Francis Poulenc , born the January 7th 1899 with Paris, dead the January 30th 1963 with Paris, is a Compositeur and Pianiste French, member of the group of the Six.

Biography

His/her father was one of the founders of the establishments Poulenc Frères, which became Rhône-Poulenc.

Although it followed some courses of composition with Charles Koechlin, Poulenc is regarded as a self-educated type-setter.

After a schooling with the College Condorcet, he knows at eighteen years a first success with a negro Rapsodie . With the First World War, its production is hardly important. It however composes the Bestiary , a cycle of melodies.

Ricardo Viñes makes him meet in particular Isaac Albéniz, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Poulenc forms part, with Georges Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud and Germaine Tailleferre of the abstract group musicians that the critic Henri Collet will call in 1920 the Groupe of the Six, in reference to the Russian Groupe of the Five (Moussorgski, Cui, Balakirev, Borodine, Rimski-Korsakov). Their common esthetics, influenced by Satie and Cocteau, is a reaction against the Romantisme and the Wagnérisme, and also, to a certain extent, against the current Impressionniste. The group of the six created only two collective works: a collection for the piano Album of the Six, and a ballet, the Grooms of the Eiffel tower.

In 1926, it meets the baritone Pierre Bernac, for whom it had an emotional attachment, and composes for him a great number of melodies. It accompanies it with the piano, starting from 1935 (and until its death in 1963), in recitals of French music given around the world. Pierre Bernac is regarded as the MUSE of Poulenc for the setting at the day of many melodies of Poulenc.

In 1928, the type-setter written the pastoral Concert , work for harpsichord and orchestra intended for the large harpsichordist Wanda Landowska and dedicated to his/her companion, the painter Richard Chanelaire.

In 1935, of passage to Rocamadour and consecutively with the accidental of his/her friend, type-setter and critical death Pierre-Octave Ferroud, it saw a deep return to the catholic faith of its childhood and turns to compositions of religious inspiration. After this event its works for piano are done much rarer and are impressed of a deep melancholy.

In 1936 it composes its Litanies with the black Vierge of Rocamadour , for chorus of women and organ (which it will orchestrate later on), followed in 1937 of the Messe in G major for mixed chorus has cappella, of a Stabat MATER (1950) and of a Gloria (1959). The type-setter will write also his famous the Dialogs of the Carmelite nuns in 1957.

The critic Claude Rostand, to underline the coexistence or alternation at Poulenc of a great gravity and catholic faith with unconcern and imagination, forged the formula celebrates “monk or hooligan”. Thus, in connection with his Gloria, which caused some movements, the type-setter himself declared: “I thought, simply, by writing it with these frescos of Gozzoli (Benozzo Gozzoli) where the angels draw the language, and also with these serious Benedictines whom I saw one day playing football”.

It left several recordings as pianist soloist or guide. One also has recordings sometimes supervised by him and interpreted by artists whom it privileged of alive sound, like the baritone Pierre Bernac, the soprano Denise Duval or the leader Georges Prêtre.

He is buried with the Cimetière of the Father-Lachaise in Paris.

Works

Musical works

Among its compositions:

• Of the operas: Dialogs of the Carmelite nuns in 1957; the human Voice in 1959.
• Of works bouffonnes: Udders of Tirésias , in 1947
• Of religious works: Litanies with the black Virgin of Rocamadour , in 1936, a Gloria for soprano solo, mixed chorus and orchestra , a Stabat MATER for soprano, mixed chorus and orchestra, the very beautiful Mass in G major for mixed chorus has cappella, the " Four Motets for a time of pénitence" , " Four Motets for the time of Noël" , as a mixed chorus has cappella, Four Small Prayers of saint François d' Assise for chorus of men.
• music of the ballet the Hinds in 1924
• Of the parts for piano whose concerto for piano and orchestra which was named of sound living the Concerto number 1 and which it named into private, for badly known reasons, the Concerto cap , or for two pianos alone, a Sonate for two pianos , a Cappricio , the Loading for Cythère , etc
• a Sonate for flute and piano (1957) was written with the memory of Madam Sprague Coolidge with the collaboration of the flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal
• a setting in music of History of Babar, the small elephant for reciting and piano (orchestrated later by Jean Françaix)
• a Concerto for Organ, cords, and drinking cups , a Concerto for two pianos , the pastoral Concert for harpsichord and orchestra
• of the chamber music, in particular a sonata for clarinet and piano (1962), a sextet for piano and instruments wind
• Of very many melodies, among which the cycle Engagement for to laugh . It puts in particular in music poems of Apollinaire like the Bestiary or Procession of Orphée , Montparnasse , In the garden of Anna , the poems of Eluard as the cycle Such day, such night and cycles it the Work of the painter , of the poems of Aragon like C. and gallant Fêtes, but also, in its more whimsical vein, We want a little sister Jean Nohain.
• Nombreuses profane parts for chorus has cappella: Seven Songs on texts of Guillaume Apollinaire and Paul Éluard, One Evening of snow , French songs on anonymous texts of the the Middle Ages, Drinking songs , Small Voices for chorus of children, strong Songs starting from texts of the 17th century, Metamorphoses on texts of his/her friend Louise de Vilmorin.

Written works

• Newspaper of my melodies . By Francis Poulenc with foreword of Henri Sauguet. Text established by the Company of the Friends of Francis Poulenc. Editions Grasset (1964).
• Newspaper of my melodies . By Francis Poulenc with foreword of Denise Duval. Full text established and annotated by Renaud Machart. Cicéro Editor in co-edition with the Salabert Editions. Paris (1993).
• Correspondence 1910-1963 . Of Francis Poulenc. Editions Myriam Chimènes. Paris/Beech, (1994).
• has Broken Sticks . Radiophonic writings of Francis Poulenc preceded By Newspaper of Holidays and follow-up of American Sheets. Actes Sud editions.
• Dialogs of the Carmelite nuns . By Francis Poulenc. Actes Sud editions. Collection Operas of Marseilles (2006).

Interpreters of reference

Among the best interpreters of his works, one can quote:

• Melody S: the baritone Pierre Bernac and the soprane Denise Duval

Studies on Francis Poulenc

• Francine Bloch, Phonography of Francis Poulenc . Paris/National library (1984)

External bonds

• Biography of Francis Poulenc on the site of the IRCAM
• Biography of Poulenc from which this article comes partly.

Simple: Francis Poulenc

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