Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (French: [fʁɑ̃sis ʒɑ̃ maʁsɛl pulɛ̃k]; January 7, 1899 – January 30, 1963) was a French composer and pianist. He wrote many types of music, including songs, piano pieces, chamber music, choral works, operas, ballets, and orchestral music. Some of his most famous works are the piano suite Trois mouvements perpétuels (1919), the ballet Les biches (1923), the Concert champêtre (1928) for harpsichord and orchestra, the Organ Concerto (1938), the opera Dialogues des Carmélites (1957), and the Gloria (1959) for soprano, choir, and orchestra.

As the only child of a wealthy factory owner, Poulenc was expected to join his father’s business and was not allowed to attend a music school. He studied with pianist Ricardo Viñes, who became his teacher after his parents passed away. Poulenc also met Erik Satie, who helped him become part of a group of young composers called "Les Six." In his early works, Poulenc was known for his lively and playful style. In the 1930s, he began creating more serious music, especially religious compositions starting in 1936, which he balanced with his lighter, more humorous works.

In addition to composing, Poulenc was a skilled pianist. He performed frequently with baritone Pierre Bernac (who also helped him write songs for voice) and soprano Denise Duval. He toured Europe and America with both artists and recorded many piano performances. He was one of the first composers to recognize the importance of the gramophone and recorded music extensively beginning in 1928.

For many years after his death, Poulenc was often seen in France as a composer who focused on humor and light music, and his religious works were not widely appreciated. In the 21st century, more attention has been given to his serious compositions, with new performances of Dialogues des Carmélites and La voix humaine around the world, as well as many live and recorded performances of his songs and choral music.

Life

Francis Poulenc was born on January 7, 1899, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. He was the younger child and only son of Émile Poulenc and Jenny-Zoé, who was born Royer. Émile Poulenc was part of a successful business, Poulenc Frères, which later became Rhône-Poulenc. He came from a religious Roman Catholic family in Espalion, Aveyron. Jenny Poulenc was from a Parisian family that had a strong interest in art. Poulenc believed that his father’s family taught him deep religious faith, while his mother’s family inspired his love for the arts and worldly life. A writer named Claude Rostand once said Poulenc was “half-monk and half-naughty boy.”

Poulenc grew up in a home where music was important. His mother was a skilled pianist who played many types of music, including classical and lighter pieces. This helped Poulenc develop a lifelong appreciation for what he called “adorable bad music.” He began piano lessons at age five, starting with his mother. At eight, he heard the music of composer Claude Debussy and was deeply impressed by its unique sound. Other composers who influenced him were Franz Schubert and Igor Stravinsky. Schubert’s Winterreise and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring had a strong impact on him. His father wanted him to follow a traditional school path, so Poulenc attended the Lycée Condorcet in Paris instead of a music conservatory.

In 1916, a childhood friend named Raymonde Linossier introduced Poulenc to Adrienne Monnier’s bookstore, Maison des Amis des Livres. There, he met avant-garde poets like Guillaume Apollinaire, Max Jacob, Paul Éluard, and Louis Aragon. Later, Poulenc set many of their poems to music. That same year, he became a student of pianist Ricardo Viñes. A biographer named Henri Hell said Viñes had a major influence on Poulenc’s piano skills and musical style. Poulenc once said Viñes was more than a teacher—he was his “spiritual mentor.” Viñes encouraged Poulenc to compose and helped premiere three of his early works. Through Viñes, Poulenc became friends with composers Georges Auric and Erik Satie, who shaped his early development.

Auric, who was the same age as Poulenc, was already performing music in Paris when they met. The two shared similar musical interests and remained close friends for the rest of Poulenc’s life. Poulenc called Auric “my true brother in spirit.” Satie, a unique and eccentric composer, mentored many young musicians, including Auric and others. At first, Satie did not take Poulenc seriously, but later welcomed him into his circle of protégés, whom he called “Les Nouveaux Jeunes.” Poulenc said Satie’s influence on him was “immediate and wide,” affecting both his spiritual and musical growth. A pianist named Alfred Cortot noted that Poulenc’s Trois mouvements perpétuels reflected Satie’s ironic style adapted to modern tastes.

Poulenc made his first public appearance as a composer in 1917 with Rapsodie nègre, a ten-minute piece for baritone and chamber group. It was dedicated to Satie and premiered at a concert series led by singer Jane Bathori. At the time, Paris was interested in African art, and Poulenc used a poem with Parisian slang in his work. The baritone who performed the first version was too nervous, so Poulenc, though not a singer, stepped in. This playful moment became known as “leg-Poulenc.” Maurice Ravel, a famous composer, found the piece amusing and praised Poulenc’s ability to create his own style. Stravinsky helped Poulenc get a publishing contract, a kindness Poulenc never forgot.

In 1917, Poulenc had serious conversations with Ravel about music. He was upset by Ravel’s opinions, which valued composers Poulenc disliked over those he admired. He told Satie about this, and Satie called Ravel’s ideas “a load of rubbish.” For years, Poulenc was unsure about Ravel’s music but always respected him as a person. Ravel’s humility inspired Poulenc, who tried to follow Ravel’s example throughout his life.

From January 1918 to January 1921, Poulenc served in the French army during the final months of World War I and the post-war period. He worked at the Franco-German front and later held jobs like a typist at the Ministry of Aviation. During this time, he wrote music, including Trois mouvements perpétuels for piano and Le bestiaire, a song cycle based on poems by Apollinaire. The song cycle helped Poulenc gain recognition in France, while Trois mouvements perpétuels became an international success. The limited resources during wartime taught him to write for unusual instrument combinations.

At this stage in his career, Poulenc worried about his lack of formal musical training. A critic named Jeremy Sams noted that the public’s taste was shifting away from overly romantic music toward the fresh and charming style of Poulenc’s work, even though it was technically simple. Four of Poulenc’s early works were premiered at the Salle Huyghens, where cellist Félix Delgrange hosted concerts for young composers. These included Auric, Durey, Honegger, Milhaud, and Tailleferre, who, along with Poulenc, became known as “Les Six.” A critic named Henri Collet once wrote about them in an article titled “The Five Russians, the Six Frenchmen and Satie.”

Jean Cocteau, though similar in age to Les Six, was like a father figure to the group. His writing style, described as “paradoxical and lapidary,” was anti-romantic and concise. Poulenc admired this style and set Cocteau’s words to music from 1919 to 1961. When members of Les Six collaborated, they each contributed their own sections to joint works. Their 1920 piano suite L’Album des Six includes six separate pieces, and their 1921 ballet Les mariés de la tour Eiffel has sections by different composers.

In the early 1920s, Poulenc continued to worry about his lack of formal training. Satie was skeptical of music schools, but Ravel encouraged Poulenc to take lessons. Milhaud suggested composer and teacher Charles Koechlin, with whom Poulenc studied from 1921 to 1925.

From the early 1920s, Poulenc was well received abroad, especially in Britain, as both a performer and composer.

Music

Francis Poulenc's music is mostly based on the basic musical scales, which are called diatonic. Henri Hell believed this was because Poulenc's greatest strength was his ability to create memorable melodies. Roger Nichols, writing in the Grove Dictionary, said, "For Poulenc, melody was the most important part of music. He discovered many new tunes in areas that others thought had already been explored." George Keck described Poulenc's melodies as simple, pleasant, easy to remember, and full of emotion.

Poulenc admitted he was not creative with harmony, the way notes are combined. Lennox Berkeley wrote, "Throughout his life, Poulenc used traditional harmony, but his way of using it was unique. This made his music feel fresh and meaningful." Keck noted that Poulenc's harmony was as personal and interesting as his melodies, using clear, simple chords in defined musical areas with brief use of chromatic notes. Poulenc disliked musical theories and once said, "Let’s stop composing based on rules and ideas!" He criticized followers of dodecaphony, a type of music theory led by René Leibowitz, and felt this approach harmed the work of Olivier Messiaen, whom he once admired. Henri Hell said most of Poulenc's music was inspired by the natural sounds of the human voice. Poulenc was a careful and hardworking composer, though many believed his music came easily to him. He said, "The idea that my music is easy to write is understandable, since I try to hide how hard I work."

Pianist Pascal Rogé said in 1999 that both the serious and playful sides of Poulenc's music were equally important. He warned that ignoring either side would give an incomplete picture of Poulenc. Poulenc acknowledged the contrast in his music but always aimed for music that was "healthy, clear, and strong—just as French as Stravinsky's music is Slavic."

Poulenc's major works for large orchestras include two ballets, a Sinfonietta, and four keyboard concertos. His first ballet, Les biches, premiered in 1924 and is one of his most famous works. Roger Nichols wrote that the music is simple and lacks deep symbolism, with a short section that humorously imitates Wagner's style. The first two concertos are light-hearted. The Concert champêtre for harpsichord and orchestra (1927–28) evokes the countryside from a Parisian perspective, with fanfares in the final movement resembling bugles in a military barracks. The Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (1932) is also meant purely for entertainment, drawing from styles like Balinese gamelan and Mozart. The Organ Concerto (1938) is more serious, with influences from Bach and brief sections of popular music. The second ballet, Les Animaux modèles (1941), is less popular than Les biches, but composers Auric and Honegger praised its harmony and orchestration. Honegger said, "Poulenc's music now feels completely like his own, even though he was influenced by composers like Chabrier, Satie, and Stravinsky." The Sinfonietta (1947) returns to Poulenc's earlier playful style. He later joked, "I dressed too young for my age… it’s like Les biches but with 48-year-old girls—that’s terrible!" The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1949) initially disappointed some, but it has been re-evaluated and is now considered one of his best works.

Poulenc, a skilled pianist, often composed at the piano and wrote many pieces for it. Henri Hell noted that Poulenc's piano music has two styles: one with strong, percussive sounds and another softer, like a harpsichord. Hell believed Poulenc's best piano works were the accompaniments to his songs, a view Poulenc agreed with. Most of Poulenc's piano music, according to Keith W. Daniel, are short pieces called "miniatures." Looking back on his piano works in the 1950s, Poulenc said, "I tolerate some old pieces, but I like my two collections of Improvisations, an Intermezzo in A flat, and certain Nocturnes. I strongly dislike Napoli and Les Soirées de Nazelles."

Among the works Poulenc approved of, the fifteen Improvisations were written between 1932 and 1959. Each is short, with the longest lasting about three minutes. They range from lively and dance-like to tender and lyrical, including a portrait of singer Édith Piaf. Poulenc's favorite Intermezzo was the third of three, composed in 1943. The eight Nocturnes were written between 1929 and 1938. Poulenc gave the eighth the title "To serve as Coda for the Cycle." Unlike the Nocturnes of Field, Chopin, or Fauré, Poulenc's are "sound-images of public and private events" rather than romantic poems.

The pieces Poulenc found tolerable were early works, such as Trois mouvements perpétuels (1919), the Suite in C (1920), and Trois pièces (1928). These are short, with the longest piece lasting about four minutes. The two works Poulenc criticized were Napoli (1925), a three-movement portrait of Italy, and Les Soirées de Nazelles, described by Geoffrey Bush as "the French version of Elgar's Enigma Variations." Despite Poulenc

Reputation

Francois Poulenc's music had two very different sides, which sometimes made people misunderstand him during his lifetime and even today. Composer Ned Rorem once said, "He was very religious and also very passionate about sensual things." This mix of qualities sometimes leads some critics to not take his serious work as seriously as it deserves. Poulenc always focused strongly on melody, whether he was writing light-hearted or serious music. This focus sometimes made others think he was not open to new musical ideas.

Although Poulenc did not follow many new trends in music, he always cared about the work of younger composers. Lennox Berkeley remembered, "He was truly interested in other people's music and admired styles very different from his own. I recall him playing me records of Boulez's Le marteau sans maître before the piece was well known." However, Boulez did not share this view. In 2010, he said, "Some people take the easiest path. Poulenc came after The Rite of Spring—it was not progress." Other composers, like Igor Stravinsky, saw more value in Poulenc's work. In 1931, Stravinsky wrote, "You are truly talented, and I find this in your music again and again."

In his later years, Poulenc said, "If people still care about my music in 50 years, it will be because of my Stabat Mater rather than my Mouvements perpétuels." However, a 1999 article in The Times noted that Poulenc's prediction was incorrect. At the time of his 100th birthday, people celebrated both sides of his music: "both his deep religious devotion and his playful side, both his sacred works like Gloria and his lighter pieces like Les Biches, and both his operas Les Dialogues des Carmélites and Les Mamelles de Tirésias." Around the same time, writer Jessica Duchen described Poulenc as "a lively and energetic person who could make people laugh and cry quickly. His music speaks clearly and warmly to every generation."

Notes, references and sources

• Bloch, Francine (1984). Francis Poulenc, 1928–1982: Phonographie (in French). Published in Paris by the National Library, Department of National Phonothèque and Audiovisual. ISBN 978-2-7177-1677-1.
• Buckland, Sidney; Myriam Chimènes, editors (1999). Poulenc: Music, Art and Literature. Published in Aldershot by Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-85928-407-0.
• Burton, Richard D E (2002). Francis Poulenc. Published in Bath by Absolute Press. ISBN 978-1-899791-09-5.
• Bush, Geoffrey (1988). Notes for the CD set Poulenc – Works for Piano. Published in Colchester by Chandos. OCLC 705329248.
• Canarina, John (2003). Pierre Monteux, Maître. Published in Pompton Plains, US by Amadeus Press. ISBN 978-1-57467-082-0.
• Cayez, Pierre (1988). Rhône-Poulenc, 1895–1975 (in French). Published in Paris by Armand Colin and Masson. ISBN 978-2-200-37146-3.
• Chimènes, Myriam (2001). "Evolution of Francis Poulenc’s tastes through his correspondence." In L’esthétique dans les correspondances d’écrivains et de musiciens, XIXe–XXe siècles (in French), edited by Arlette Michel and Loïc Chotard. Published in Paris by Presses de l’Université de Paris-Sorbonne. ISBN 978-2-84050-128-2.
• Daniel, Keith W (1982). Francis Poulenc: His Artistic Development and Musical Style. Published in Ann Arbor, US by UMI Research Press. ISBN 978-0-8357-1284-2.
• Delamarche, Claire (1996). Notes for the CD set Poulenc Concertos. Published in London by Decca. OCLC 40895775.
• Desgraupes, Bernard; Keith Anderson, translator (1996). Notes for the CD set Les mariés de la tour Eiffel. Published in Munich by MVD. OCLC 884183553.
• Doctor, Jennifer (1999). The BBC and Ultra-modern Music, 1922–1936. Published in Cambridge and New York by Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-66117-1.
• Harding, James (1994). Notes for the CD set Ravel and Poulenc – Complete Chamber Music for Woodwinds, Volume 2. Published in London by Cala Records. OCLC 32519527.
• Hell, Henri; Edward Lockspeiser, translator (1959). Francis Poulenc. Published in New York by Grove Press. OCLC 1268174.
• Hinson, Maurice (2000). Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire. Published in Bloomington, US by Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-10908-8.
• Ivry, Benjamin (1996). Francis Poulenc. Published in London by Phaidon Press. ISBN 978-0-7148-3503-7.
• Johnson, Graham (2013). Notes for the CD set Francis Poulenc – The Complete Songs. Published in London by Hyperion. OCLC 858636867.
• Keck, George Russell (1990). Francis Poulenc – A Bio-bibliography. Published in New York by Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-25562-5.
• Landormy, Paul (1943). La musique française après Debussy. Published in Paris by Gallimard. OCLC 3659976.
• Machart, Renaud (1995). Poulenc (in French). Published in Paris by Seuil. ISBN 978-2-02-013695-2.
• Nectoux, Jean-Michel; Roger Nichols, translator (1991). Gabriel Fauré – A Musical Life. Published in Cambridge by Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0