Sam Gee L69

Research (HB) Music

Research:
Poulenc, Neo Classical and Les Six
Poulenc
Background:
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Full name is Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc

Born January 7th 1899 in Paris, died January 30, 1963 in Paris
He was a French composer and a member of the French group called Les Six
Composed chamber music, opera, ballet, orchestral music, and other genres

His mother taught him to play the piano, and so the piano dominated many of his early
compositions
He also borrowed from Mozart and Saint-Sans in his compositions
He was also particularly fond of woodwind instruments, and planned to write a set of
sonatas for all of them, although he only lived long enough to write 4 of them: sonatas
for flute, oboe, clarinet, and an Elgie for horn
He died of a heart failure, and is buried at the cemetery of Pere-Lachaise

Some say he is one of the first openly gay composers, and his first serious relationship
was with a painter Richard Chanlaire
He dedicated his Concert champtre to him
He also had a number of relationships with women, and had a daughter, Marie-Ange,
although he never admitted he was the father

Musical Characteristics:
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He learnt mainly by ear, and was largely self-taught

He has written 3 operas
He uses tonal melodies in his music, and his overall style was classicism, similar to
classical music, but contains variations on the style
Uses variable harmonies, vibrant melodies and unusual ensembles
His style tends to be almost mocking, and his operas have, in some cases, contained
sophisticated political jabs
His operas are an example of his sense of convention and form
His sense of dissonance is also very acute, shown in all 3 operas, which contain
dissonant qualities

Neo Classical Music

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Neoclassicism was a 20th century development, which was particularly popular in

between the two World Wars
Composers got inspirations from the 18th Century (around the Classical Period)
It is often seen as a reaction against the prevailing trend of the 19 th Century
Romanticism
In the use of modern instrumental resources, like a full orchestra (expanded since the
18th Century) and advanced harmony, neoclassical music is distinctly 20 th Century

Sam Gee L69

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Research (HB) Music

Important composers include:

Igor Stravinsky
Paul Hindemith
Sergei Prokofiev
Darius Milhaud
Francis Poulenc
Stravinskys first venture into the style began in 1919-20, when he composed his ballet
Pulcinella, using themes from the Classical Period (he believed by Giovanni Pergolesi
Neoclassicism was also popular in America
Arnold Schoenbergs works after 1920 have also been described as neoclassical,
because he returned to classical forms after his atonal period

Les Six
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The six members are:

Georges Auric (1899-1983)
Louis Durey (1888-1979)
Arthur Honegger (1892-1955)
Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983)
The group was officially launched in January 1920, where they were compared with
the Five Russians
They published an album of piano pieces together (the famous Album des Six)
They also wrote:
Les Maris de la Tour Eiffel project by Milhaud, Auric, Tailleferre, Honegger
and Poulenc, on a scenario by Cocteau
Salade Milhaud, premiered 1924 in a production of Count Etienne de
Beaumont
La Nouvelle Cythre Tailleferre, written in 1929 for the Ballets Russes
Romance sans paroles Durey
Cinq Bagatelles Auric
Sonate pour violincello et piano Poulenc
Sonata pour flte et piano, op.164 Poulenc
Scaramouche Milhaud
Sonata pour violon seul Honegger
Danse de la Chvre (Dance of the Goat), for flute Honegger
Sonate Champtre for Oboe Clarinet, Bassoon and Piano Tailleferre
They represent a strong reaction against the heavy German Romanticism (e.g. of
Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss), as well as against the chromaticism and
orchestration of Debussy
They wanted to write music without using complicated rhythms (such as Stravinsky), or
twelve-tone music like Schoenberg
Many of the pieces were quite short, and they liked jazz as well
They did not stay together for very long, as they developed their own styles in their
composition