Francis Poulenc – sextet for piano & winds (1932, revised 1939)
Posted on | June 19, 2010 | 1 Comment
Of his own work, he wrote, “I know perfectly well that I’m not one of those composers who have made harmonic innovations like Igor (Stravinsky), Ravel, or Debussy, but I think there’s room for “New” music which doesn’t mind using other peoples chords. Wasn’t that the case with Mozart-Schubert?”
The Sextet is also a three-movement work; fast-slow-fast, just like the other piece, only with more instruments. Seriously, in this work which features a piano along with a wind quintet, the piano is treated as another equal member of the ensemble rather than a soloist accompanied by the quintet, as in a chamber concerto. In fact the piano often plays the role of accompanist to the winds. The first movement opens with what sounds like a great sneeze. While the Clarinet and Bassoon Sonata evokes the Baroque Sonata, the Sextet parodies the Classical Sonata of Haydn and Mozart. This opening movement consists of two fast sections separated by a slow section, introduced by a lovely bassoon solo. The second movement, a slow “Divertissment,” is again a movement consisting of three parts, this time slow-fast-slow and in it are found some of Poulenc’s engaging melodies, with a nod to Mozart. The finale is a classical rondo at a most rapid pace, covering a wide range of emotions and instrumental colors. And as those awful French are fond of doing in their finales, there are references to the music of first movement.
Francis Poulenc (1899 – 1963)
Poulenc was born in Paris on January 7, 1899. Having been born into the family that owned of one of France’s premier chemical companies, Francis was spared the unpleasantries of having to work for a living. He studied piano with Ricardo Viñes, and composition with Charles Koechlin. Poulenc attained both a distinct musical voice and success at an early age.
During the 1920’s he was one of the leading spirits of the group of young French composers known as “Les Six” (The Six). Their music was often light, witty, satirical and urbane. They were in sympathy with and influenced by the music of Erik Satie, as well as Igor Stravinsky’s “Neo-Classicism,” and to a lesser extent Jazz. They were opposed to the “cerebral” music of Arnold Schoenberg and the Second Viennese School, as well as the religio-mystical excesses of their countryman Olivier Messiaen. One of the hallmarks of Poulenc’s musical style is the juxtaposition of passages full of wit and irony with lush, sentimental outpourings that he referred to as his “Mauvaise Music” (Purple Music).
Poulenc composed orchestral, chamber music, ballets, concertos, film scores, opera- The Dialogue of the Carmelites is believed by many to be his masterpiece, as well as powerful choral and sacred music. In the field of French Art Songs, he is an acknowledged master, with over 130 songs to his credit. Indeed, melody was the most important element to him. Norbert DuFourcq writes, “he found his way to a vast treasury of undiscovered tunes within an area that had, according to the most up-to-date musical maps, been surveyed, worked, and exhausted.”
Program Notes by Joseph Way
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June 19th, 2010 @ 4:12 pm
[...] Poulenc: Duo for Klarinett og Fagott. Beethoven; Kvintett i Ess-dur, Op. 16. Poulenc: Sekstett for Piano og blåsere Op. 100. Click for details [...]