Francis Poulenc

Twentieth century music is often unattractive to those who do not seek to understand the motives behind the compositions. Many composers have sought to find expression outside the realm of traditional tonality only to find their works seldom performed. The border dividing how far a composer can stray from traditional forms is blurred. Adventuresome composers have often composed music that is not very pleasing to listen to, but composers who have partially stayed within the traditional system find their works performed more often. Francis Poulenc is one such composer who composed on the border between tradition and innovation. His music, especially the Sonata for Flute and Piano, has actually become very popular in the twentieth century.

Francis Poulenc was born January 7, 1899, in Paris and died in 1963. He was a French pianist and composer. He began studying piano at the age of five with his mother, and he studied with several noted piano teachers during his life. At age eight he began studying with a niece of César Frank, Mademoiselle Boutet de Monvel. It was also at this age that Poulenc first experienced the music of Claude Debussy. Poulenc thought the ninth chords in the music suggested wrong notes; he became fascinated by the behavior of the ninth chords in music.

Composition came naturally to Poulenc; he began composing at age seven. His first published work came about a decade later. In 1917, he published Rapsodie négre for solo baritone, piano, string quartet, flute and clarinet. It was first performed on December 11, 1917. The baritone refused to sing the part at the last minute because he was horrified by the part; Poulenc premiered the work himself. This publication came out during World War I, while he was serving in the French army. Trois Mouvements Perpétuels for piano and Sonata for Piano Duet were published in 1918. In fact, many of his early compositions were piano pieces. "They were preludes of incredible complexity written out on three or four staves, later referred to by the composer as inferior imitations of Debussy and Stravinsky" (Hell 7).

At fifteen, Poulenc studied with Ricardo Viñes, who encouraged him to compose; later, from 1921-24, Poulenc studied harmonic music theory with Charles Koechlin, but Koechlin did not introduce the student to counterpoint or orchestration. "His knowledge of form was instinctive" (Kennedy 559). Poulenc composed in just about every genre including: operas, ballets (e.g., Les Biches, a ballet premiered in 1924 by Dyagilev), film scores, orchestral pieces, choral works, vocal solos, songs, chamber music, piano pieces and religious music. Perhaps he is most famous for his membership in Les Six.

Poulenc met Georges Auric, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud and Erik Satie in 1917-18 through Ricardo Viñes, but in 1920, Henri Collet "somewhat arbitrarily grouped together" (Rosenstiel 783) six friends as Les Six: Francis Poulenc, Darius Milhaud (1892-1974), Arthur Honegger (1892-1955), Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983), Louis Durey (1888-1979) and Georges Auric (1899-1983). The journalist Henri Collet wrote about Les Six in the same sentence with the Russian Five (Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Modest Mussorgsky, Aleksandr Borodin, Mily Balakirev and César Cui); both of these groups advocated composing music clear of the Germanic influence of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. Les Six had a few aesthetic similarities, but they were united more by friendship than by artistic ideals. The group drew inspiration from the poetry of John Cocteau and the music of Erik Satie. Although each composer in the group had a different style, some elements in their music identify them as a distinctive school of composition. Their music tends toward "dry sonorities, sophisticated moods, and jazz rhythms" (Goetz 853).

The French Six drew inspiration from Parisian folklore, street musicians, circus bands and music halls. They composed music for conventional and non-conventional instruments, used machines as instruments, and advocated the use of subjects from everyday life. "They thought compositions should be brief, dry and straightforward" (Stolba 596). The group was not strictly Neo-Classicist, but it did oppose Impressionism and such composers as Claude Debussy, Vincent D'Indy and César Franck. They favored "the simplicity, directness, and economy characteristic of Neo-Classicism" (Rosenstiel 783). Les Six worked together to produce Album des Six (a collection of piano pieces) and Les mariés de la tour Eiffel (The wedding party at the Eiffel Tower). Les mariés de la tour Eiffel is an exaggerated comic ballet based on a text by Cocteau. Les Six did not continue composing as a group, but did continue composing individually.

Francis Poulenc's music is generally classified as diatonic and tonal with a clear melody. In his music,
"melody is the predominant factor. Harmony is simple and diatonic, with triadic structures colored by added sixths or dissonances. The texture is basically homophonic, and rhythms are simple and may include perpetual motion." (Rosenstiel 785) Many of his pieces were actually farces. Poulenc "viewed composition as an everyday affair rather than as a special event requiring the spark of inspiration" (Rosenstiel 783). Poulenc also admired the Neo-Classic works of Stravinsky, but did not imitate the Russian composer. Some scholars believe that Poulenc's Sonata for two pianos was influenced by Stravinsky.

Among Poulenc's most respected works are his songs including Le bestiare ("The Zoo") in 1919. He became respected for his talent at matching music with speech rhythms in his songs. These songs are considered among the best composed in the twentieth century. In 1924 and 1926, he published Poèmes de Ronsard and Chansons galliardes. After publishing this song cycle, he followed with more than one-hundred songs mainly based on poems by Apollinaire. "His songs, which range from parody to tragedy, are admired for their lyricism and for their sensitive integration of vocal line and accompaniment" (Goetz 648).

Francis Poulenc composed three operas, all of which are frequently performed: 1) Les Mamelles de Tirésias (The Breasts of Tirésias,1944), which is based on Apollinaire's play by the same name, 2) Dialogues des Carmelites (Dialogues of the Carmelites,1956), which is based on a community of nuns martyred during the French Revolution, and 3) La Voix Humaine, with text by John Cocteau (The Human Voice, 1958). The most popular of the three operas is Dialogues des Carmelites. This opera depicts a moral victory and is really a tribute to the work of Bernanos. It was first performed on January 26, 1957.

"During the 1930's Poulenc wrote many religious works, including Litanie à la Vierge Noire de Rocomadour (1936), the first of his religious choral compositions" (Goetz 648). Poulenc was involved in the Roman Catholic Church, and he really began composing religious works after the death of one of his close friends. "The Black Virgin at the Sanctuary of Rocamadour, and also a veneration for St. Anthony of Padua, are said by the composer to be the external origins of his inspiration" (Hell 32). He also composed a Mass in G Major (1937) and Stabat Mater (1951). During World War II, he was involved in the French resistance movement to the war. He composed the cantata Figure humaine, which was performed in 1945, to express his spirited resistance. This cantata was secretly printed during the Nazi occupation.

The chamber music of Poulenc may be divided into three main periods. The first period occurred from 1918-26 during which Poulenc's music was characterized by wittiness, dissonances, triadic structures and scales. He wrote his sonatas for clarinet, bassoon, horn and trumpet during this period. The second period, from 1932-39, spawned the piano and cello sonatas as well as the Sonata for violin dedicated to Ginette Neveuas. Poulenc did not like writing for solo strings; he had written and destroyed two violin sonatas in 1919 and 1924, but during his second chamber music period, a violin Sonata was finally completed. The final phase, during which he wrote three sonatas for woodwinds, lasted from 1939 until his death. These three sonatas are technically difficult and are arranged in the fast-slow-fast order of movements except for the Sonata for Oboe and Piano. The oboe sonata is dedicated to Prokofiev and is arranged in the slow-fast-slow order. The Sonata for Flute and Piano, written in 1957, also falls into the final phase of Poulenc's career.

The Sonata for Flute and Piano was written between December 1956 and March 1957 at the Hotel Majestic in Cannes, France. Around 1952, The Chesterian, the official Chester Music magazine, wrote, "Francis Poulenc is at present writing a sonata for flute and piano, which, it is hoped, will be ready for publication early next year. The work is being specially written for a well known American flautist" (Schmidt ii). According to rumor, Poulenc was composing the piece for Julius Baker; instead, Jean-Pierre Rampal was the first to perform the sonata. It is unknown whether or not the sonata mentioned in the above letter is the same as the sonata that was actually performed five years later.

At the Strasbourg Festival on June 18, 1957, the Sonata for Flute and Piano was premiered by Rampal and Poulenc himself. The Coolidge Foundation had commissioned Poulenc to write a piece of chamber music for the festival in honor of Elizabeth Coolidge. Instead of a chamber work, he wrote the flute sonata. In a conversation with John-Pierre Rampal, Poulenc said, "I just don't think I can write a piece of chamber music. I wrote a very bad string trio, and I tried a string quartet, but it's even worse--it's still unfinished. I really only succeed when I'm writing for two distinct voices" (Rampal 126). Poulenc received permission to write the flute sonata with the grant money.

The preparation of the piece for the festival was difficult. Poulenc called Rampal for the first rehearsal during a production of Dialogues des Carmelites. Rampal and Poulenc gathered to practice the sonata for the first time. Reflecting on this first rehearsal, Rampal wrote, "I was not so sure. The first movement seemed disjointed, and there wasn't much of a theme or direction. The ideas came and went, but had no real coherence. And some of the fingering was impossible" (Rampal 127). Poulenc never claimed to be able to write a perfect piece the first time he created a draft. He apparently liked to make revisions to his music. Revisions provided the path for completion of his music.

Poulenc and Rampal rehearsed many times before the piece was perfected. After one of these rehearsals, Poulenc gave a draft of the music to Rampal to "see if it's playable" (Rampal 127). In his autobiography, John-Pierre Rampal wrote about this experience: "So off I went with a collection of bits and pieces that didn't resemble a flute sonata at all. We worked this way for several months, with me periodically showing up at his apartment, trying out whatever he'd written and then taking it away with me. I did change a few phrases here and there and gave Francis some ideas as to how the work should hang together, but I must claim that at the beginning I was rather panicky. I simply couldn't see where the piece was going-and was very much afraid Francis couldn't either. Yet he became more confident, and slowly but surely the Sonata for Flute and Piano took its final shape." (Rampal 126) None of the original manuscripts mentioned by Rampal still exist. The earliest extant flute part in Poulenc's handwriting contains marks that denote it as an early stage in the composition. This copy was consulted when the newest edition of the Poulenc Sonata for Flute and Piano was published.

The unofficial premiere of the Sonata for Flute and Piano was the day before the Strasbourg Festival with an audience consisting of one person-Arthur Rubinstein. Rubinstein knew that he would be unable to attend the performance the following day. Poulenc offered to play the piece early for Rubinstein. At the official premiere of the sonata on June 18, 1957, the second movement, the Cantiléne, was encored. "The critics spoke of it as 'a great rainbow of melody' and as 'the best Poulenc and even a little better'" (Hell 86).

A manuscript copy of the Sonata for Flute and Piano was given to the Library of Congress as a part of the Coolidge commission agreement. Poulenc initially desired to premiere the work in America at the Library of Congress in February of the year following the world premiere, but he allowed the pianist Robert Veyron-Lecroix to premiere it in America instead. Poulenc apparently did not want to travel all the way to the United States just for one performance. This premiere occurred on February 14, 1958.

"Between the world premiere and the American premiere Poulenc found time to introduce the sonata to the English-speaking world through the BBC" (Schmidt iii). On January 16, 1958, Poulenc performed the sonata with Gareth Morris, a famous English flutist. A copyist copied John-Pierre Rampal's flute part and sent Morris a copy of the sonata to prepare for the performance, but Morris did not receive a piano part until he began rehearsing with Poulenc. The copy Morris received was inscribed, "THE FLUTE PART HAS BEEN REVISED BY JOHN-PIERRE RAMPAL" (Schmidt iv). Rampal has strongly stated that he did not revise the part. The copyist was evidently giving credit to Rampal for his collaboration in the composition process. After these first few performances, the Sonata for Flute and Piano became one of the most popular sonatas in the standard flute repertoire.

To compile the latest edition of the Poulenc Sonata for Flute and Piano, editors consulted many of the earliest manuscript sources. None of the manuscript sources mentioned by Rampal in the early stages of the work have survived. The main sources used by the editors include Rampal's flute part, Garreth Morris's flute part, the Library of Congress copy of the work and recordings of the first performances. "[T]he earliest known written record of the Sonata is the rough piano score which Poulenc marked 'monstre Brouillon' on the first page. This manuscript shows numerous signs of composition and clearly represents an early stage of the work in Poulenc's conception. It contains various canceled measures, and the primary accompanimental figure in the first movement was to undergo considerable revision before the work was published." (Schmidt iv) Many of Poulenc's manuscripts are owned by Chester Music, but during the last five years of Poulenc's life, he asked for many manuscripts to be given back to him. Poulenc evidently gave these manuscripts to friends as a special gift or added them to his own collection.

In The Chesterian's winter 1958 issue, the sonata was mentioned as "in the press" (Schmidt v) and would be completed in January or February of 1958. Unknown problems occurred to delay the publishing. In June 1958, the sonata still had not been published. Poulenc said, "I do not understand at all the delay with the Sonata. I hope that we will have it soon because people are asking for it everywhere, month after month, all the more so because Rampal is going to promenade it around the world." (Schmidt v)

Francis Poulenc, unlike many composers, achieved fame during his lifetime. He composed in almost every musical genre, but he disliked creating orchestrations. When he was prompted by a friend to create an orchestration for the Sonata for Flute and Piano, Poulenc replied by saying that an orchestration would not complement the piece. He preferred to write for two distinct voices at a time, although he composed many works outside this realm. His talent for composition came without much training, and his use of thematic material resembling everyday life adds to the flare of his music. Although the Sonata for Flute and Piano is only one of many works by Poulenc, it is a very important piece for flutists because it is a standard piece of flute repertoire.

Works Cited

-Goetz, Philip W. ed. Encyclopaedia Brittanica. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Inc., 1986.

-Hell, Henri. Francis Poulenc. London: John Calder Publishers Ltd., 1959.

-Kennedy, Michael. The Oxford Dictionary of Music. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985.

-Rampal, John-Pierre and Deborah Wise. Music, My Love. New York: Random House Publishers, 1989.

-Rosenstiel, Léonie. Ed. Schirmer History of Music. New York: Schirmer Books, 1982.

-Schmidt, Carl B. ed. Sonata: Flute and Piano with Historical Introduction an Editorial Commentary. London: Chester Music Limited, 1994.

-Stolba, K. Marie. The Development of Western Music: A History. Madison,

Wisconsin: Brown and Benchmark Publishers, 1994.