List of compositions by Francis Poulenc
Encyclopedia
Ballet
- Les mariés de la tour EiffelLes mariés de la tour EiffelLes mariés de la tour Eiffel is a ballet to a libretto by Jean Cocteau, choreography by Jean Börlin, set by Irène Lagut, costumes by Jean Hugo, and music by five members of Les six – Georges Auric, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc and Germaine Tailleferre. The score calls for two...
, ballet (1921; a collaborative work by all the members of Les sixLes SixLes six is a name, inspired by The Five, given in 1920 by critic Henri Collet in an article titled "" to a group of six composers working in Montparnasse whose music is often seen as a reaction against the musical style of Richard Wagner and impressionist music.-Members:Formally, the Groupe des...
except Louis DureyLouis Durey-Life:Louis Durey was born in Paris, the son of a local businessman. It was not until he was nineteen years old that he chose to pursue a musical career after hearing a performance of a Claude Debussy work. As a composer he was primarily self-taught. From the beginning, choral music was of great...
); Poulenc's contributions, Discours du General (Polka) and La Baigneuse de Trouville are listed as FP 23 in Schmidt's Poulenc catalog - Les bichesLes BichesLes biches is a ballet by Francis Poulenc, premiered by the Ballets Russes in 1924. The composer, who was at the time relatively unknown, was asked by Serge Diaghilev to write a piece based on Glazunov's Les Sylphides, written seventeen years earlier...
, ballet (1922/23), FP 36 - Pastourelle (1927; for the children's ballet L'éventail de JeanneL'Éventail de JeanneL'éventail de Jeanne is a children's ballet choreographed in 1927 by Alice Bourgat and Yvonne Franck.The music is a collaborative work by ten French composers, each of whom contributed a stylised dance in classic form:...
, to which ten French composers each contributed a dance; this excerpt became better known in its piano transcription), FP 45 - Les animaux modèles, ballet (1941), FP 111
Opera
- Les mamelles de TirésiasLes mamelles de TirésiasLes mamelles de Tirésias is a surrealist two-act opéra bouffe by Francis Poulenc, based on the play of the same title by Guillaume Apollinaire, which was written in 1903 but first performed in 1917...
, opera (1947), FP 125 - Dialogues of the CarmelitesDialogues of the CarmelitesDialogues of the Carmelites , is an opera in three acts by Francis Poulenc. In 1953, M. Valcarenghi approached Poulenc to commission a ballet for La Scala in Milan; when Poulenc found the proposed subject uninspiring, Valcarenghi suggested instead a screenplay by Georges Bernanos, based on the...
, opera (1957), FP 159 - La voix humaineLa voix humaineLa voix humaine is a one-act opera for one character, with music by Francis Poulenc to a libretto by Jean Cocteau, based on his 1930 play. La voix humaine was first performed at the Opéra-Comique, Salle Favart in Paris on 6 February 1959...
, monodramaMonodramaA monodrama is a theatrical or operatic piece played by a single actor or singer, usually portraying one character.- Monodrama in opera :...
(1959), FP 171
Orchestral
- SinfoniettaSinfonietta (Poulenc)The Sinfonietta is a work for orchestra by Francis Poulenc. Composed in 1947, it was first given in London on October 24, 1948, under the baton of Roger Désormière. The music is light and, at times, satirical, and overflows with popular turns and dance rhythms. The work is in four movements:*I....
(1947) - Matelote provençale, variation for La guirlande de CampraLa guirlande de CampraLa guirlande de Campra is collaborative orchestral work written by seven French composers in 1952. It is in the form of variations or meditations on a theme from André Campra's 1717 opera Camille. It was later choreographed as a ballet....
(1952)
Concertante
- Concert champêtreConcert champêtreConcert champêtre is a harpsichord concerto by Francis Poulenc, which also exists in a version for piano solo with very slight changes in the solo part....
, for harpsichordHarpsichordA harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
and orchestra, (1927–1928) - Aubade, a "Concerto choréographique" for piano and 18 instruments (1930)
- Concerto for two pianos and orchestra in D minorConcerto for two pianos (Poulenc)Francis Poulenc's Concerto for two pianos in D minor, FP 61, was commissioned by and dedicated to the Princess Edmond de Polignac and composed over the period of three months in the summer of 1932...
(1932) - Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani in G minor (1938)
- Piano Concerto (1949)
Vocal/Choral Orchestral
- Litanies à la vierge noire (SSA, org) (1936), orchestrated (1947)
- Stabat MaterStabat Mater (Poulenc)Stabat Mater is a musical setting of the Stabat Mater sequence composed by Francis Poulenc in 1950. Poulenc composed the piece in response to the death of his friend, artist Christian Bérard; he considered writing a Requiem for Bérard, but, after returning to the shrine of the Black Virgin of...
(Soprano solo, SATB divisi, orchestra )(1950) - GloriaGloria (Poulenc)The Gloria by Francis Poulenc , scored for soprano solo, large orchestra, and chorus, is a setting of the Roman Catholic Gloria in excelsis Deo text. One of Poulenc's most celebrated works, the Gloria was commissioned by the Koussevitsky Foundation in honor of Sergei Koussevitzky and his wife...
(Soprano solo, SATB divisi, orchestra) (1959) - Sept répons des ténèbres (Child Soprano, Men's Chorus, Children's Chorus, orchestra (1961-2)
- La dame de Monte-Carlo (Soprano solo, orchestra) (1961)
Chamber/Instrumental
- Sonata for 2 Clarinets, FP 7 (1918/1945)
- Sonata for Violin and Piano, FP 12 (1918)
- Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon, FP 32 (1922/1945)
- Sonata for Horn, Trumpet and Trombone, FP 33 (1922/1945)
- Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano, FP 43 (1926)
- Villanelle for Pipe (pipeau) and Piano, FP 74 (1934)
- Suite française for 2 Oboes, 2 Bassoons, 2 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Percussion and Harpsichord, FP 80 (1935)
- Sextet for Piano and Wind QuintetWind quintetA wind quintet, also sometimes known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players . The term also applies to a composition for such a group....
, FP 100 (1932–9) - Un joueur de flûte berce les ruines, for Flute (1942)
- Sonata for Violin and Piano, FP 119 (1942–3/1949)
- Sonata for Cello and PianoCello Sonata (Poulenc)Francis Poulenc completed his Sonate pour violoncelle et piano, Op. 143, in 1948. He first sketched it in 1940. It was dedicated to the French cellist Pierre Fournier, who had helped with the technical aspects of the cello part, as the composer was unfamiliar with the instrument.The sonata is in...
, FP 143 (1940–48) - Trois mouvements perpétuels for 9 Instruments, FP 14 (1946)
- Sonata for Flute and PianoFlute Sonata (Poulenc)The Flute Sonata by Francis Poulenc, for flute and piano, was written in 1957. It is dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, an American patron of chamber music. Poulenc composed it for the flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal, and he and Rampal gave the première in June 1957 at the...
, FP 164 (1956–7) - Elégie for Horn and Piano, FP 168 (1957) In memory of Dennis BrainDennis BrainDennis Brain was a British virtuoso horn player and was largely credited for popularizing the horn as a solo classical instrument with the post-war British public...
- Sarabande for Guitar, FP 179 (1960)
- Sonata for Clarinet and PianoClarinet Sonata (Poulenc)Francis Poulenc's Sonata for clarinet and piano dates from 1962 and is one of the last pieces he completed. The piece is dedicated to the memory of an old friend, the Swiss composer Arthur Honegger, who like Poulenc had belonged to the group of "Les Six." A typical performance takes about 13...
, FP 184 (1962) - Oboe SonataOboe Sonata (Poulenc)The Sonata for oboe and piano by Francis Poulenc dates from 1962. It is his opus number 185 and is dedicated to the memory of Sergei Prokofiev. According to many oboists, the last movement "Déploration" was the last piece he wrote before he died. It sits as a kind of obituary.The Oboe Sonata is...
, FP 185 (1962)
Piano four hands
- Capriccio for 2 pianos (after Le bal Masqué), FP 155
- Sonata for piano, 4 hands, FP 8
Two pianos
- Concerto for 2 pianos & orchestra in D minorConcerto for two pianos (Poulenc)Francis Poulenc's Concerto for two pianos in D minor, FP 61, was commissioned by and dedicated to the Princess Edmond de Polignac and composed over the period of three months in the summer of 1932...
, FP 61 - Sonata for 2 pianos, FP 156
- L'embarquement pour Cythère, valse-musette for 2 pianos (from film, Le voyage en Amérique), FP 150
- Élégie (en accords alternés), for 2 pianos, FP 175
Choral
- Chanson à boire (TTBB) (1922)
- Sept chansons (SATB) (1936)
- Litanies à la vierge noire (SSA, org) (1936), orchestrated (1947)
- Les Petites Voix (SSA) (1936)
- Mass in G (SATB) (1937)
- Sécheresses (chorus, orchestra) (1937)
- Quatre motets pour un temps de pénitence (SATB): "Vinea mea electa", (1938); "Tenebrae factae sunt", (1938); "Tristis est anima mea", (1938); "Timor et tremor", (1939)
- Exultate Deo (SATB) (1941)
- Salve regina (SATB) (1941)
- Figure humaine (12 voices) (1943)
- Un soir de neige (6 voices) (1944)
- Chansons françaises: "Margoton va t'a l'iau", (SATB)(1945); "La belle se sied au pied de la tour" (SATBarB) (1945); "Pilons l'orge" (SATBarB) (1945); "Clic, clac, dansez sabots" (TBB) (1945); "C'est la petit' fill' du prince" (SATBarB) (1946); "La belle si nous étions" (TBB) (1946); "Ah! Mon beau laboureur" (SATB) (1945); "Les tisserands" (SATBarB) (1946)
- Quatre petites prières de Saint François d'Assise (Men's chorus) (1948)
- Quatre motets pour le temps de Noël (Mixed chorus): "O magnum mysterium" (1952); "Quem vidistis pastores?" (1951); "Videntes stellam" (1951); "Hodie Christus natus est" (1952)
- Ave verum corpus (SMezA) (1952)
- Laudes de Saint Antoine de Padoue (Men's Chorus): "O Jésu perpetua lux" (1957); "O proles hispaniae" (1958); "Laus regi plena gaudio" (1959); "Si quaeris" (1959)
Vocal
- Rapsodie nègre (poems in an imaginary exotic language, taken from a collection of poems Les poésies de Makoko Kangourou, ed. Marcel Prouille and Charles Moulié) op. 1 (1917)
- Cinq poèmes de Ronsard (I:"Attributs", II: "Le tombeau", III: "Ballet", IV: "Je n'ai plus les os", V: "À son page") (1925)
- Le portrait (poem by ColetteColetteColette was the surname of the French novelist and performer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette . She is best known for her novel Gigi, upon which Lerner and Loewe based the stage and film musical comedies of the same title.-Early life and marriage:Colette was born to retired military officer Jules-Joseph...
) (1937) - La grenouillère (poem by ApollinaireGuillaume ApollinaireWilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki, known as Guillaume Apollinaire was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic born in Italy to a Polish mother....
) (1938) - Deux poèmes d'Apollinaire (poems by Apollinaire: I: "Dans le jardin d'Anna", II: "Allons plus vite") (1939)
- Bleuet (poem by Apollinaire) (1939)
- Banalités (poems by Apollinaire: I: "Chanson d'Orkenise", II: "Hôtel", III: "Fagnes de Wallonie", IV: "Voyage à Paris", V: "Sanglots") (1940)
- Deux poèmes de Louis Aragon (I: "C", II: "Fêtes galantes") (1943)
- The Story of Babar the ElephantBabar the ElephantBabar the Elephant is a French children's fictional character who first appeared in Histoire de Babar by Jean de Brunhoff in 1931 and enjoyed immediate success. An English language version, entitled The Story of Babar, appeared in 1933 in Britain and also in the United States. The book is based on...
for Piano and Narrator (1940 – orchestrated by Jean FrançaixJean FrançaixJean René Désiré Françaix was a French neoclassical composer, pianist, and orchestrator, known for his prolific output and vibrant style.-Life:...
1945) - Deux poèmes d'Apollinaire (I: "Montparnasse", II: "Hyde Park") (1941–1945))
- Deux poèmes d'Apollinaire (I: "Le pont", II: "Un poème") (1946)
- Paul et Virginie (poem by Raymond RadiguetRaymond RadiguetRaymond Radiguet was a French author whose two novels were noted for their explicit themes and writing style and tone.-Early life:...
) (1946) - Rosemonde (poem by Apollinaire) (1954)
- Parisiana (poems by Max JacobMax JacobMax Jacob was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic.-Life and career:After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, France, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic career...
: I: "Jouer du Bugle", II: "Vous n'écrivez plus?") (1954) - Dernier poème (poem by Robert DesnosRobert DesnosRobert Desnos , was a French surrealist poet who played a key role in the Surrealist movement of his day.- Biography :...
) (1956) - Deux mélodies (I: "La Souris", II: "Nuage") (1956)
- La courte Paille (poems by Maurice CarêmeMaurice CarêmeMaurice Carême was a Belgian francophone poet, best known for his simple writing style and children's poetry.-Biography:Carême was born in Wavre , then a rural part of Belgium...
), I: "Le sommeil", II: "Quelle aventure!", III: "La reine de Coeur", IV: "Ba, be, bi, bo, bu", V: "Les anges musiciens", VI: "Le carafon", VII: "Lune d'Avril" (1960) - Tel jour telle nuit (poems by Paul ÉluardPaul ÉluardPaul Éluard, born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel , was a French poet who was one of the founders of the surrealist movement.-Biography:...
), I: "Bonne journée", II: "Une ruine coquille vide", III. "Le front comme un drapeau perdu", IV. "Une roulotte couverte en tuiles", V. "A toutes brides", VI. "Une herbe pauve", VII. "Je n'ai envie que de t'aimer", VIII. "Figure de force brûlante et farouche", IX. "Nous avons fait la nuit" (1936–1937)