Poulenc Piano Works Vol 3
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Francis Poulenc
Label: Decca
Magazine Review Date: 2/1999
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 72
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 460 329-2DH
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Mélancolie |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Pascal Rogé, Piano |
| (3) Pastorales |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Pascal Rogé, Piano |
| Valse-improvisation sur le nom de Bach |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Pascal Rogé, Piano |
| (5) Impromptus |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Pascal Rogé, Piano |
| Badinage |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Pascal Rogé, Piano |
| Napoli |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Pascal Rogé, Piano |
| (10) Promenades |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Pascal Rogé, Piano |
| Pièce brève sur le nom d'Albert Roussel |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Pascal Rogé, Piano |
| Bourrée au pavillon d'Auvergne |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Pascal Rogé, Piano |
| (3) Feuillets d'album |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Pascal Rogé, Piano |
| Française |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Pascal Rogé, Piano |
| Suite française |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Pascal Rogé, Piano |
Author: Bryce Morrison
The third and final volume of Pascal Roge’s Poulenc cycle provides a glorious mix of styles and attitudes. You may arch an eyebrow at this or that self-conscious naughtiness or trickery (Promenades) but more often you will delight in a simultaneous lucidity and cunning (the Bourree au pavillon d’Auvergne is surely your dream encore, its insistent drumbeat modulating and blossoming into sly and impish harmonic life) or a depth of expression with which Poulenc is rarely credited (Melancolie). Just when you have decided on the limited scope of Poulenc’s genius, it sparkles into quixotic life, stands expectations on their head and in the preface to, say, Badinage (‘Dans les verres riedit l’orangeade/Un soir d’aout/N’importe lequel’) leads you off at a tangent, in another touching and ambivalent direction.
Pascal Roge, as in previous volumes, is a refined and understated guide through Poulenc’s endearing maze of contradictions. Whether tres anime or tres calme he is warmly sensitive to Melancolie’s nostalgia, makes something special of the Third Impromptu (with its prophecy of Gershwin’s ‘Promenade’ or ‘Walking the Dog’), is not without a touch of strenuousness in the demanding close of ‘Caprice italien’ (from Napoli) but returns us to his best form in the delicious archaisms of the Suite francaise where his playing is quite without disfiguring archness or special pleading. An occasional diffidence is certainly preferable to exaggeration, but if I wanted to show how individuality can be most engagingly combined with authenticity then I should turn to Moura Lympany, whose performance of Poulenc’s first Novelette, dating from 1943 and reissued in a mixed recital by Dutton Concert Classics, is a marvel of refinement and affection. Roge’s modern and excellent recording is, of course, a bonus, and so too are Renaud Marchart’s notes which clarify the often cluttered chronology of Poulenc’s piano works. The world premiere recording of the Trois pastorales is a useful if not invaluable addition.'
Pascal Roge, as in previous volumes, is a refined and understated guide through Poulenc’s endearing maze of contradictions. Whether tres anime or tres calme he is warmly sensitive to Melancolie’s nostalgia, makes something special of the Third Impromptu (with its prophecy of Gershwin’s ‘Promenade’ or ‘Walking the Dog’), is not without a touch of strenuousness in the demanding close of ‘Caprice italien’ (from Napoli) but returns us to his best form in the delicious archaisms of the Suite francaise where his playing is quite without disfiguring archness or special pleading. An occasional diffidence is certainly preferable to exaggeration, but if I wanted to show how individuality can be most engagingly combined with authenticity then I should turn to Moura Lympany, whose performance of Poulenc’s first Novelette, dating from 1943 and reissued in a mixed recital by Dutton Concert Classics, is a marvel of refinement and affection. Roge’s modern and excellent recording is, of course, a bonus, and so too are Renaud Marchart’s notes which clarify the often cluttered chronology of Poulenc’s piano works. The world premiere recording of the Trois pastorales is a useful if not invaluable addition.'
Poulenc Piano Works Vol 3
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