The Composer Portraits series offers unique and original monographs on individual composers. Text and music introductions written by experts are combined with carefully chosen selections of newly-engraved music for the Piano to give a concise but informed overview of the life and work of each composer. This edition focuses on the life and works of the French composer and pianist Francis Poulenc, with notes by Jon Paxman. Pieces: - L'histoire de Babar le petit éléphant (excerpts) - Française d’après Claude Gervaise - Five Impromptus - II. Allegro vivace - Mouvements Perpétuels - II. Trés modéré - Nocturnes No.7 (from 8 Nocturnes) - Trois Novelettes - No.3 in E Minor - Andantino tranquillo - Pièce brève sur le nom d'Albert Roussel - Trois Pièces - I. Pastorale - Promenades - VIII. En Chemin De Fer - Suite pour Piano - III. Vif

The work of Poulenc in the context of his colourful personal life.

The name of Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) was first brought to prominence in the 1920s as a member of Les Six, a group of young French composers encouraged by Satie and Cocteau. His subsequent fame spread well beyond France, and he is coming to be regarded as one of this century's most significant composers. His compositions are heard constantly in concert halls the world over, and numerous recordings, including complete sets of songs and piano music, have been released. Books, articles and more than a dozen doctoral dissertations have discussed his music. Carl Schmidt's catalogue of Poulenc's works represents the first comprehensive attempt to list an oeuvre which numbers approximately 185 compositions written from his teenage years until his death at the age of 63. The Catalogue indentifies a number of unpublished works, and adds a small group of compositions to his musical canon for the first time. Each work, whether complete or unfinished, published or unpublished, is described fully. Catalogue entries list and describe all known printed editions (including reprints) and manuscript copies of each work. In addition, they provide detailed compositional histories based on numerous letters, documents, and press accounts, many of which have not been published previously. Russian interest in Poulenc's music, manifested in press runs exceeding one million copies, is also revealed for the first time.

An authoritative account of the life and work of Francis Poulenc, one of the most prolific and striking figures in twentieth-century classical music "An assured overview of Poulenc's life and work."--Alex Ross, New Yorker "Essential reading for anyone interested in the French musical culture of Poulenc's time. This is the biography the composer deserves."--Christopher Dingle, BBC Music Magazine, Named one of the Best Books on Classical Music in 2020 by BBC Music Magazine Francis Poulenc is a key figure in twentieth-century classical music, as well as an unorthodox and striking individual. Roger Nichols draws upon Poulenc's music and other primary sources to write an authoritative life of this great artist. Although associated with five other French composers in what came to be called "Les Six", Poulenc was very much sui generis in personality and in his music, where he excelled over a wide repertoire--opera, songs, ballet scores, chamber works, piano pieces, sacred and secular choral works, orchestral works and concertos. This book fully covers this wide range, while also describing the vicissitudes of Poulenc's life and the many important relationships he had with major figures such as Satie, Ravel, Stravinsky, Diaghilev, Cocteau and others.

Lavishly illustrated, the volume includes a complete discography, and an exhaustive summary of Poulenc's concert tours, as well as a list of portraits and drawings."--Jacket.

An acknowledged master of mélodie, Francis Poulenc’s prolific song œuvre exceeds the collections of all other French composers who wrote in this genre. Yet despite Poulenc’s prolific output and its significance to art song repertoire, few volumes dedicated to study of Poulenc’s works have appeared in print. This text offers a theory on the marginalized popularity of Poulenc’s songs and strategies for their study that can assist performers in their appreciation and interpretation of his work. The Mélodies of Francis Poulenc is the first work to contain the complete collection of Poulenc’s song compositions, providing IPA transcriptions and word-for-word translations in an easy reference format. Also included are the highly regarded poetic translations of Winifred Radford. In their introduction to the songs, Deeter and Peavler formulate a methodology for the proper interpretation and study of the Poulenc’s works. Finally, this work features a musical terms index, select discography of downloadable sound files, and a song title index. Teachers of singing, vocal coaches, professional singers, accompanists, and students of art song will find the The Mélodies of Francis Poulenc an invaluable tool for the study and instruction of Poulenc’s songs.

The Composer Portraits series offers unique and original monographs on individual composers. Text and music introductions written by experts are combined with carefully chosen selections of newly-engraved music to give a concise but informed overview of the life and work of each composer. This edition focuses on the life and works of the English composer Richard Rodney Bennett, with notes by Anthony Meredith. Songlist: - Eustace And Hilda (Theme) - Excursions - II. Andante lento - Impromptu on the name of Haydn - Little Elegy - Memento - Partridge Pie - VIII. Eight Maids a-Milking - Rosemary's Waltz (from Tender Is The Night) - Tango After Syrinx - Three Romantic Pieces - III. Andante semplice

Features songs that documents the twenties and thirties from within. The original French text is published alongside its English translation.

Defining a composer's style and artistic development is an imposing task. A composer's style is what makes his music his. A definition of that style would determine all the features common to individual works, separating those specific to the composer from those common to his contemporaries. An account of his artistic development would add to the definition of his style the sources and changing nature of that style. This is the central concern of this book, the first complete survey of the music of Poulenc. Considering both the diversity of sources for Poulenc's style and the size and diversity of his output, the author set himself a sizable undertaking. While the resulting study does not reach any great depth in dealing with individual works or with Poulenc's style as a whole, the book is a good introduction to the composer's life and works. The author's method of analysis and discussion raises some questions about our assumptions in dealing with the music of a 20th-century composer who is viewed as basically conservative and traditional. The author has raised many issues worthy of further investigation.

As the first duo of singer and pianist to be perceived as equals in the music world, French baritone Pierre Bernac and pianist composer Francis Poulenc became a legend, working together for more than 25 years. The majority of Poulenc's pieces were created specifically for Bernac to sing. Within this context, Bernac pays tribute to his friend by providing a detailed discussion of all the songs he composed specifically for piano accompaniment. Each song, its description, and the corresponding biographical note on the poet have been translated into English.