I have been listening to Poulenc quite a lot lately. I have found this 20th century French composer quite easy on the ears. He wrote some beautiful choir music. Below is a video of his "O Magnum Mysterium" from "Quatre Motets pour le Temps de Noel"
Poulenc is well-known by players of wind instruments, as he wrote quite a lot of chamber music for piano with various wind instruments. I remember playing the piano part of his flute/piano sonata with my best friend in high school. One of my favorite pieces is his sonata for piano, oboe and bassoon. Below is a video from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. (Otherwise known as "the con.") I like the slide show, with views of the college. I have spent quite a lot of time in Oberlin, and have never been disappointed in any concert I attended there.
What really impresses me is the fact that Poulenc wrote a harpsichord concerto. You would think that an orchestra would drown a harpsichord out. He solved this problem by using a smaller orchestra, and doing a lot of alternating between harpsichord and orchestra. All the loud, bombastic parts are played by the orchestra alone, and when the harpsichord comes in the orchestra plays more quietly, and without all the instruments. It works, and is a charming piece. This is sometimes played by piano instead of harpsichord.
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February, 2008
