Donald Macleod looks at the insouciance of Poulenc’s 1920s, when he was dazzled by Cocteau and joined Diaghilev's court in Monte Carlo.

This week Donald Macleod explores five aspects of Poulenc’s personality and how they find expression in his music. 'In Poulenc there is something of the monk and something of the rascal' said the composer’s friend Claude Rostand - but there were other sources of inspiration that drove him. From the gregarious exploits of his youth to his serious engagement with Catholicism, from schmoozing in high society salons to the calm he sought at his country retreat and his struggles with depression, Donald surveys the life and music of a man full of contradictions.

Poulenc was evidently very good company, always ready with a good line on the latest gossip, and in the first programme this week Donald Macleod looks at how the young composer was eagerly taken up by the fashionable artistic crowd who frequented the cafes of Montmartre. Poulenc had the privilege of encountering a stellar line up of artists in post-WW1 Paris, including Picasso, Georges Braque and Modigliani, as well as the writers Paul Valéry, André Gide and Paul Éluard. Poulenc quickly established himself as one of the brightest stars in these glittering circles, but admitted to being “dazzled” by Jean Cocteau. Poulenc’s friendship with Cocteau would last throughout his life, and he returned to setting his texts much later on.

Chanson à boire
Groupe Vocal de France
John Alldis, conductor

Cocardes
Robert Murray, tenor
Martin Martineau, piano

La Dame de Monte-Carlo
Felicity Lott, soprano
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Armin Jordan, conductor

Les Biches (Suite)
Ulster Orchestra
Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor

Chansons Gaillardes
Ashley Riches, bass-baritone
Graham Johnson, piano Show less