Francis Poulenc - Le Bal Masqué

- Composer: Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (7 January 1899 -- 30 January 1963)
- Performers: Franck Leguérinel (baritone), Alexandre Tharaud (piano), Jean-Marc Phillips (violin), Françoise Groben (cello), Serge Krichewski (oboe), Marc Bauer (cornet), Ronald Van Spaendonck (clarinet), Marie Gondeau (bassoon), Françoise Rivalland (percussion)
- Conductor: Pierre-Michel Durand
- Year of recording: 1995-1997
Le Bal Masqué, for baritone (or mezzo-soprano) & chamber ensemble, FP 60, written in 1932.
00:00 - I. Préambule et air de bravoure
04:27 - II. Intermède
06:58 - III. Malvina
09:13 - IV. Bagatelle
11:29 - V. La dame aveugle
13:49 - VI. Finale {Caprice}
Francis Poulenc was introduced at an early age into the Parisian cultural circles in which prominent figures like Cocteau and Satie moved, and his early compositions (that is, those that came before his religious awakening in the mid-1930s) reflect the decidedly effervescent aesthetic values that Poulenc and the other members of "Les Six," in response to the emotional viscosity and heavy handedness of the Austro-German musical establishment, came to represent. Among Poulenc's contributions to this early Parisian style was an approach to musical development and continuity that neither developed or continued: themes didn't grow out of each other organically but appeared pell-mell, piled on top of each other, strung along with carnivalesque variety; harmonic progressions bypassed modulation in favor of bootlegger turns and chromatic acrobatics. Fittingly, Poulenc was very fond of the surreal, shape-changing images and incongruous plots that filled the poems of Max Jacob (1876 - 1944), and set many of them to music. Among these are the four poems appearing in Poulenc's "Profane Cantata," Le Bal Masqué (The Masked Ball).
The work came as the result of a commission from the Vicomte and Vicomtesse de Noailles to compose a work for a 1932 concert at the Théâtre de Hyères. The poems, taken from Jacob's 1921 anthology, Laboratoire central, held for Poulenc a kind of odd Bradbury-esque nostalgia, and many of Jacob's images evoked faint fragments of memories. The song cycle reaches our ears, too, as a grab bag of unsorted, mismatched textual and musical remembrances. Poulenc's score calls for a solo baritone (or mezzo), oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, piano, violin, cello, and percussion. This ensemble offers a broad timbral array, which allows the composer to be as playful with register and orchestration as he is with melody and harmony. His menagerie of melodies is passed from instrument to instrument, treating his clever lines with skillfully idiomatic charm and humor.
The cycle is structured in such a way that the four songs are separated by instrumental passages -- either autonomous movements, such as the Interlude between the first and second songs, and the Bagatelle that separates the third and fourth; or extended instrumental prefaces, such as the Caprice that precedes the Finale, or, for that matter, the long introduction to the first song. The Preamble begins with an infectiously peppy romp, bringing to mind the Darwinian cocktail party from Milhaud's Création du Monde. The baritone enters, singing of a mysterious Madame la Dauphine, Chinese Peasants, and cannons made of goose fat. The most readily identifiable connections between this strange collection of observations are phonetic ones, which Poulenc makes abundantly clear through incessant repetition (Madame la Dauphine-fine-fine-fine-fine.... a peasant from Chine-chine-chine-chine... you get the idea). Elsewhere, the text is treated even more clownishly. A maudlin thirty-second note run introduces the overly-rhapsodic benediction that closes "Malvina." Worse yet, the closing lines of the last poem in the cycle -- the singer, following the composer's instructions "très violent" and "exagérément articulé," tries to achieve an ever-climactic conclusion, repeating the last words an inexcusable number of times; and just when we think he might be finished, he leaps saucily into his falsetto range for a delightfully ridiculous finish.
Poulenc eventually sobered up a bit, and in his middle years he composed a large body of rather reverent sacred works. Still, pieces like the "Laudamus Te" from the Gloria, and the finale of his swansong, the Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, demonstrate the youthful and invigorating wit of his earlier works.
The piece is dedicated: "au Vicomte et à la Vicomtesse de Noailles".

[@contactcoursedusoufflescea5010]

C'est ma version préférée de cette superbe pièce de Poulenc, et Frank Leguérinel est le baryton idéal pour la chanter : voix souple et précise, intonations toujours parfaitement choisies, jusqu'à cette impeccable voix de fausset dans le final. Merci.

[@TempodiPiano]

Cette musique me bouleverse et me fait mal, c'est mon enfance qu'on me rappelle.

[@Mezzotenor]

Very fine performance, and it's great having the score to look at, a solo keyboard reduction that gives the essentials plus a few unplayable cues from the full chamber score. As do most Poulenc fans, I love this little cantata, and for a time I was baffled as to why it was so infrequently performed in public. The answer came after I listened to one rather sub-par live performance on CZcams: The often-tricky instrumental parts are manageable, as is the vocal writing, but all the performers have be agile and must scrupulously stick to the conductor's beat or the witty writing falls flat.

[@olla-vogala4090]

+Mezzotenor Indeed, I too was wondering why this piece is so seldom played, I only know this recording. I think the explanation you provide must be the reason it is rarely heard on stage.

[@leschainees1372]

+olla-vogala There is a wonderful recording with José van Dam and Kent Nagano conducting Poulenc (Bal masqué) + Ravel (Don Quichotte à Dulcinée) Ibert (4 chansons de Don Quichotte) and F. Martin (6 Monologe aus Jedermann)

[@Mezzotenor]

+Les Ponts Musicaux Absolutely, I have that original 1990 disc. The couplings are interesting in themselves, e.g., Ibert including a rare use of harpsichord in the accompaniment. That "Bal Masqué" has the agile playing it needs, and I greatly appreciate van Dam's reluctance to ham it up and make the satire childish. Nagano has a couple slowish moments in the outer movements I'd have done differently. I wager the disc was part of the contract that brought together the conductor and cast for "Dialogues of the Carmelites," which recording, in my view, was part of the opera's transition into the permanent repertoire.

[@treesny]

This comes from the excellent 5 CD series of Poulenc's complete chamber music under pianist Alexandre Tharaud (Naxos). Among the other pleasures are two performances of Babar, the Little Elephant (for speaker and piano), one each in French and English, both narrated by children; and the famous waltz that Poulenc wrote for Yvonne Printemps, Les chemins de l'amour, performed enchantingly by the legendary Danielle Darrieux. A great way to get familiar with this part of Poulenc's catalogue! :-) I also want to caution not to divide Poulenc's oeuvre so neatly into "before" and "after." Yes, the spiritual crisis of the mid-1930s led directly to the re-awakening of his Catholic faith, with consequences for his music both immediate (Litanies to the Black Virgin, Four Lenten Motets, Mass, Priez pour paix, etc.) and longer-term (Four Christmas Motets, Stabat Mater, Gloria, etc.); secular works, too (Dialogues of the Carmelites, Figure Humaine, Un soir de neige, Elegy for Horn and Piano). That he grew as a composer throughout his life cannot be denied, despite the fact that many people seemed determined to stereotype him as one of Les Six, and nothing more. When you really listen to his pre-1935 music, however, you sense a deep melancholy (as early as The Bestiary) and inner tension (Aubade), not to mention an edge of aggression amid all the wit and playfulness (this piece!). As with Liszt - another woefully misunderstood composer! - the worldly and the transcendental elements of his make-up interacted fruitfully. Still one of the most underrated and misunderstood of the great 20th century composers; but musicians and audiences know better, and continue to enjoy his music. Thank you. :-)

[@IslamicRageBoy]

very nice very swag i like it

[@Nanananaheyhey1]

It was nice seeing the score to this

[@TempodiPiano]

Francis Poulenc's masterpiece according to Guy Sacre.

[@treesny]

Some Poulenc masterpieces: 1. voice & chamber ensemble - LE BAL MASQUE; 2. voice & piano: TEL JOUR TELLE NUIT; 3. chorus a cappella: FIGURE HUMAINE (secular) / 4 MOTETS POUR UN TEMPS DE PENITENCE (sacred); 4. keyboard & orchestra: CONCERTO FOR 2 PIANOS or ORGAN CONCERTO; 5. chamber music: SEXTET or SONATA FOR FLUTE or SONATA FOR CLARINET; 6. opera: DIALOGUES DES CARMELITES 7. top masterpiece: DIALOGUES DES CARMELITES. Poulenc wrote A LOT of great music! :-)

[@lewisbae]

Is this originally for piano solo??

[@blakesorenson8766]

No but it was arranged for piano and he uses this score so you can see all parts in a non transposing instrument and its easier to read :)

[@lewisbae]

Blake Sorenson Oh, it's a transcription! Thanks for telling

[@licoricestic]

I remember finding this piano solo version of this piece and now can't find it...help anyone?

[@licoricestic]

nevermind! If you're interested let me know and I'll forward to you!

[@lluiscalvet329]

Hiii, can you send it to me?? It would be useful! :3

[@licoricestic]

@@lluiscalvet329 sure what's your email?

[@lluiscalvet329]

@@licoricestic [e-mail]

[@maximearsenault5194]

Yawn. La version originale avec Poulenc au piano et Bernac est la lame qui tranche cette guimauve d’interprétation.