Mouvements perpétuels was premiered in Paris in December 1918, when Poulenc was aged 19 and a protégé of Erik Satie. The work is dedicated to the artist Valentine Hugo[1][2] and was first performed by Poulenc's piano teacher, Ricardo Viñes.[3] From January 1918 to January 1921 Poulenc was a conscript in the French army, but his duties allowed him time for composition.[4] He wrote the pieces at the piano of the local elementary school at Saint-Martin-sur-le-Pré.[5]
The suite was an immediate success with public and performers, and it remains one of the composer's most popular works.[6] The pianist Alfred Cortot described the three movements as "reflections of the ironical outlook of Satie adapted to the sensitive standards of the current intellectual circles".[7] The mature Poulenc merely tolerated the piece,[8] judging it, like much of his lighthearted music, trivial in comparison with his more serious music. He wrote that "if people are still interested in my music in 50 years' time it will be for my Stabat Mater rather than the Mouvements perpétuels." In a centenary tribute in The Times Gerald Larner commented that Poulenc's prediction was wrong, and that in 1999 the composer was widely celebrated for both sides of his musical character: "both the fervent Catholic and the naughty boy". Larner added that despite the composer's high reputation abroad, the French had never fully grasped Poulenc's serious side and thus tended to neglect his music. The pianist Pascal Rogé commented, "French people don't like the image of themselves that Poulenc sends to them … they see him as superficial while they want to be seen as serious".[9] The author and pianist Roger Nichols wrote: "Here the Parisian and provincial elements in Poulenc’s make-up jostle each other, with occasional attempts at coalescence: the tunes are superbly naïve (Ravel envied Poulenc his ability 'to write his own folksongs'), while the little flourishes with which each piece 'signs off' are the epitome of urban irony."[3]
The suite takes about five minutes in performance. The commentators Marina and Victor Ledin write, "Each of the three pieces ends inconclusively, leaving the music unresolved, to linger in our minds". Poulenc described them as "ultra-easy", and compared them to a brisk stroll by the Seine.[6] Poulenc made an arrangement of the work for 9 instruments in 1925.
Structureedit
I. Assez modéré
( = 144 in the published score)
The movement consists of 24 bars. The first 19 bars are repeated. The final three bars are slower, and the last is marked Très lent (very slow).[10]
II. Très modéré
( = 92)
There are 14 bars in this movement. It is mostly p or pp, with only four bars marked mf. The movement ends with a ppp (pianississimo) two-octave upward glissando.[10]
III. Alerte
( = 138)
The finale is the most exuberant of the three, although like the second movement it ends ppp. It moves between 4 4, 7 4, 3 8 and 5 4 time. There are 58 bars.[10]
^ abNichols, Roger. "Francis Poulenc" 2019-02-14 at the Wayback Machine, MusicSalesClassical.com, 1992, accessed 9 November 2014
^Chimènes, Myriam and Roger Nichols. "Poulenc, Francis", Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, retrieved 24 August 2014 (subscription required)
mouvements, perpétuels, short, three, movement, solo, piano, piece, french, composer, francis, poulenc, piano, music, francis, poulenccataloguefp, 14adedicationvalentine, hugoperformed1919, 1919, contents, background, structure, references, bibliography, exter. Mouvements perpetuels FP 14a is a short three movement solo piano piece by French composer Francis Poulenc Mouvements perpetuelsPiano music by Francis PoulencCatalogueFP 14aDedicationValentine HugoPerformed1919 1919 Contents 1 Background 2 Structure 3 References 4 Bibliography 5 External linksBackground editMouvements perpetuels was premiered in Paris in December 1918 when Poulenc was aged 19 and a protege of Erik Satie The work is dedicated to the artist Valentine Hugo 1 2 and was first performed by Poulenc s piano teacher Ricardo Vines 3 From January 1918 to January 1921 Poulenc was a conscript in the French army but his duties allowed him time for composition 4 He wrote the pieces at the piano of the local elementary school at Saint Martin sur le Pre 5 The suite was an immediate success with public and performers and it remains one of the composer s most popular works 6 The pianist Alfred Cortot described the three movements as reflections of the ironical outlook of Satie adapted to the sensitive standards of the current intellectual circles 7 The mature Poulenc merely tolerated the piece 8 judging it like much of his lighthearted music trivial in comparison with his more serious music He wrote that if people are still interested in my music in 50 years time it will be for my Stabat Mater rather than the Mouvements perpetuels In a centenary tribute in The Times Gerald Larner commented that Poulenc s prediction was wrong and that in 1999 the composer was widely celebrated for both sides of his musical character both the fervent Catholic and the naughty boy Larner added that despite the composer s high reputation abroad the French had never fully grasped Poulenc s serious side and thus tended to neglect his music The pianist Pascal Roge commented French people don t like the image of themselves that Poulenc sends to them they see him as superficial while they want to be seen as serious 9 The author and pianist Roger Nichols wrote Here the Parisian and provincial elements in Poulenc s make up jostle each other with occasional attempts at coalescence the tunes are superbly naive Ravel envied Poulenc his ability to write his own folksongs while the little flourishes with which each piece signs off are the epitome of urban irony 3 The suite takes about five minutes in performance The commentators Marina and Victor Ledin write Each of the three pieces ends inconclusively leaving the music unresolved to linger in our minds Poulenc described them as ultra easy and compared them to a brisk stroll by the Seine 6 Poulenc made an arrangement of the work for 9 instruments in 1925 Structure editI Assez modere nbsp 144 in the published score The movement consists of 24 bars The first 19 bars are repeated The final three bars are slower and the last is marked Tres lent very slow 10 II Tres modere nbsp 92 There are 14 bars in this movement It is mostly p or pp with only four bars marked mf The movement ends with a ppp pianississimo two octave upward glissando 10 III Alerte nbsp 138 The finale is the most exuberant of the three although like the second movement it ends ppp It moves between 44 74 38 and 54 time There are 58 bars 10 References edit Hell pp 4 and 100 Schmidt 1995 p 32 a b Nichols Roger Francis Poulenc Archived 2019 02 14 at the Wayback Machine MusicSalesClassical com 1992 accessed 9 November 2014 Chimenes Myriam and Roger Nichols Poulenc Francis Grove Music Online Oxford Music Online Oxford University Press retrieved 24 August 2014 subscription required Hell pp 9 10 a b Ledin p 3 Hell p 4 Schmidt p 182 Larner Gerald Maitre with the light touch The Times 6 January 1999 p 30 a b c Mouvements perpetuels FP 14 Poulenc Francis IMSLP retrieved 9 November 2014Bibliography editHell Henri Edward Lockspeiser trans 1959 Francis Poulenc New York Grove Press OCLC 1268174 Ledin Marina and Victor Notes to Naxos CD 8 553930 Poulenc Piano Music Volume 2 Hong Kong Naxos OCLC 884182629 Schmidt Carl B 2001 Entrancing Muse A Documented Biography of Francis Poulenc Hillsdale NY Pendragon Press ISBN 978 1 57647 026 8 Schmidt Carl B 1995 The Music of Francis Poulenc 1899 1963 A Catalogue Oxford Clarendon Press ISBN 978 0 19 816336 7 External links editMouvements perpetuels Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Mouvements perpetuels at AllMusic Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mouvements perpetuels amp oldid 1220953831, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
