Sextet (Poulenc)

{{Infobox musical composition | name = Sextuor<br />Sextet | type = Chamber music | composer = Francis Poulenc | image = | image_upright = | caption = | key = | catalogue = FP 100 | composed = {{Start date|1931}}–32 | published = | scoring = {{hlist | piano | wind quintet}} }} Francis Poulenc's '''''Sextuor''''' ('''Sextet'''), FP 100, is a chamber music piece written for a standard wind quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and French horn) and piano. Estimates about the time of its composition range from between 1931 and 1932<ref name="NY2">{{cite web |last=Keller |first=James M. |date=November 2013 |title=Notes on the Program: Sextet for Wind Quintet and Piano / Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano |url=http://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1314/Poulenc-Sextet.pdf |work=New York Philharmonic |accessdate=February 8, 2016 |archive-date=April 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423191344/http://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1314/Poulenc-Sextet.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and 1932 alone.<ref name="Saint Paul3">{{cite web |last=Grad |first=Aaron |date=2009 |title=Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet |url=https://content.thespco.org/music/compositions/sextet-for-piano-and-wind-quintet-francis-poulenc/ |work=Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra |accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref> It received its debut in 1933 but was later revised in 1939.<ref name="Saint Paul3"/> Performed in its entirety, the three-movement piece lasts approximately 18 minutes.<ref name="Utah3">{{cite web |title=Debussy, Françaix, Poulenc, and Ibert |url=http://www.utahsymphony.org/tickets/980-debussy-francaix-poulenc-ibert |work=Utah Symphony |accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref>

== Background == Francis Poulenc, though rejected by the director of the Paris Conservatoire for the tendency of his compositional style to be overly progressive, was the most prolific member of the group of 20th-century French composers known as Les Six.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Mellers, Wilfrid Howard |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/839028475 |title=Francis Poulenc |date=1995 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-816338-X |oclc=839028475}}</ref> In his Sextet there are obvious influences of the incidental music heard during the group's weekend visits to the circus as well as their general adherence to the melodic precedents set forth by Satie.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Werner, Warren Kent |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/702714909 |title=The harmonic style of Francis Poulenc |oclc=702714909}}</ref> Poulenc composed the piece around the same time as his cantata ''Le Bal Masqué''<ref name="Naxos32">{{cite web |title=About This Recording: Francis Poulenc Complete Chamber Music, Volume 1 |url=http://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.553611&catNum=553611&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English |work=Naxos Records |accessdate=February 8, 2016 |archive-date=March 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311154825/http://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.553611&catNum=553611&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Concerto for Two Pianos.<ref name="LA3">{{cite web |last=Howard |first=Orrin |title=Sextet (Francis Poulenc) |url=http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/music/sextet-francis-poulenc |work=Los Angeles Philharmonic |accessdate=February 8, 2016 |archive-date=March 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308192023/http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/music/sextet-francis-poulenc |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Structure and analysis ==

=== I. Allegro Vivace === The first movement is in ternary form and begins with ascending scales by all instruments<ref name="NY3">{{cite web |last=Keller |first=James M. |date=November 2013 |title=Notes on the Program: Sextet for Wind Quintet and Piano / Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano |url=http://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1314/Poulenc-Sextet.pdf |work=New York Philharmonic |accessdate=February 8, 2016 |archive-date=April 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423191344/http://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1314/Poulenc-Sextet.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> before transferring into an energetic beginning section with complex rhythms, jazz undertones, and an underlying line from the piano.<ref name="Naxos32"/><ref name="LA3"/><ref name="Utah3"/> The middle of the movement features a slower section initiated by a bassoon melody which is then repeated by the other instruments.<ref name="NY3" /><ref name="Saint Paul3"/> The original tempo returns at the end of the movement as new themes barrel toward the finish.<ref name="Saint Paul3" />

=== II. Divertissement: Andantino === The second movement is in rounded binary form, with the "A" sections marked at a much slower tempo than the "B" section.<ref name="Naxos32"/> It is often interpreted as being influenced by the divertimentos of the Classical period<ref name="Utah3" /><ref name="Saint Paul3" /> while at the same time serving as a parody of Mozart's slower movements.<ref name="NY3" /> This is corroborated by Orrin Howard of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, who has written that he views the faster "B" section as a form of musical, comedic relief.<ref name="LA3" /> The piece employs a variety of textures in the winds with the piano serving in more of a secondary role.<ref name="Saint Paul3" />

=== III. Finale: Prestissimo === The finale begins with "an Offenbachian gallop"<ref name="NY3" /> and is in rondo form.<ref name="Naxos32"/> It has jazz and ragtime influences (again a product of Les Six's outings to weekend shows), and has been interpreted as a satirical depiction of the neoclassical movement.<ref name="LA3" /> The finale creates a sense of cohesion by repeating themes from the previous two movements, and it ends with a lyrical and solemn coda with influences from one of the composer's idols, Maurice Ravel.<ref name="NY3" /><ref name="Naxos32"/>

== Premiere, reception, and revision == The premier of the sextet occurred in 1933 with Poulenc on the piano part and Marcel Moyse, Roland Lamorlette, Louis Cahuzac, Gustave Dhérin, and R. Blot on flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn, respectively.<ref name="Naxos32"/><ref name="NY32">{{cite web |last=Keller |first=James M. |date=November 2013 |title=Notes on the Program: Sextet for Wind Quintet and Piano / Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano |url=http://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1314/Poulenc-Sextet.pdf |work=New York Philharmonic |accessdate=February 8, 2016 |archive-date=April 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423191344/http://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1314/Poulenc-Sextet.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The piece was not well-received by traditionalists in the music community, with composer and critic Florent Schmitt of ''Le Temps'' criticizing it as wandering and vulgar. A more positive review came from André George of ''Les Nouvelles littéraires'', who wrote that "with Poulenc, all of France comes out of the windows he opens."<ref name="NY32" /> In the composer's later life, he performed the piece with the Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet, composed of members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, including John de Lancie.<ref>{{cite web |last=Krummeck |first=Judith |date=March 28, 2012 |title=Poulenc Plays! |url=http://www.wbjc.com/2012/host-blogs/poulenc-plays/ |work=WBJC |accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref>

Poulenc extensively revised the composition in August 1939 because he was dissatisfied with the original work.<ref name="NY">{{cite web |last=Keller |first=James M. |date=November 2013 |title=Notes on the Program: Sextet for Wind Quintet and Piano / Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano |url=http://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1314/Poulenc-Sextet.pdf |work=New York Philharmonic |accessdate=February 8, 2016 |archive-date=April 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423191344/http://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1314/Poulenc-Sextet.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>* {{cite book | last= Hell | first= Henri |author2=Edward Lockspeiser (trans)| year= 1959| title= Francis Poulenc |url=https://archive.org/stream/francispoulenc00hell#page/n11/mode/2up | location= New York | publisher= Grove Press | oclc= 1268174 | page=59}}</ref> He told composer and conductor Nadia Boulanger, "There were some good ideas in [the original] but the whole thing was badly put together. With the proportions altered, better balanced, it comes over very clearly."<ref name="Naxos32"/>

== Notable recordings ==

* The Fairfield Chamber Group, 1951<ref>{{Citation |title=Francis Poulenc, The Fairfield Chamber Group - Sextet For Piano And Winds / Trio For Piano, Oboe And Basson / Sonata For Clarinet And Basson |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/16157577-Francis-PoulencFairfield-Chamber-Group-Sextet-For-Piano-And-Winds-Trio-For-Piano-Oboe-And-Basson-Son |language=en |access-date=2022-04-30}}</ref> * The New York Woodwind Quintet, 1961<ref>{{Cite web |title=Poulenc: Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet, Op. 100 - Riegger: Concerto for Piano and Woodwind Quintet, Op. 53 |url=https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8668691--poulenc-sextet-for-piano-and-wind-quintet-op-100-riegger-concerto-for-piano-and-woodwind-quintet-op |access-date=2022-04-30 |website=Presto Music |language=en}}</ref> * The Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, 2009<ref>{{Citation |title=Taffanel, P.: Wind Quintet / Poulenc, F.: Sextet / Jolivet, A.: Serenade / Tomasi, H.: 5 Danses |date=2009-06-30 |url=https://open.spotify.com/album/2jB3WUwR8RymOoStWtljHY |language=en |access-date=2022-04-30}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography == * {{Cite book | first = Carl B. | last = Schmidt | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KsUGv8-TVGcC | title = The Music of Francis Poulenc (1899–1963): A Catalogue | publisher = Clarendon Press | location = Oxford | year = 1995 | isbn = 978-0-19-816336-7 }}

Category:1932 compositions Category:1939 compositions Category:Compositions for wind quintet Poulenc Category:Chamber music by Francis Poulenc