Peter Pears (tenor), Natalie James (oboe), Cecil James (bassoon), Benjamin Britten (piano)
Song Cycle : Tel jour, telle nuit (Poema by Paul Eluard )
Trio for piano, oboe, and bassoon (1926)
(Recording from a concert of French music given at the Wigmore Hall, London, on May 13)
Francis Poulenc is one of the most distinguished of modem French composers. In those chaotic days immediately following the end of the last war Poulenc made a name for himself as a ' futurist ' composer. He was a member of that famous band of young French modernists known as ' Les Six '. As a composer, Poulenc's best works show a very fluent technique and a facile melodic invention that is obviously influenced by the popular music of his generation.
His song-cycle ' Tel jour, telle nuit composed in 1936-7, is typical of his later and more romantic style. The Trio for oboe, bassoon, and piano, composed in 1924-5, is light and entertaining music, cleverly and clearly written. There is nothing profound or romantic about it. His contrapuntal treatment of the three instruments is extremely clear and some piquant effects in timbre are being- constantly produced.