Francis Poulenc - Sonata for Clarinet and Piano
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ก.ค. 2024
- - Composer: Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (7 January 1899 -- 30 January 1963)
- Performers: Michel Portal (clarinet), Jacques Février (piano)
- Year of recording: 1976
Sonata for clarinet & piano, FP 184, written in 1962.
00:00 - I. Allegro tristamente (Allegretto - Très calme - Tempo allegretto)
05:39 - II. Romanza (Très calme)
09:56 - III. Allegro con fuoco (Très animé)
The premiere of Francis Poulenc's Sonata for Clarinet and Piano took place on 10 April 1963, with Benny Goodman on clarinet and Leonard Bernstein at the piano. But what was originally to be the premiere of a piece in memoriam -- the work bears the dedication "to the memory of Arthur Honegger -- turned out to be an in memoriam performance; Poulenc had died suddenly of a heart attack in January of that year, just shy of his 63rd birthday. "His death is a disaster for music and for personal friendship," lamented Jean Cocteau; "Poulenc had inherited Ravel's mantle," commented Ned Rorem, "and today, in leaving us, he has taken with him the best of what remained in musical France." Perhaps some of those in attendance at the premiere of the Sonata for Clarinet and Piano heard a musical self-eulogy, a documentary looking backwards through Poulenc's musical career. The religious devotion of his maturity finds expression in the first two movements, while in the third Poulenc returns to the devil-may-care style of his youth. One reviewer called the sonata a "swan song...as delightful as ever."
This sonata is one of three Poulenc wrote for solo woodwind and piano. The other are one for flute from 1956, and one for oboe from 1962; Poulenc meant to work on a bassoon sonata next, but never got around to composing it before his untimely death. Though an autonomous work, the Sonata for Clarinet and Piano holds several formal and thematic traits in common with other works in the group. The Flute Sonata shares with the clarinet/piano work a structure that features a more restrained attitude in the first two movements, followed by a more playful finale. Also, as scholar and biographer Keith Daniel observes, certain thematic materials appear in all three works. The thirty-second note figure that opens the Flute Sonata appears with some alteration in the first movement of the Oboe Sonata, and in rough inversion during the second movement of the clarinet piece; likewise, a motive consisting of a dotted note filled out by two shorter notes appears in multiple places in all three sonatas. Finally, Daniel notes the overall similarity of mood in the second movements of the Flute and Clarinet Sonatas.
- The first movement of the Clarinet Sonata bears the somewhat enigmatic subtitle "Allegro Tristamente"; accordingly, the piece is always in motion, but proceeds with a sense of trepidation. After a brief fortissimo introduction consisting of angry spurts of figuration in the clarinet punctuated by piano chords, the piano quiets to a murmur. The clarinet's lines are built of a self-perpetuating series of arcs that leave a shape but not a tune in our ears. At one point the clarinet seems stuck in a motivic rut, sadly leaping up and down between octave B tones over a shifting harmonic background. As the movement ends, the lingering memory is a fuzzy one of melancholy gestures and moods.
- The second movement, "Romanza," is both clearer in its melodic makeup and more cathartic, perhaps, in its emotional expression. The clarinet melody is simple and somber throughout, but is elaborately embroidered in a few places, as if losing composure. Two particularly poignant examples are the sixty-fourth note runs near the beginning, and the trembling half-step figure that appears at the beginning and end.
- The third movement, "Allegro con fuoco," energetically combines various nimble, articulate, and rhapsodic themes, bookended by a delightfully clownish tune -- a mixture of serious and silly that well represents Poulenc's oeuvre as a whole. - เพลง
![Francis Poulenc - Nocturnes [With score]](/img/n.gif)
As a pianist, this is hands down my favorite piece to accompany for an instrument. So very well written.
Love to hear that! As a clarinettist, I wonder if you guys get bored sometimes playing the accompaniment.
Have you played Brahms' second clarinet sonata?
@@penguinexpress12 I don’t think so. I only accompanied one clarinetist; otherwise mostly strings and voice, and a trombonist here or there.
Nice to hear but not too surprised and pleased : Poulenc was an accomplished pianist and accompanist himself so he would know. And indeed it s beautiful to hear (especially played by Jacques Fevrier). Thanks so much for this precious upload.
Didn't expect to see you here. I love the Poulenc woodwind sonatas so much. And the Trio too... :) They're always what I think of when I think of what I would want a woodwind sonata to sound like if I ever actually write one.
I'm playing this for the first time at 16, for my Grade 7. Have to say, out of all my pieces. This is definitely my favourite! Those top notes are gorgeous if hit correctly. Fair play to anyone who can hit them without squeaking. I'm getting there. Let's hope the examiner likes it 🙏
listen to harold wright this guy playing here is really bad...yuck
Okay, a lil' bit of that piano concerto in the 3rd movement, I see you
just listened to this days ago and noticed that 🙂 such a great quote
Michel Portal’s playing is incredibly brilliant. The range of dynamics! The expression! The subtle vibrato that so sets his sound apart!* I will never sound like this even though I’m going to play clarinet the rest of my life
*(Why are people hating on his vibrato? I’d like to see them do it.)
I hate clarinet vibrato. But more importantly, It think his tone sounds pretty thin and lacks center. Bonade school of playing is my model so this sounds very poor to me, in my opinion.
@@Trenton.D of course. Vibrato (for clarinet) should be a stilistic device, it should not be used permanently.
@@Trenton.D I agree ...
It's not the vibrato it's the thin tone he has that lacks dynamic. And his staccato is so harsh
@@Trenton.D Ok so I've learned a lot in the 3 years since I made that comment and I now understand how different Portal's sound is from the Bonade School, so your perspective makes sense. However I still don't think Portal sounds "bad" and I think his style of playing fits the Poulenc sonata really well.
The second movement’s melody has a bit of fragments from his improvisation number 15 in C minor for piano. Lovely
The second movement of this sonata reminds me of the second movement of the flute sonata. I see a lot of similarities between both sonatas but each sonata shows the personality of each instrument. Maybe I'm biased but the flute sonata is my favorite of the three woodwind sonatas that he wrote :)
Kiara Eijo i play clarinet and flute sonata is definitely my fav!
I still haven’t heard it yet, but it sounds like I need to!
Excellent!I love this sonata !❤️👏👏👏👏👏🇺🇸🇧🇷✨✨✨✨🙌🏼
The part from 5:03 is brilliantly evocative clarinet playing. I imagine a drunkard in the gutter who feels pity for himself , smashes his bottle, vows to take revenge on the world and disappears into the dark..
Hendrik Mertens That is the most perfect description I have ever heard! Like an old Parisian Victorian times drama! 😂 I shall think of that every time I play this piece! Thank you! 😂🎶
haha thank you! Yes this music can bring up a lot of sceneries. But the music is also just as good in itself. Have fun playing!
I love the 3rd movement, it represents this sonate!!😊
Hauntingly beautiful! It reminds me of a mansion filled with ghosts.
Final movement definitely reminiscent of the same in the Prokofiev Flute Sonata
A have become a "Dougie come lately" Francis Poulenc fan!
Marvelous!
A fantastic recording with great artists. Sorry that I have not heard this klarinettist before,he is a player after my taste. Tell him that!!! And a great Thank You to olla-vogala!!
Great video. I'm an amateur clarinet player and I can say the score is more scary than really difficult, just takes practice.
One think I don't understand is why the score has certain notes that, in practice, are played different. But I haven't found any revised score with the 'right' notes below:
- The F just a bit before the rehearsal mark is played as an E.
- 4 measures later, the low C that concludes the phrase is also played an E.
- 4 measures after , the A that concludes the phrase is played a C#.
This in every version I heard including this.
listening to this when i should actually be practicing this for allstate whoops
Incredible
Brilliant performance!
The most difficult performance problem is playing his chamber music at the tempo he requires.
This brilliant composer doesn't think small, nor slow.
He is at his best at virtuosic speeds which is probably the way he played his compositions.
Oh, yes! He writes brilliantly beautiful slow sections or movements, but when he "flies", he flies.
Totally agree!👏👏
incredible
I can’t believe that once upon a time (42 years ago!) I actually could play this! Unfortunately all recorded evidence was lost by the department chair ☹️
Haha sucks for you!
@@HelloooThere How is that funny?!
@@lonniethomas2649 oh sorry I’m ticky tay
@@HelloooThere It’s ok. I got over it years ago. But every once in awhile I wish I had it…
Never too late to start over!
i'm about to start learning the first movement for my grade 8. although it's going to be challenging, i love this piece so it shouldn't be to bad
Hey nice, enjoy it- I did the exact same in December- such a great piece!
i played this for my grade 8 too!
Yes just starting to learn this for G8 as well Xd
@@drano_cat7810 good luck!
@@gracepatrick6432 thanks a lot, I’ll need it 😂
playing this for my audition tomorrow!
Excellent player,nicely done.
Ron Shields It's benny goodman lol of course hes good
Inspiring ...
0:00
5:39
9:56
Thank you for your service to society.
look in the description
Bravo
That was damn good.
Love that section beginning at 3:21. So mysterious
Chose the third movement as my solo, and I’m excited for it
How did it go? The 3rd movement's got some crazy shit in it, but still sounds amazing.
I chose the 2nd movement as the 2nd piece for a competition & I'm looking forward to it 🙌✨Poulenc has composed some crazy stuff in this sonata
Poulenc is really brilliant. My choir sang "Les Tisserands" in quarantine style. Write this down in the research. You will love it for sure:
Corale Novarmonia - Les Tisserands (F. Poulenc)
Sorrow and joy, death and life, he conveyed everything he thought at that moment, the death of one gave life to another...
This is my audition for the high school honor band😂🔫
same
Ditto, I have exerpts for the midterm auditions
Yea this is one of them...
Im not gonna make it in like this..
Same
Mines today playing this
First chapter not as frenzied as other performances.
nice throughout.
j'adore le passage à 3:21
Me pasa lo mismo!
0:58 reminds me of the flute sonata
that's what i'm thinking
actually this sonata sounds like an atonal version of flute lol
true, 0:34 too
That, s not a good thing, when a composer sounds like his other piece...
Interesting use of the same material in the opening of the second movement as in the Agnus Dei movement of his Gloria, written just under 2 years before this sonata.
0:58 how is this even physically possible
Some people use the Bb fingering to make that part easier. Then all you have to do is stretch your embouchure down.
You can even do it with an german clarinet - you don't have to use boehm-System everytime. a little bit of work. again and again ;-)
play the f# with just the top middle key
Poor bassoon didn’t get a sonata from Poulenc ultimately.
:(
Wow, didn't know that. But here's a thought: Check out "
Sonata a la maniere de Francis Poulenc" by Dutch composer
Wijnand van Klaveren for alto saxophone and piano. All three movements are uploaded to TH-cam with the composer as accompanist, and my ear tells me the transition from sax to bassoon is a possibility. Indeed, Poulenc's Trio for oboe, bassoon and piano HAS been arranged for two saxes and piano, again uploaded to TH-cam.
The bassoon shows up in the trio and in the sextet though, which is a close second I guess ;)
This could be a spin-off of Tubby The Tuba. Poor Bobby The Bassoon who never got his own Sonata.
@@culveyhouse And the sonata for clarinet and bassoon.
grałem to grałem, wiele razy.... Bardzo to lubiłem. 27 lat temu myślałem, że grałem "muzykę współczesną". Tymczasem Poulenc dzisiaj - jest dla mnie muzyką bardzo dawną :-). Wiele tu podobieństwo z sonatami na obój, czy fletową tego samego kompozytora. Od 3:22 bardzo dużo mnie kosztowało, ale ładniej to zagrałem, niż na nagraniu... Się miało kondycję wtedy... A od 9:59 - na nagraniu jest bardzo brzydki dźwięk... u mnie była radosna zabawa księżycowego Pierota
What are you saying?
@@samuelgrobstein5232 trzeba języki poznawać :-). Ja tam angielski rozumiem, ale czy ty rozumiesz mój język?
@@wojciechkaamarz8919 Sorry, Thank You
Wow! The oboe sonata has ver similar parts to this!
Interesting that the pianist is playing the 64th notes exact but the clarinet is playing them halfway between 32nds and 64ths.
0:04 is a good place to start. ^ Say Qui to Poulenc's Sonata for Clarinet and Piano.
Has anyone ever done a video of how many times Poulenc quoted his self?
Thanks for uploading! Apart from the beautiful music, I noticed a very well-written program note attached in the description. I wonder if it's written by you or not.
Thanks for posting. I do like this sonata and many other pieces by "good old Francis". I feel "saudades" ( a Portuguese word that means a sort of nostalgia) of the times when France had good composers, good music, great actors, good films, etc., etc. Then came the Boulez's, the Nouvelle Vague... and even more disgraceful things.... Shared on Google+
My take: Benny Goodman commissioned this piece in which one can hear elements of jazz and Klezmer. It ain’t Mozart. I liked the subtle vibrato. Again, it’s a matter of preference.
Wynona Fudd I like this clarinetist’s vibrato too.
@@nathanhol42001 me too
yay clarinet for me
la partitura como podría conseguirla, me la podría compartir? gracias
The 3/4 section sounds awfully close to the oboe sonata....
I hear a lot of Poulenc's Oboe Sonata within the _Tres calme_ part of the first movement. Since I'm not too familiar with Poulenc - Were the phrases he used in both works his "trademark" or something? Or was there a specific reason he "recycled" those phrases? I'm really curious.
same here
Both sonatas were composed at the same time and share a lot of things. I'm not sure if there was a programmatic intent, but I have always considered them as some sort of "twins"
BTW officially the oboe sonata is Poulenc's last work as far as I know.
many composers borrowed from themselves in these periods of time
"mexicaanos al gri to de gueeerra", a friend of mine once said.
Question for the clarinettists: It appears there are a lot of fast motions and slurs across the break. Would this be considered a difficult challenge for most players? Not so difficult for a professional? I am not a clarinettist.
Robert Wilks most of the piece is doable, and it often isn’t the runs for us that are the hardest. Usually the hitting the super high notes in this piece is hard
Мишель Порталь - виртуоз-гений. Но дышит он по-своему: более короткими фразами, чем прописал Пуленк. Поэтому legato в быстром темпе у него немного суетливое. Зато в кантиленах медленной части они с Февриером добиваются того, ради чего сочинялась эта гениальная музыка: самого существа лирики. Это не похоже ни на что, это настоящий подарок музыкальному икусству и от композитора, и от исполнителей.
Poulenc seems to have re-used a lot of motifs and ideas from his 1957 flute sonata.
anyone else doing the first movement for ABRSM grade 8 piano?
Obra maestra
Good as this is, I miss Pascal Rogé more than most.
delle belle turbando il riposo
MikeAgoBrigante L'ho pensato anch'io 😂😂😂😂
DI FATTI IL PRIMO MOVIMENTO E LA RIPRESA IN STILE MINORE DI QUELL ARIA!...C E DEL MOZART ANCHE IN POULENC ANZI È LO SPIRITO GIUSTO PER SUONARLA IN MANIERA DIVINA E NON IN MANIERA SBRAGATA!
aahhh this is audition for high school state honor band
me first chair honors middle school, reading all the comments about how people had to play this for honors high school… *so is this how my reign ends?*
00:05 1 часть ГП
00:20 1 часть ПП
5:40 2 часть
9:58 3 часть
my final for fall woohoo
wow there is so sick
이노레 눔후조하용!!!
California All State bands audition music 2019 - 2020 year
And this year we have the Saint-Saëns Sonata... this year is lucky 💪
Beginning
0:06
End
1:16
Measure 6
0:14
Measure 16
0:33
Measure 9
0:21
Second movement
0:38
Third Movement
0:54
Measure 4
0:12
Measure 20
0:42
qUeEn -3- holy shit
@@daderpybluebeary2245 wait Bryan-
Is there a genre that defines this type of music?
Les Six en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Six
Neoromantic
Forget about genre, it's just music !
0:38
5:22
Anyone tried out for all state
Also my lips hella hurt form playing that high
The number of views enforces the love for this work. Sound French in this version ...to sad about the intonation.
It just goes to show that the clarinet is easy.
3:30
10:22-10:44
This sonata sounds super nice but some rhythms are kinda copied from the flute sonata (the seven note clusters in both of the first movements), etc. I think that all 3 high woodwind sonatas sound nice tho!
Feel like I'm watching Tom and Jerry cartoons
10:58
Wait this isn't how to change a tire
hendrik,its very quiet
0:20
6:18
0:12 rip my lips!
I totally agree with Amy.
Of course very nice technique and expression, but clarinet vibrato here is not what Francis Poulenc asked for.
Some people even think it sound's vulgar in this repertoire...
Who said so?
Me and other people here and also teatchers of the academy ;-)
Actually he makes it work reasonably well here - not as bad as cello vibrato in Bach, my feeling
Where´s the interpretation and felixibility of music, the vibrato isn´t killing it, just adding something new that maybe the composer couldn´t think about when writing it down.
this type of vibrato used to be a French tradition and it is exactly what Poulenc expected.
Cece just message me when you find this for message
Классический кларнет с вибрато..что может быть хуже!
Seems jazz...
Their vibrato is not matching this piece at All. Clarinet vibrato is more for jazz this is not the best recording. They played everything else perfectly
I couldn't agree more but which recording is best?
Karl Leister's recording is pretty solid
¡Is Michel Portal! child.
You need to remember however that the piece was commissioned by Benny Goodman, who was known for playing both Classical and Jazz music for the clarinet! It is purely down to personal preference.
Amy Samuelson I agree
SOUND LIKE A DEATH CHIKEN!
A chicken doesn't make much sound if it's dead, does it?
Do not like the vibrato on the piece.Prefer the pure cl. sound. -Ron Shields
Really? I feel like there's so much potential there that's wasted without the inclusion of the vibrato. There's an empty gap when expression is the core of this piece. If anything, I think the vibrato should be a given here.
Luis Vazquez-Vega I agree
@@luisvazquez-vega7316 agreed
horrible el vibrato en esta pieza, no es del estilo
Can u play without this fcking vibrato next time?
This is by far the ugliest interpretation of this piece I’ve ever heard
I really hate Portal's sound, it ruins this beautiful piece. Fortunately modern clarinettist have a much better sound.
but the vibrato is so pretty!!!
@@natekite7532=> It can be pretty to play "Moonlight Serenade", yes probably. Not for Poulenc, or for classical music in general.
This is dry
What a terrible piece of music.
Why you don't like? Just interested because I like it and play it now 😄
9:56
0:06
0:12
0:13
0:20
5:40
5:51