Irène Duval & Pierre-Yves Hodique - Poèmes (2016) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Francis Poulenc owes his fame to his operatic works (Dialogues des Carmélites, Les Mamelles de Tirésias, La Voix humaine), his treasure-house of mélodies, his concertos and his sacred music, but his output for piano and small ensembles remains relatively little-known. Yet the catalogue of his chamber music comprises more than twenty works, including the Sonata for Violin and Piano composed in the dark years of the war, the only piece for these forces that he did not destroy. It was written in 1942-43 in memory of the Andalusian poet Federico García Lorca, murdered by the Francoists, and was premiered by an unforgettable duo, the outstanding young violinist Ginette Neveu with the composer at the piano. Poulenc struggled over its composition, refusing to produce, as he said himself, ‘prima donna violin over piano arpeggios’. Which goes to explain its originality, but also, perhaps, its reminiscences of other music, including a few tender borrowings from Tchaikovsky. The sonata unfolds in a sombre, tragic, sometimes sarcastic atmosphere, with moments of violence. The meditative Intermezzo was inspired by the opening line of Las seis cuerdas (The six strings) from Lorca’s Poema del cante jondo: ‘La guitarra / hace llorar a los sueños’ (The guitar / makes dreams weep). …

TRACKLIST

Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963)

Sonate pour violon et piano
1 I. Allegro con fuoco 06:41
2 II. Intermezzo 06:11
3 III. Presto tragico 05:41

Karol Szymanowski (1882 - 1937)

4 Mythes, Op. 30: I. La Fontaine d’Arethuse (Extract) 06:14

Ernest Chausson (1855 - 1899)

5 Poème, Op. 25 16:49

Gabriel Fauré (1945 - 1924)

6 I. Allegro molto 09:39
7 II. Andante 07:31
8 IIIScherzo. Allegro vivo 04:12
9 IV. Finale. Allegro quasi presto 05:25

Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (1812 - 1865)

10 Grand Caprice sur ‘Le Roi des Aulnes’ de Franz Schubert, Op. 26 04:52

PERSONNEL
Irène Duval, violin
Pierre-Yves Hodique, piano