Limelight — May 2017

Christophers on

the choral poetry

of Francis Poulenc

HowdidyoufirstcomeacrossPoulenc?

AsaclarinettistatschoolIusedtoplayhis

sonata–hard!Ialsousedtotryandsinghis

songs.WhenIwasastudentIwasfascinated

by his opera,Dialogue of the Carmelitesbut I

also loved his orchestral pieces, which are full of

Parisianwit.Ididn’treallycomeacrosshissacred

worksuntilIwasabout20.Singingthosemotets

forthefirsttimewasscary–they’resohard.

Claude Rostande famously described Poulenc

as “moitié moine, moitié voyou” (half-monk,

half-rascal).Arethesacredworksallmonk, or

does the rascal ever creep in?

Theyaresopersonalandyouwonder

sometimes“whatishethinking?”Isortof

interpret the “rascal” element as simply going

againstform.SowhereasinSalve Regina

Renaissancecomposerswouldhaveslowedthe

tempoandhaveallpartssingingthespecial

words“EtJesum”,Poulenchastwopartsin

unison followed by the other two in unison,

theformerloud,thelattersoftandtheyare

themostexposedanddifficultmomentsin the

piece.The“rascal”ismakinguswork!

Poulenc declared he wasn’t an innovator (like

Stravinsky),butthiscouldonlybePoulenc.

Whatmakeshimsoundmusicallysoindividual?

PoulencisunmistakablyPoulenc,beithis

homophonic harmonic brain, his distribution

ofvoices,histotalimmersioninthelanguage.

HelovedpoetryandespeciallyPaulÉluard

buthetookalongtimetofindthemusical

key into his poems. He was a composer

whoagonisedovereverything,always

underestimating his own genius.

Yourecordedsomeofthisrepertoire30years

ago. Has your approach changed?

IwaspassionateaboutPoulencthenandI

stillam.Thosewereiconicrecordings–very

special days spent up at the Maltings in

Snape. The choir was good then but it’s even

betternow(sorry1989gang!).TodayIthinkI

givethemotetsmorespace,Icertainlyenjoy

(or maybe understand) the sonorities more

andIsuspectItakemorerisks.

Arethereanypiecesyouwishyouhadbeenable

toincludeonthisdisc?

Hisgreatestchoralworkisthe 12-voice

cantataFigure Humaine.

1

2 RACHMANINOVDaniil Trifonovp, Philadelphia Orchestra/ Yannick Nézet-SéguinVARIATIONS DG 4794970

3 BACHSlava GrigoryanCELLO SUITESg (1) ABC CLASSICS 4814553

4 TRANSCENDENTALDaniil Trifonovp LISZT PIANO WORKS (2CD)(16) DG 4795529

5 MAX RICHTERMusic from Woolf WorksTHREE WORLDS DG^4797158

6

RACHMANINOVPIANO TRIOS, PREGHEIRA

Gidon Kremerv,DaniilTrifonovp,GiedreDirvanauskaitevc DG 4796979

7 KATS-CHERNINTamara - Anna CislowskaBUTTERFLYING, (2CD)p,ElenaKats-Cherninp(11) ABC CLASSICS 4812625

8

TRIFONOV LIVEWORKS BY CHOPIN, LISZT, MEDTNER, SCRIABIN

Daniil Trifonovp DECCA 4793795

9 STRAVINSKYSydney Symphony Orchestra/David RobertsonTHE FIREBIRD, PETRUSHKA, THE RITE OF SPRING ABC CLASSICS 4814954

10

GRIEG·MENDELSSOHN·PAGANINITHE ROMANTICS

Sato Shunskev, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra ABC CLASSICS 4814950

11

WILLIAMSSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS(4)

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack WD RECORDS 8732329

12 ROMAN HOLIDAYAndré Rieuv, Johann Strauss Orchestra(7) DECCA 474307

13 RODRIGOSlava GrigoryanGUITAR CONCERTOS (2CD)g,Leonard Grigoryang (8) ABC CLASSICS 4812231

14

MY HERO(9)

Greta Bradmans, English Chamber Orchestra/Richard Bonynge DECCA 4811894

15

BACHFRENCH SUITES (2CD)(17)

Murray Perahiap DG 4796565

16 VIVALDINigel KennedyTHE NEW FOUR SEASONSv,OrchestraofLife (3) SONY 88875076722

17 LUBOMYR MELNYKLubomyr Melnykp ILLIRION(5) SONY 88985315582

18

CASTELLOSONATE CONCERTATE IN STIL MODERNO, LIBRO I(6)

Academy of Ancient Music/Richard Egarr AAM AAM00

19

TELEMANNSONATAS, SONATINAS AND FANTASIAS(12)

Genevieve Laceyrec ABC CLASSICS 4814568

20 GLASSVíkingur ÓlafssonPIANO WORKSp, Siggi String Quartet DG 4797258

THE LIMELIGHT CHART

Australia’s top 20 classical music albums

KATS-CHERNIN

Tamara - Anna Cislowskap

ABC CLASSICS 4814967

AfterthedeathofErikSatiein1925,dozensofunsentlove

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TheLimelight chart is compiled using sales figures from Australia’s specialist classical music stores

Q &A

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