Poulenc Symphonies, Concertos & Orchestral Works
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Francis Poulenc, Erik Satie
Label: Poulenc Edition
Magazine Review Date: 1/1999
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 384
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Mono
ADD
Catalogue Number: 566837-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Concerto for Piano and Orchestra |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Gabriel Tacchino, Piano Georges Prêtre, Conductor Paris Conservatoire Orchestra |
| Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Piano Francis Poulenc, Composer Jacques Février, Piano Paris Conservatoire Orchestra Pierre Dervaux, Conductor |
| Concert champêtre |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Aimée van de Wiele, Harpsichord Francis Poulenc, Composer Paris Conservatoire Orchestra Pierre Dervaux, Conductor |
| Suite française, d'après Claude Gervaise |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Georges Prêtre, Conductor Orchestre de Paris |
| Pastourelle |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Georges Prêtre, Conductor Philharmonia Orchestra |
| Aubade |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Gabriel Tacchino, Piano Georges Prêtre, Conductor Paris Conservatoire Orchestra |
| (Les) Biches op |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Ambrosian Singers Francis Poulenc, Composer Georges Prêtre, Conductor Philharmonia Orchestra |
| (les) animaux modèles |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Georges Prêtre, Conductor Paris Conservatoire Orchestra |
| Bucolique |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Georges Prêtre, Conductor Philharmonia Orchestra |
| Sinfonietta |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Georges Prêtre, Conductor Orchestre de Paris |
| (2) Marches et un Intermède |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Georges Prêtre, Conductor Orchestre de Paris |
| (Les) Mariés de la tour Eiffel, Movement: Discours du Général |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Georges Prêtre, Conductor Orchestre de Paris |
| (Les) Mariés de la tour Eiffel, Movement: La Baigneuse de Trouville |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Georges Prêtre, Conductor Orchestre de Paris |
| Matelote provençale |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Georges Prêtre, Conductor Philharmonia Orchestra |
| (6) Gnossiennes, Movement: No. 3 (1890) |
Erik Satie, Composer
Erik Satie, Composer Michel Plasson, Conductor Toulouse Capitole Orchestra |
| Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Georges Prêtre, Conductor Maurice Duruflé, Organ Paris Conservatoire Orchestra |
| Litanies à la vierge noire |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer French Radio Children's Choir Henriette Puig-Roget, Organ Jacques Jouineau, Conductor |
| Mass |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Martin Neary, Conductor Winchester Cathedral Choir |
| (4) Motets pour le temps de Noël |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Martin Neary, Conductor Winchester Cathedral Choir |
| (4) Motets pour un temps de pénitence |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Catherine Resnel, Soprano Francis Poulenc, Composer French Radio Chorus Jacques Jouineau, Conductor |
| (7) Répons de ténèbres |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
(Les) Petits Chanteurs de Chaillot Alexandre Carpentier, Soprano Francis Poulenc, Composer French New Philharmonic Orchestra Georges Prêtre, Conductor Maîtrise de la Sainte Chapelle Radio France Chorus |
| Laudes de Saint Antoine de Padoue |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
(The) Sixteen Francis Poulenc, Composer Harry Christophers, Conductor |
| Gloria |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer French Radio and TV Chorus French Radio National Orchestra Georges Prêtre, Conductor Rosanna Carteri, Soprano |
| Stabat mater |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
(René) Duclos Choir Francis Poulenc, Composer Georges Prêtre, Conductor Paris Conservatoire Orchestra Régine Crespin, Soprano |
| (4) Petites prières de Saint François d'Assise |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer King's Singers |
| Exultate Deo |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Groupe Vocal de France John Alldis, Conductor |
| Salve Regina |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Groupe Vocal de France John Alldis, Conductor |
| Ave verum corpus |
Francis Poulenc, Composer
Francis Poulenc, Composer Groupe Vocal de France John Alldis, Conductor |
Author: Lionel Salter
The contrasting typography in which EMI have billed the two halves of Poulenc’s name forms an unexpectedly subtle reference to his ‘Janus’ nature – half impudently or boisterously extrovert, half sensuously devout – vividly highlighted in this volume (which is graced by excellent documentation by Jean Roy). The former aspect is conspicuous in many of the orchestral works, which range from his Bright Young Things scores at the beginning of the 1920s (in which the ebulliently performed Les biches – notable for a soi-disant mazurka in 2/4 time – is outstanding) to works containing greater depth of feeling 30 years later, such as the hypnotic Bucolique or the often tender slow movement of the Piano Concerto, with Tacchino (incisive in the Aubade) as the admirably lively and sensitive soloist. Nearly all the orchestral recordings are familiar friends, most of them conducted by Georges Pretre; but the overall air of infectious joyous abandon tends to minimalize concern over a number of flaws. Poulenc’s most serious concerto (despite its inconsistencies of style), that for organ, is marred by a discrepancy of pitch between organ and orchestra (very noticeable in the third and fourth sections); the high-spirited romps of the two-piano Concerto cannot conceal a lot of slapdash and smudgy playing; the acoustic of the venue robs the Sinfonietta (written for the BBC Third Programme) of clarity, especially in fast-moving passages; and the rarely heard Animaux modeles is indifferently engineered, though not as badly as the Suite francaise, in which the solo harpsichord is placed far too remotely. That particular problem of balance is satisfactorily solved, however, in the Concert champetre, for once, still the best recording of this work because the excellent Aimee van de Wiele uses the robust Pleyel harpsichord for which Poulenc intended the work, while other players, disregarding authenticity, have been scuttled by unsuitable instruments of pitifully small sonority.
Poulenc’s religious works fall into three batches, each of about four years, the style veering between austerity and sugary sweetness. The influence of Stravinsky, very marked in his orchestral music, is also observable in the first group – from the idiosyncratic accentuation and splitting of words in the Mass, its central work (distinguished here by, among other things, a fine solo treble) – and in the fierce organ chords of the Litanies (a lovely performance by a children’s choir). There have been far better performances of the Penitential motets than this; and the Exultate Deo and Salve regina suffer from a very shallow recording. The main work of the second group is the Stabat mater (by which Poulenc himself wished to be remembered): it is couched in a simple, direct style, if not as ascetic as that of the St Francis prayers. Except for the few passages by a radiant Regine Crespin, the tone, intonation and ensemble of the singing in the Stabat mater are decidedly unimpressive. It has to be said, totally without bias, that the various English vocal groups on these discs far outshine their French counterparts: you will not find anything much better than the Winchester Cathedral’s Christmas motets or The Sixteen’s Laudes (a fearsomely demanding score). Their singing certainly shows up that in the Responses for Tenebrae (the last and most radical of Poulenc’s sacred works, which still awaits an adequate recording). French honour, fortunately, is salvaged by the 1960 Gloria (where the composer’s presence seems to have acted as a spur to all, including the engineers), which has real impact and some touchingly floated tone from Rosanna Carteri.'
Poulenc’s religious works fall into three batches, each of about four years, the style veering between austerity and sugary sweetness. The influence of Stravinsky, very marked in his orchestral music, is also observable in the first group – from the idiosyncratic accentuation and splitting of words in the Mass, its central work (distinguished here by, among other things, a fine solo treble) – and in the fierce organ chords of the Litanies (a lovely performance by a children’s choir). There have been far better performances of the Penitential motets than this; and the Exultate Deo and Salve regina suffer from a very shallow recording. The main work of the second group is the Stabat mater (by which Poulenc himself wished to be remembered): it is couched in a simple, direct style, if not as ascetic as that of the St Francis prayers. Except for the few passages by a radiant Regine Crespin, the tone, intonation and ensemble of the singing in the Stabat mater are decidedly unimpressive. It has to be said, totally without bias, that the various English vocal groups on these discs far outshine their French counterparts: you will not find anything much better than the Winchester Cathedral’s Christmas motets or The Sixteen’s Laudes (a fearsomely demanding score). Their singing certainly shows up that in the Responses for Tenebrae (the last and most radical of Poulenc’s sacred works, which still awaits an adequate recording). French honour, fortunately, is salvaged by the 1960 Gloria (where the composer’s presence seems to have acted as a spur to all, including the engineers), which has real impact and some touchingly floated tone from Rosanna Carteri.'
Poulenc Symphonies, Concertos & Orchestral Works
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