5: The Post-war Years. Following the end of the Second World War Poulenc began some determined career building. He and his recital partner, the baritone
Pierre Bernac , undertook a heavy schedule of international touring, encountering enthusiastic receptions in Britain and the USA. While in America he met
Lucien Roubert. the man who became a source of inspiration for both the Stabat Mater and the opera Les Dialogues des
Carmélites. America also provided the commission for one of Poulenc's most enduring wind pieces, the flute sonata, and for one of the last works he wrote, the Seven Tenebrae Responses. The success of the Carmelites prompted Poulenc to try his hand at another opera, this time a one-act play by Jean Cocteau , La Voix Humaine. Presented by Donald Macleod.
Bleuet Anthony Rolfe Johnson (tenor), Graham Johnson (piano)
Les Dialogues des Carmélites (excerpt)
Denise Duval (soprano), Rita Gorr (mezzo), Paul Finel (tenor), Paris Opera Orchestra, conductor Pierre Dervaux
Flute Sonata
Emily Beynon , Andrew West (piano)
La Voix Humaine (excerpt)
Frangoise Pollet (soprano), Lille National Orchestra, conductor, Jean-Claude Casadesus Sept Repons de Tenebres (excerpt)
The Sixteen, conductor Harry Christophers