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"The Complete Songs of Francis Poulenc"

The recordings of Poulenc’s songs presented here form one of researcher / performer’s statements on the life and work of this enigmatic composer. The other, a forthcoming book on Poulenc, will enrich the picture, and promote the researcher’s aim to communicate an understanding of the subtle interactions of text and music that lie at the origins of Poulenc’s aesthetics within – and arguably beyond – song.

The research process involved an extensive study of the poets whose work was not so much “set” as “inhabited” by Poulenc to the extent that their sometimes obscure surreal texts are often illuminated through Poulenc’s profound engagement with them. This however cannot be communicated to the songs’ listeners if the performer has not himself become immersed in the aesthetics of that age and that art.

The researcher / performer was welcomed into Poulenc’s home and library by his surviving relatives. This, together with the recent publication of Poulenc’s letters, allowed the researcher to start linking together the composer’s many friendships with poets, his awareness of contemporary philosophical developments, Poulenc’s emerging musical languages, and his sensitivity to the progressive artistic movements of the day, into an intimacy of understanding that the researcher / performer could then take to the piano and share with his collaborators and audiences.

Early in his career the researcher / performer worked with the singer Pierre Bernac, Poulenc’s chosen interpreter. In a sense this exemplifies both the research aim and process of the current REF submission, illustrating his assertion that the honest recreation of a composer’s intention can only come about if the performer understands the complex network of often disparate elements that contributed to the work’s creation.