The Classical Music Book

262

See also: The Nutcracker 190 ■ Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune 228–231 ■

Le Sacre du printemps 246–251 ■ Parade 256–257 ■ Appalachian Spring 286–287

F

rancis Poulenc’s ballet Les

Biches premiered with the

Ballets Russes in Monte

Carlo in 1924. Choreographed by

Bronislava Nijinska, it consisted

of eight dances for 16 female and

three male dancers. The title

was a play on the word biche,

which means “doe” or “female

deer,” but was also 1920s’ slang

for “coquette.” The ballet has no

narrative: each dance uses simple

melodies to evoke the spirited

flirtations of youth with light and

whimsical musical language.

Les Six

Simplicity and sharp humor were

qualities favored by Poulenc and

his fellow composers in the group

dubbed Les Six—Georges Auric,

Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger,

Darius Milhaud, and Germaine

Tailleferre. Influenced by the avant-

garde compositions of Erik Satie

and the art and writings of Jean

Cocteau, they disdained both the

Wagnerian emotionalism of the

19th century and the musical

impressionism of Debussy. They

sought to be of their time, drawing

inspiration from music halls,

fairgrounds, and American jazz.

Several went on to write for films.

Poulenc’s later work lacked this

playfulness. Following the success

of Les Biches, he wrote the song

cycle Figure humaine. Composed

during the Nazi occupation of

France, this set to music a defiant

ode to liberty and other poems by

the surrealist writer Paul Éluard. ■

A MAD EXTRAVAGANZA

AT THE EDGE OF

THE ABYSS

LES BICHES ( 1924 ), FRANCIS POULENC

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

French music after

Debussy

BEFORE

1888 Erik Satie composes

his Gymnopédies—three

pieces for piano that feature

dissonant harmonies and

repetitive simplicity.

1920 Darius Milhaud’s

surrealist ballet Le Boeuf sur

le toit (The Ox on the Roof)

premieres in Paris, inspired

by jazz and Brazilian tango.

AFTER

1932 Georges Auric composes

the score for Jean Cocteau’s

avant-garde film Le sang d’un

poète (The Blood of a Poet).

1944 Trois petites liturgies

de la présence divine (“Three

small liturgies of the divine

presence”) is composed by

Olivier Messiaen during the

Nazi occupation of France.

Alice Nikitina and Serge Lifar

practice for the Ballets Russes’ 1924

production of Les Biches. The pair also

danced together in Henri Sauguet’s

flirtatious La Chatte (“The Cat,” 1927).

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