth that requires a little searching, it's there, just not on the surface. I guess depth usually isn't on the surface  Maybe you get my gist.


Definitely agree. This nails it!: "I find many common virtues to their music, especially the melodic gift and the tendency to the spicy harmony and occasional musical raspberry."

I came across a reference to Prokofiev's influence on Poulenc (in harmony I think). The commonalities are there, even though up front their musical temperaments differ drastically, and that's I guess why I like both so much. Some day I hope to look into their harmonic styles more closely.


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## mparta

no one should miss this, with Barbara Bonney

I was fortunate to hear this at the 92nd st. Y with Nora Ansellem and Michel Senechal.


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## Marcos

He wrote this drinking song in 1922 for a US Glee club, before realising that prohibition was being enforced over there...


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## ando

*An Evening with Francis Poulenc* (1990, Barry Gavin)


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## Syllys

71st Anniversary of the world premiere of Francis Poulenc's Stabat Mater

Concert-anniversary and musicological conference-presentation given on the occasion of the 71st anniversary of the world premiere of Francis Poulenc's Stabat Mater by the Choir of Saint-Guillaume under the direction of Fritz Münch in 1951.

The Saint-Guillaume Choir is an emblematic group from Strasbourg with a prestigious history, created in 1885 by Ernest Münch and having counted among its members and supporters Albert Schweitzer, Arthur Honegger and Francis Poulenc. The Choir is a leading player in the musical heritage of Alsace and cultivates the interpretation of the great vocal symphonic works, in particular those of J.S. Bach. It is made up of amateur volunteers of a high musical level and is organized as a non-profit association, open to all.
On June 13, 1951, the ensemble premiered Francis Poulenc's Stabat Mater with the Strasbourg Municipal Orchestra, which later became the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Fritz Münch, brother of Charles Münch and son of the founder of the Saint-Guillaume Choir, Ernest Münch.
This group will perform the work again on June 5 in Strasbourg and on June 11 at the invitation of the Dominicans of Guebwiller for the 71st anniversary of its world premiere.
Project details: The Saint-Guillaume Choir, prepared by its musical director Béatrice Dunoyer, is organizing an event-concert around the Stabat Mater as part of an innovative transversal collaboration, initiated with Vincent Dubois, Director of the Conservatory and the Higher Academy of Music of Strasbourg-Haute école des arts du Rhin, between amateurs and musicians in training of excellence prepared by Jean-Philippe Billmann, all animated by the same artistic requirement under the direction of Claude Schnitzler, conductor from Strasbourg with an international career.
The Stabat Mater, whose soloist will be Maria Giuliana Seguino, will be preceded by works by W.A Mozart, M. Duruflé, Du Jonchay and Poulenc.
A lecture-presentation "fil-rouge" given under the aegis of the musicologist Mathieu Schneider of the University of Strasbourg will precede the Stabat Mater and will bring a scholarly light to the musicological dimension of the work in order to trace its genesis and creation in its historical, musical and artistic context.
This event, whose impact has been echoed as far away as the United States, since an article was written for the occasion by musicologist Sylvia Kahan of New York University, will be performed for the first time on Sunday, June 5, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. in the Palais des Fêtes in Strasbourg, the original venue for the work's creation, and then a second time on Saturday, June 11, at 7:00 p.m. at the invitation of the Dominicans of Haute-Alsace in Guebwiller.
This project will bring together more than one hundred and sixty musicians around the same passion for music and the remarkable pages of its history written within the musical world of Strasbourg.
This event will also be the occasion of an official presentation with the deposit of original autograph letters from Francis Poulenc, property of the Saint-Guillaume Choir, addressed to Fritz Münch, notably from New York where he received the Critics' Circle Prize for the best choral work of the year.

With this project, the Saint-Guillaume Choir initiates the celebration of a major page in the history of music written in Strasbourg by associating in the same impetus its demanding and passionate amateur choristers with young musicians in training of excellence, by paying tribute under the direction of conductor Claude Schnitzler, to a prestigious, fervent and authentic lineage in the service of music.


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## Rogerx

Syllys said:


> 71st Anniversary of the world premiere of Francis Poulenc's Stabat Mater
> 
> Concert-anniversary and musicological conference-presentation given on the occasion of the 71st anniversary of the world premiere of Francis Poulenc's Stabat Mater by the Choir of Saint-Guillaume under the direction of Fritz Münch in 1951.
> 
> The Saint-Guillaume Choir is an emblematic group from Strasbourg with a prestigious history, created in 1885 by Ernest Münch and having counted among its members and supporters Albert Schweitzer, Arthur Honegger and Francis Poulenc. The Choir is a leading player in the musical heritage of Alsace and cultivates the interpretation of the great vocal symphonic works, in particular those of J.S. Bach. It is made up of amateur volunteers of a high musical level and is organized as a non-profit association, open to all.
> On June 13, 1951, the ensemble premiered Francis Poulenc's Stabat Mater with the Strasbourg Municipal Orchestra, which later became the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Fritz Münch, brother of Charles Münch and son of the founder of the Saint-Guillaume Choir, Ernest Münch.
> This group will perform the work again on June 5 in Strasbourg and on June 11 at the invitation of the Dominicans of Guebwiller for the 71st anniversary of its world premiere.
> Project details: The Saint-Guillaume Choir, prepared by its musical director Béatrice Dunoyer, is organizing an event-concert around the Stabat Mater as part of an innovative transversal collaboration, initiated with Vincent Dubois, Director of the Conservatory and the Higher Academy of Music of Strasbourg-Haute école des arts du Rhin, between amateurs and musicians in training of excellence prepared by Jean-Philippe Billmann, all animated by the same artistic requirement under the direction of Claude Schnitzler, conductor from Strasbourg with an international career.
> The Stabat Mater, whose soloist will be Maria Giuliana Seguino, will be preceded by works by W.A Mozart, M. Duruflé, Du Jonchay and Poulenc.
> A lecture-presentation "fil-rouge" given under the aegis of the musicologist Mathieu Schneider of the University of Strasbourg will precede the Stabat Mater and will bring a scholarly light to the musicological dimension of the work in order to trace its genesis and creation in its historical, musical and artistic context.
> This event, whose impact has been echoed as far away as the United States, since an article was written for the occasion by musicologist Sylvia Kahan of New York University, will be performed for the first time on Sunday, June 5, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. in the Palais des Fêtes in Strasbourg, the original venue for the work's creation, and then a second time on Saturday, June 11, at 7:00 p.m. at the invitation of the Dominicans of Haute-Alsace in Guebwiller.
> This project will bring together more than one hundred and sixty musicians around the same passion for music and the remarkable pages of its history written within the musical world of Strasbourg.
> This event will also be the occasion of an official presentation with the deposit of original autograph letters from Francis Poulenc, property of the Saint-Guillaume Choir, addressed to Fritz Münch, notably from New York where he received the Critics' Circle Prize for the best choral work of the year.
> 
> With this project, the Saint-Guillaume Choir initiates the celebration of a major page in the history of music written in Strasbourg by associating in the same impetus its demanding and passionate amateur choristers with young musicians in training of excellence, by paying tribute under the direction of conductor Claude Schnitzler, to a prestigious, fervent and authentic lineage in the service of music.


Thank you very much for the insight and information, very much appreciated. 
Also welcome on the site.


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## Joachim Raff

mparta said:


> no one should miss this, with Barbara Bonney
> 
> I was fortunate to hear this at the 92nd st. Y with Nora Ansellem and Michel Senechal.


This a super recording of the work.


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## Rogerx

I bought this one when it came out, still giving lots of pleasure .


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