Best Poulenc

Figure humaine is a secular cantata for unaccompanied double mixed chorus composed by Francis Poulenc in 1943 during the German occupation of France. Its eight movements set poems by Paul Éluard concerning suffering, resistance, human dignity, and freedom. The final movement sets Éluard's poem Liber...

Francis Poulenc’s Gloria, FP 177 is a significant choral composition from 1960. The work combines deeply felt sacred music with Poulenc's characteristic melodic inventiveness and gentle humor. It features a large chorus and orchestra, creating a rich and evocative soundscape. Primarily intended for...

Francis Poulenc's Gloria is a six-movement sacred work for soprano soloist, mixed chorus, and orchestra, composed in 1959 and 1960. Commissioned by the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, it sets the Latin Gloria from the Roman Catholic Mass and received its first performance in Boston in 1961. The music...

Francis Poulenc's Gloria is a sacred choral work for soprano soloist, mixed chorus, and large orchestra, composed between 1959 and 1960. The work sets the Gloria text from the Latin Mass in six movements, blending solemn religious themes with playful, lighthearted passages characteristic of Poulenc'...

Francis Poulenc’s Violin Sonata, FP 119, composed in 1943, is a significant work within French modern music. Dedicated to Federico García Lorca, it showcases a distinctly melancholic and introspective style characteristic of the “Les Six” group. The sonata is primarily for solo violin and piano, off...

Francis Poulenc's Stabat Mater is a sacred work composed in 1950 for soprano soloist, mixed chorus, and orchestra. Poulenc wrote it in response to the death of his friend, the painter and designer Christian Bérard, who died in 1949, choosing the medieval Latin meditation on Mary's grief at the cruci...

Gloria (MacMillan)’s *Diversions* is a complex concerto written for flute, harp, piano, and percussion. Composed in 1964, it’s notable for its demanding technical requirements and evocative musical language reflecting the anxieties of World War I. The work is primarily performed by experienced orche...

Francis Poulenc's Violin Sonata, FP 119, is a three-movement work for violin and piano composed in 1942 and 1943 during the German occupation of France. Dedicated to the memory of Spanish poet and dramatist Federico García Lorca, it combines forceful rhythmic writing, lyrical passages, and abrupt co...

“Voluntaries,” choreographed by George Balanchine in 1937, is a stark and emotionally resonant work set to Stravinsky’s “Symphony of Passion” featuring a predominantly male corps de ballet performing intricate, almost machine-like movements reflecting the dehumanizing effects of war.

Francis Poulenc's Violin Sonata, FP 119, is a three-movement work for violin and piano composed during the Second World War and completed in 1943. Poulenc dedicated it to the memory of Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, whose death influenced the work's tense and elegiac character. The sonata combi...

Poulenc's Violin Sonata (1943) was dedicated to the memory of Federico García Lorca and is one of the few major works Poulenc wrote for violin, notable for its bittersweet lyricism amid wartime composition.

Francis Poulenc's only piano concerto, composed in 1949, premiered in Boston with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The work follows the classical three-movement structure but incorporates Poulenc's signature style that blends neoclassical elements with French melodies. The concerto reflects Poulenc's...