Poulenc: Orchestral Works

Featuring

Bramwell Tovey
BBC Concert Orchestra
Francis Poulenc

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Compositional Technique

In Les Animaux modèles, Poulenc subtly incorporated the patriotic French song 'Non, non, vous n'aurez pas notre Alsace-Lorraine' into the 'Les Deux Coqs' section as an anti-German sentiment.

Performer Biography

Bramwell Tovey, the conductor on this recording, was a Grammy and Juno award-winning conductor and composer, and served as Music Director for several orchestras.

Recording & Production

This Chandos recording utilizes 24-bit / 192 kHz technology, which offers a dynamic range up to 48 dB greater and 256 times the resolution of standard 16-bit recordings.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Poulenc's ballet Les Animaux modèles, based on La Fontaine's fables, was intended as a symbolic celebration of France's past, not merely charming animal stories.

Composer Biography

Poulenc destroyed an earlier string quartet from 1945 by throwing the manuscript into a gutter, but some of its ideas were salvaged for the Sinfonietta.

Composition History

Poulenc's Sinfonietta was commissioned by Edward Lockspeiser for the BBC Third Programme, initially conceived as a 15-minute work for small orchestra.

Composition History

Poulenc began composing his ballet Les Animaux modèles during the darkest days of summer 1940, seeking a reason to hope for France's future during the Nazi occupation.