Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 05/22/2007, uploaded on 01/16/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Three Novelettes for piano                          Francis Poulenc

No. 1 in C Major; No. 2 in b-flat minor; No. 3 in e minor (On a theme of Manuel de Falla)

Although Poulenc was an excellent pianist, and he composed for that instrument throughout his life, only his Trois Mouvements Perpetuels are frequently played today.  However, his Three Novelettes are well-crafted, charming character pieces which certainly deserve an audience.  The first two were composed in 1927 and 1928 respectively, and were published together.  The third was commissioned by the English music publisher Chester, for its Centenary Album (1960).  The connection of this work to Chester goes even further; Novelette No. 3 is based on a theme by Manuel de Falla, taken from his ballet El Amor Brujo, which had been published by Chester some forty years earlier.  Poulenc's piece is a beautiful tribute to the Spanish composer, who had died in 1946; Falla and Poulenc shared a long and close friendship.  Poulenc set Falla's theme, originally in 7/8, in the more common meter of 3/8, and presents it four times, each harmonized differently, leaving the listener with a sense of nostalgia.     Jason Cutmore

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.