Poulenc: Voyage à Paris (Hyperion French Song Edition)

Featuring

Dame Felicity Lott
Graham Johnson
Anthony Rolfe Johnson
Richard Jackson
Ann Murray
Francis Poulenc

Did you know?

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Composition History

The song "À sa guitare" by Poulenc, featuring text by Pierre de Ronsard, was originally written for a play about Marguerite de Valois and first sung by Yvonne Printemps.

Compositional Technique

Poulenc's Métamorphoses, based on texts by Louise de Vilmorin, showcases his three basic song styles: fast and capriciously lyrical, slow and touchingly lyrical, and fast café-concert virtuosity.

Album & Artwork

The cover of this booklet features a painting titled "La Guitare" by Marie Laurencin, a painter who also collaborated with Apollinaire and designed for Poulenc's ballet Les Biches.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Poulenc considered being known as "the musician of Apollinaire and Éluard" his finest title to fame, highlighting the profound influence these poets had on his work.

Composition History

The song "Priez pour paix" was written during the tense period of the Munich crisis, using words by Charles, duc d'Orléans, a 15th-century poet.

Cultural Impact

Poulenc's "Les chemins de l'amour" is a popular waltz often used as an encore, demonstrating his ability to write popular 'hits' similar to film music.

Composer Biography

In 1936, a pivotal year for Poulenc, he reconverted to Catholicism after a mystical experience and began a significant collaboration with poet Paul Éluard.