Francis Poulenc, 1899-1963
Trio for Piano, Oboe and Bassoon, 1926
A native Parisian, Francis Poulenc associated with the most creative and experimental figures of that legendary time in the 1920's that incubated the chief modernist trends of the early 20th century. Poulenc was part of the informal group of French composers known as "Les Six" whose agenda was to consciously craft a new music separate from the dominance of Germanic Romanticism, the intellectualisms of Schoenberg and the pat associations with Impressionism. Embracing clarity, simplicity, wit and even parody, they refined a genre influenced by Stravinsky and Satie called Neo-classicism. Poulenc was essentially self-taught and, contrary to the fervor of his contemporaries, comparatively conservative. Yet , he is widely prized as a composer for his innate and fertile talents best described as natural, spontaneous and superbly original. His music is colorful, lively, tuneful and engaging, unperturbed by excesses of drama, labored development or rigid form. Poulenc is especially celebrated for his lyricism and his gift for melody. Neo-classical in the best sense, Poulenc's music seems familiar yet fresh, evocative of 18th century classical style with a playful novelty that is purely 20th century. Poulenc excels in musical play; his music is, above all else, fun.
Poulenc had a great fondness for chamber music with winds. Color, pointillistic clarity and poise characterize several frequently featured compositions including his most well-known, the Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano. The first movement, patterned after a particular Haydn allegro is a sparkling presto, a compact caricature of contrasting sections, perfect execution juxtaposed with tongue in cheek pratfalls. The middle movement is a soft dream described by Poulenc himself as "sweet and melancholic." The final movement is another brisk sequence of tableaux, a rondo whose refrain begins as a near perfect quote of a well-known Beethoven melody until it makes a surprising turn into the fresh vocabulary of Poulenc's own distinctive language. Poulenc hinted that he patterned this movement after a piano concerto by Saint-Saëns perhaps thereby ensuring that the last word was unequivocally French.
