Born
January 7, 1899
Died
January 30, 1963
Country
France
Born in Paris, France, in 1899, Francis Poulenc was a composer noted for music that is witty, crystal clear, and tuneful.
His mother, a talented amateur pianist, was his first piano teacher. Poulenc’s involvement with music was as an amateur for some years. At age 18, Poulenc had his first major success as a composer with Rapsodie Nègre for baritone and chamber ensemble. He had had no composition lessons tothis point and, despite some study later, he remained largely self-taught.
While in the French National Service in 1918, Poulenc composed a number of miniature pieces. Among them was a short work for piano, Trois Mouvements Perpétuels, played for the first time in public in 1919, which became popular throughout Europe.
In the 1920s, he was part of a group of five other young French composers nicknamed “Les Six.” They followed the artistic leanings of Satie and Cocteau, rebelling against the Germanic tradition in music.
Poulenc wrote in almost every medium. His piano works included short pieces as well as concertos for one and two pianos and orchestra. Among his choral works are Un Soir de Neige and a Stabat Mater. His theater works include several ballets: a one-character, one-act tragedy, La Voix Humaine as well as the religious opera, Les Dialogues des Carmelites.
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Video
Get out your opera glasses and prepare to take a look at the history and evolution of an art form over four hundred years old. Learn how singers train and condition their voices, become familiar with some of the stage’s most tragic love affairs, and discover how theatre and music combined can tell epic stories in unforgettable ways.
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