Like in most of this composer's works, the most various
influences (Bach and Mozart, but also Rachmaninov and
Tchaikowsky !) are blended into a convincing and highly per-
sonal unity. In the opening Andante the solo organ starts with
a proud and haughty toccata theme « alla Bach ». The strings
introduce a broad and melodic idea (« very soft and
intense »), whose soft and aching expression forecasts the cli-
mate of Poulenc’s Opera Dialogues of The Carmelites. A vio-
lent fortissimo progression leads into the first of the three fast
sections, Allegro giocoso, whose impetuous « mozartean »
theme is repeated in various minor keys. The strings very
briefly allude to the melodic line of the future « noble » theme
of the third section, and the organ adds a typical
« concluding » motive in c-major. As so often with Poulenc,
the movement is cut short with great violence. The ensuing
Andante moderato in A-major is the Concerto’s most exten-
ded section. A long organ solo in dotted rhythms leads to the
broad song of the strings, which develop the « noble » melo-
dic theme with great splendour.
It 1s Joned by a hopping motive, whose shape and harmonic
background conjure the most pathetic Mozart (Don Gio-
vanni, Andante of the g-minor Symphony). A sudden fortis-
simo starts a very harsh polytonal progression, which introdu-
ces the Allegro molto agitato, in a-minor. This achieve a
most cunning organic synthesis between a rhythmic transfor-
mation of the Concerto’s opening toccata motive and the
subject-matter of the first Allegro. The third slow section
(Trés calme, lent), in e-minor, is very short and intimate, ela-
borating a « very soft and clear » mozartean organ cantilena
in a collected mood forecasting Poulenc’s Stabat Mater. The
last Allegro goes over to G-major and returns to the tempo of
the first one, whose « concluding » motive it develops in a
strange sardonic « devil-may-care » state of mind, whose stri-
king major-minor twilight is to be found elsewhere only in
the final Rondo of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in d-minor. The
respectable church organ is turned into an alarming giant
steam-calliope of surrealistic tragic, whose relentless whirl-
pool calls Baudelaire’s verse to the mind : « under the whip of
lust, that merciless tormentor ». Even the « noble » theme is
plunged into that reprobate environment. The concluding
Largo briefly recalls the lordly toccata gesture of the opening
and soon turns into a deeply moving funeral procession filled
with bitter resignation, which magnifies the « carmelite »
melody for the last time, thus forecasting the heart-rending
closing picture of the Opera. Amid the prevailing minor
mode, the major harmonics invest the exceedingly rare signifi-
cance of a « superminor » (as with Mozart and Schubert). A
last loud outcry of the organ, a naked unison on G, a dry,
brutal orchestral crash : the singular masterpiece is finished !
Harry HALBREICH
LT hough the most important part of his output
concerns vocal music (Songs, choral works, Operas),
Poulenc also wrote important orchestral composi-
tions. Symphonic expression lay rather outside his sphere of
interest, but the Concerto form was much closer to his
mind. There he was able to unfold most efficiently his melo-
dic and harmonic sense, his feeling for bright and original
instrumental colours and for a free, phantasy-like form.
Poulenc’s five Concertos are thus more akin to the
« Concert » in the French tradition than to the large vir-
tuoso Concerto of the symphonic type. The two works on
our record belong to his most typical and successful achieve-
ments and illustrate two different phases of his develop-
ment. Though they are only separated through ten years, the
maturation and deepening of expression from the earlier to
the later work are unmistakeable. It cannot be denied that
the choice of the solo instrument (here, the Organ, there, the
Harpsichord) conditions their respective expressive con-
tents, but the spiritual evolution of the composer may have
been even more determinant. Both’Concertos, like the grea-
ter part of Poulenc’s whole output, may be labelled as neo-
classical. Between the two world wars, this stylistic line hap-
pened to be « in the air », and Poulenc himself has acknow-
ledged the influence of the « French » Strawinsky. But the
mere presence of the two solo instruments also conjures
« historical » associations.
The Concert Champetre in D-major originated upon the
suggestion of Wanda Landowska, who at that time was
awakening the harpsichord from its status of a sleeping
beauty through masterly performances of old music and by
commissionning new pieces. The first modern composer to
grant the harpsichord an important place was Manuel de
Falla who, as a Spaniard, could sense the relationship bet-
ween the harpsichord and the guitar with peculiar clarity.
Poulenc was present at the private first performance of
Master Peter’s Puppet Show in the house of the Princess
Edmond de Polignac (June 25th, 1923), and was enthusias-
tic about the use of the harpsichord, played by Landowska,
who at the end of the evening commissionned him to write a
Concerto, which was to be the second in modern times, after
Falla’s.
The Concert Champetre is Poulenc’s first important orches-
tral work, his only earlier work written for orchestra being
the Ballet Les Biches. The harpsichord is joined by a middle-
sized orchestra, in which the strings have to share their tradi-
tional preeminence with the winds on a level of equality.
Since at the time of composition the opportunities for per-
formances with harpsichord were still very few, the compo-
ser reluctantly authorized piano performances. But they are
contrary to the work’s true style and expression, and its
peculiar magic is unveiled only with the participation of the
harpsichord.
Poulenc was a genuine Parisian, a man who felt at home in a
big city, even though, at the very time of the Concert Cham-
pétre, he acquired a country house in the Touraine. Thus the
listener should not expect any romantic tonal picture of
wild, remote or lonely nature. The very word champétre
(rustic) defines the countryside as seen from the standpoint
of a townsman, while also conjuring pictures of past courtly
festivities at the 18th century. Thus, Poulenc’s composition
fits into a precise geographical frame (the neighbourhood of.
Paris) as well as into a historical one (the age of Couperin
and Rameau). Poulenc himself explains : « For a lad who,
until the age of eighteen, has seen no countryside but the
woods of Vincennes and the hills of Champigny, rustic has
the meaning of city outskirts.
‘The Concerto has three movements, set in very free and
loose classical forms. Several thematic ties exist between the
outer movements The first movement, the longest of the
three, opens with a slow introduction (Adagio) which
Claude Rostand calls « fiercely haughty »). Three important
features of the whole work are already present here : the
equivocation between major and minor mode, the « rustic »
tonal colour of the horns and, related to the latter, the aug-
mented, « lydian » fourth. The brilliant and nimble Allegro
molto, with its neo-classical main theme, offers a gay and
carefree succession of various ideas, including « saucy » and
« roguish » ones. A sudden break is followed by a « tragic »
horn call (falling thirds), introducing the extended middle-
part of the movement : first, a harpsichord solo in « fero-
cious » staccato in b-flat minor, then various new ideas,
which are to reappear in the Finale, the most important
being a « sparkling » theme of the brass, built on only four
notes. After another full stop of typical abruptness comes a
quiet and melancholy harpsichord interlude, very vocal in
expression, and also close in spirit to Satie. Suddenly the
Allegro again darts forth, developing into a very free and
shortened recapitulation. The movement unexpectedly ends
in d-minor, with a held chord of the harpsichord, cut short
by loud and brief orchestral crash.
Now follows a purely melodic Andante in g-minor, in the
gentle rocking rhythm of a Siciliano. A brief excursion into
A-flat major (the Neapolitan sixth) gives a fugitive foretaste
of the second theme, which duly appears in that key, quoting
an old French Christmas carol. After a short interlude in the
form of a free harpsichord recitative, the recapitulation (in
G-major) very cunningly unites the features of both themes.
The movement ends like the first one, only in the major
mode.
With Scarlattian agility and virtuosity the soloist starts the,
Finale : Presto. The orchestra gradually joins itself to the ele-
gant and saucy dance, which culminates in an intentionally
« false » barracks flourish. This leads to a lively march, remi-
niscent of Prokofiev, eventually reaching a proud announce-
ment of the first movement’s « sparkling » theme by the harp-
sichord. Various elements from the first movement (including
the « tragic » horn call) are now developed in free symphonic
elaboration. A first, stern warning call of the opening signal is
not taken into consideration, and the « sparkling » theme is
magnified in a last and brilliant progression. Then the signal is
heard again, soft and sad. This time, d-minor wins over, and
no orchestral crash punctuates the lonesome harpsichord
chord.
A wholly different Poulenc asserts himself in the powerful
Concerto in g-minor for Organ, Strings and Timpani, written
ten years after the Concert Champétre. The first performance
of the work, which had been commissionned by the Princess
Edmond de Polignac, took place in Paris in 1939, Roger
Désormiére conducting and Maurice Duruflé playing the solo
part, and turned out to be a disappointing failure. But in the
United States the Concerto soon enjoyed a tremendous popu-
larity, receiving several reccrdings, while in France, it remains
rarely performed to the present day. The Concerto is conti-
nuous, but breaks down into seven sections, freely adding up
to a whole in the spirit of a Buxtehudian Toccata. Shrewd
and subtle thematic links and transformations again prove the
overall structure to be much more tight and organized than
general opinion would like to credit the « careless » Poulenc.
This severe work, of authentic greatness, does not fit into the
usual Poulenc cliché, and this may be the reason why it has
been neglected for a long time.
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