Francis Poulenc - Les Animaux Modèles, FP 111 (1942)

I. Le Petit Jour (Tres calme) 00:00
II. Le Lion amoureux (Passionnement anime) 04:19
III. L'Homme entre deux ages et ses deux maitre... 06:02
IV. Le Mort et le Bucheron (Tres lent) 08:07
V. Les Deux Coqs (Tres modere) 13:54
VI. Le Repas de midi (Tres doux, calme et heureux) 17:24

[@askenderiii2374]

Les Animaux Modèles, ballet chorégraphié par Serge Lifar et mis en musique par Francis Poulenc sur des fables de Jean de La Fontaine; première représentation le 08 août 1942 à l'Opéra de Paris. Ce ballet est régulièrement repris par l’École de Danse de l'Opéra de Paris lors de ses spectacles annuels.Manquent les mouvements: 2 « L'ours et les deux compagnons », 3 « La cigale et la fourmi » et 4 « Le lion amoureux ». Le « Petit Jour » sert d’ouverture (1) et les autres mouvements présents ici sont dans l’ordre (à savoir 5, 6, 7, 8 et 9).
Les Animaux Modèles, a ballet with choreography by Serge Lifar, music by Francis Poulenc based on fables by La Fontaine. Première: August 8, 1942, Paris Opera Ballet Company. It is still performed today by the School of Paris Opera a on regular basis.1. “Daybreak” is the overture to the ballet.
2 (The bear and his two companions), 3 (The cicada and the ant) and 4 (The lion in love) are missing.
5 to 9 are in their respective order.

[@Mezzotenor]

Thanks for this. Yes, two entire scenes from the ballet are omitted from the concert suite (2 and 3 as noted), but I'd offer a couple tiny corrections: "The lion in love" IS present in the concert suite, but only the starting portion, the remainder of the full ballet version being omitted. By contrast, the suite's version of "The battle of the two roosters" skips to the part after one of them is killed. Poulenc chose excerpts for the concert suite wisely, but I'm glad we can now get recordings of the full ballet. (Oddly, the EMI complete works boxed set represents this ballet with the suite instead of the full score, this while offering the complete Les Biches, including its choral settings of old folk-song lyrics.)

[@treesny]

@@Mezzotenor Excellent detailed summary, thanks. There have been three recordings of the complete score, but as none was recorded by EMI, they had no full version on hand for their centenary "big box," and presumably didn't have it in the budget to do one from scratch. (To EMI's credit, they did fill some smaller gaps in their Poulenc back catalog especially for the complete edition.) The three full recordings are conducted by Jonathan Darlington, Jan Wagner and Jan Latham-Koenig; my top pick for interpretation is Darlington (the premiere recording). An unfairly neglected work, and a hugely enjoyable one. UPDATE: There is now a fourth complete recording, conducted by the late Bramwell Tovey.

[@AndrewKosinskicomposer]

Nick D. Where is there a recording of the complete ballet (not just the suite)? I couldn’t find one.

[@treesny]

@@AndrewKosinskicomposer There are currently (2022) listings for Darlington's recording (coupled with the Sinfonietta) and Wagner's (with the Suite from Les Biches) on Amazon (U.S.). Copies of both plus the Latham-Koenig one (with the Concert champetre, version for piano and orchestra) turn up regularly on eBay. The Darlington recording is actually posted complete here on TH-cam (unfortunately in 8 separate segments): th-cam.com/play/OLAK5uy_mvcavQ4AtcD6msqI4GRi8SieL-gwWCYaw.html
And so is the Latham-Koenig recording:
th-cam.com/video/SyGZzXVhNdQ/w-d-xo.html
UPDATE: And the Bramwell Tovey recording, on the Chandos label, should be easy to find.

[@BenzemonstreENTs]

Décidément, Poulenc est vraiment un grand compositeur. Malgré le fait qu'il soit moderne, ses œuvres sont sublime. Une fierté nationale 🇨🇵.

[@kniazigor2276]

Tout le raffinement de la musique française dans ce magnifique ballet de Poulenc !

[@MichaelConwayBaker]

Poulenc always sounds so fresh. It's always a pleasure to listen to his music.

[@OctopusContrapunctus]

i just love poulenc so much

[@colefortier]

god bless Poulenc. This is literal perfection.

[@jeanmarcblanc2903]

Les animaux sur la toile ont besoin de cette musique de Poulenc pour se sentir encore plus chez eux. On ne les y délogera plus jamais.

[@josevipadilla7224]

No hay palabras para poder describir tan excepcional belleza... es totalmente inefable...

[@johannesbluemink4581]

My absolute Poulenc favorite piece. Wonderful music.

[@renzofrosini4897]

solo in Poulenc trovo una garbata delicatezza spesso velata da leggera malinconia

[@Mildly_Unsuccessful_Individual]

One of the best symphonies ever written

[@theopaopa1]

it is not a symphony, it is ballet music ...

[@markhartevelt]

Thank you so much for uploading this wonderful piece, it touches me deeply. Greetings from The Netherlands.

[@bobareebop]

My father was a big Poulenc fan, and he used to say that Poulenc "got under his skin". And greetings from the USA!

[@stephane9261]

Génie ...

[@sebastienbonmarchandjaimec5247]

Je m'appuierai sur cette création de 1942 pour mon prochain roman ! Magnifique acte de résistance.

[@noahshook3269]

17:47 Masterful

[@robinsnell2231]

Mood music for the times that I grew up in. Light and dark interweave, but light prevails. I especially like track 3 about the middle aged man and his two mistresses. OMG, what a tense situation! Yet the music is so warm, lovely, and optimistic; the mistresses must have found some way to accommodate their rival claims!

[@melanie4595]

Now i know what line to plagirise as my reaction to this piece.

[@madrigal1956]

La partition, dans "Le Lion amoureux", cite, ou plutôt évoque, la chanson patriotique "Vous n'aurez pas l'Alsace et la Lorraine", ce qui, pour une pièce créée à Paris sous l'occupation nazie, n'est sûrement pas un hasard...

[@gabrielkaz5250]

@@danielo.masson353 absolument

[@BenzemonstreENTs]

🇨🇵

[@natalyamark]

So marvelous! It should be only this tempo, not faster….

[@msaeki]

The names of orchestra and conductor please?

[@ritoquaglia2190]

Uso "il combattimento dei galli" come suoneria per il cellulare , dalla scala discendente del pianoforte

[@lomonacaarturo7825]

Una composizione di rara intensità
La tessitura orchestrale ci restituisce sonorità che hanno il potere straordinario di formare costellazioni musicali senza tempo, di una spazialità incommensurabile
Un vero e proprio archetipo musicale

[@richardvelkley4291]

I would appreciate full information. Orchestra? Conductor?

[@giovannismartini479]

Lots of Debussy... La damoiselle élue... Pelleas... Also some of Ravel's Ma mère L'oye... But of course a lot more of Poulenc

[@klausstauffenberg3079]

Il s'agit du Modernisme français. Inutile de s'étonner, je crois, des ressemblances entre Poulenc, Debussy, Ravel ou Satie...
Savourons !

[@photo161]

The conductor and the orchestra, for heaven's sake?!!!

[@ismaeleguren8545]

I think they are the Orchestre National de France · Charles Dutoit, conductor

[@photo161]

@@ismaeleguren8545 ...Thank you so very much...

[@jiyujizai]

🌿🌾💚😉💜

[@remyblog-coachmod4522]

Interprétation peu fidèle aux intentions de Poulenc, hélas.

[@equator2007]

Dans quel sens? Pourriez-vous donner des précisions?

[@GabrielaDiaz-cq9lu]

José frances

[@GabrielaDiaz-cq9lu]

No se frances

[@sergedannywilde1987]

Farceur