#poulenc

Poulenc - Sonata for 2 Clarinets (1918)

There is a notable change with some composers of the early 20th century between their more wild "Modernist" statements and their later more refined styles. No surprise that the confidence that comes with being an older teenager / young adult can create this desire to shock an audience with something unexpected. I can only imagine how electrifying it must have been for young composers who first heard Stravinsky's Rite of Spring in Paris and be shocked by new possibilities that hadn't been utilized before. This piece by Poulenc, written when he was 19, isn't a major work or anything, but it does show Stravinsky's influence in the aftermath of the Rite. The opening is dancelike with slight dissonances grinding against each other and moments where the clarinets start playing in different time signatures. Combined with tuplets, chromaticism, and unexpected intervals, we get the kind of dry and artificial sound that Stravinsky created, not just with the Rite but his other famous ballet Petrushka. I can't help but hear the same faux Calliope, The middle movement feels to me like a lullaby that the Bb clarinet "sings" while the A clarinet plays a rocking ostinato. The last movement is lighter and fun with the musical lines bouncing off of each other with flashy and impressive flourishes. The opening pattern slows in the coda as if to drift off, only to be interrupted by a rapid and loud finish, constantly winking at us with lighthearted sarcasm. Interesting musical ideas without taking itself too seriously. The full sonata is less than 7 minutes long, which also betrays the influence of Debussy who brought back the more baroque idea of the sonata, which is more brisk than the then expected Sonata genre of late Romanticism with its heavy handedness of structural complexity developing over a longer period of time. This Poulenc sonata is charming and fun and shows how even early on he was interested in a more detached aesthetic of music for its own sake.

Movements:

Presto

Andante

Francis Poulenc | Figure humaine, Liberté

Poulenc is one of the leading contemporary French composers. Based on the poems of Paul Éluard, he wrote a collection of songs called "The Work of a Painter", the first of which is "Picasso". It's a magnificent song, and it's enough to sing about the process of Picasso's creation.

ピカソ：プーランク（詩：エリュアール）：創造の現場（クラシック）

プーランクは、現代フランスの代表的な作曲家である。彼はポール・エリュアールの詩をもとに、「画家の仕事」という歌曲集を作っているが、その第1曲目が「ピカソ」である。気宇壮大な曲で、ピカソの創造の経緯を歌って余りある。

Entoure ce citron de blanc d'œuf informe Enrobe ce blanc d'œuf d'un azur souple et fin La ligne droite et noire a beau venir de toi L'aube est derrière ton tableau Et les murs innombrables croulent Derrière ton tableau et toi l'œil fixe Comme un aveugle comme un fou Tu dresses une haute épée dans le vide Une main pourquoi pas une seconde main Et pourquoi pas la bouche nue comme une plume Pourquoi pas un sourire et pourquoi pas des larmes Tout au bord de la toile où jouent les petits clous Voici le jour d'autrui laisse aux ombres leur chance Et d'un seul mouvement des paupières renounce

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

Surround this lemon with shapeless egg white

Coats this egg white with a supple and fine azure

The straight and black line may well come from you

Dawn is behind your painting

And countless walls crumble

Behind your painting and you staring

Like a blind man like a madman

You raise a high sword in the void

One hand why not a second hand

And why not bare mouth like a feather

Why not a smile and why not tears

Right at the edge of the canvas where the little nails play

Here is the day of others leave to the shadows their chance

And with a single movement of the eyelids renounces