Francis Poulenc, Articles and Interviews: Notes from the Heart

346 Pages·2013·3.82 MB·English

by  Nicolas Southon

Francis Poulenc:
articles and interviews
This page has been left blank intentionally
Francis Poulenc:
articles and interviews
notes from the Heart
Collected, introduced and annotated by
nicolas soutHon
Translated by
roger nicHols
© nicolas southon and roger nichols 2014
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
nicolas southon and roger nichols have asserted their right under the copyright, designs
and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the editor and translator of this work.
Published by
ashgate Publishing limited ashgate Publishing company
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Poulenc, Francis, 1899–1963.
[Prose works. Selections. English]
Francis Poulenc, articles and interviews : notes from the heart / [edited and annotated] by
nicolas southon ; translated by roger nichols.
pages cm
includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4094-6622-2 (hardcover) -- ISBN 978-1-4094-6623-9 (ebook) -- ISBN
978-1-4094-6624-6 (epub) 1. Music--History and criticism. 2. Poulenc, Francis,
1899-1963--interviews. 3. composers--France--interviews. i. southon, nicolas. ii.
nichols, roger, translator. iii. title.
Ml410.P787a2513 2013
780.92--dc23
2013009010
ISBN 9781409466222 (hbk)
ISBN 9781409466239 (ebk – PDF)
ISBN 9781409466246 (ebk – ePUB)
this is a translation of Francis Poulenc: J’écris ce qui me chante, edited by nicolas
southon © librairie arthème Fayard, 2011.
V
Contents
List of Illustrations xi
Preface to the Translation xiii
Acknowledgements xv
Translator’s Note xvii
Introduction 1
Part I: artIcles
I Le Coq and Le Coq Parisien: May–November 1920 17
II ‘On Igor Stravinsky’s “Mavra”’, Feuilles libres, no. 27,
June–July 1922, section ‘La musique’, pp. 222–224 21
III ‘On Igor Stravinsky’s “Symphony of Psalms”’,
Le Mois, no. 2, February 1931, pp. 249–250 25
IV ‘In Praise of Banality’, Présence, no. 8, October 1935, pp. 24–25 27
V ‘Long Live Stravinsky!’, Le Figaro, no. 199,
7 April 1945, ‘Chronique’, p. 1 31
VI ‘The Composer and the Sorcerer’, Les Lettres Françaises,
no. 54, 5 May 1945, p. 5 35
VII ‘Francis Poulenc on His Ballets’, Ballet, no. 4/2,
September 1946, pp. 57–58 39
VIII ‘For the Harpsichord, Wanda Landowska has Completed in New York
“Her life’s work”’, Le Figaro littéraire, no. 214, 27 May 1950, p. 1 43
IX ‘Pages from America (Diary extracts)’, La Table Ronde,
no. 30, June 1950, pp. 66–75 45
vi Francis Poulenc: Articles and Interviews
X ‘Erik Satie’s Piano Music’, La Revue Musicale, Satie number,
no. 214, June 1952, pp. 23–26 51
XI ‘How I Composed Les Dialogues des Carmélites’,
L’Opéra de Paris, no. 14, Second Quarter, 1957, pp. 15–17 55
XII ‘Opera in the Cinema Era’, Opera, vol. 12/1, January 1961, p. 18
(as told to Elliott Stein) 61
Part II: crItIcal artIcles and revIews
XIII ‘On Richard Strauss’s Elektra’, Le Figaro, no. 244,
1 September 1934, p. 4 65
XIV ‘On Oberon’, Le Figaro, no. 247, 4 September 1934, p. 5 69
XV ‘The Paris Opéra Ought to Put on Fidelio’, Le Figaro,
no. 272, 29 September 1934, p. 5 73
XVI ‘The Heart of Maurice Ravel’, La Nouvelle Revue Française,
no. 323, 1 Jan 1941, pp. 237–240 77
Part III: contrIbutIons to works by others
XVII ‘The Lesson of Claude Debussy’, in Auguste Martin,
Claude Debussy, Chronologie de sa vie et de ses œuvres,
Catalogue of the Exhibition Organised from 2 to 17 May 1942,
in the Foyer of the Opéra-Comique, pp. XII–XIII 83
XVIII ‘Preface’ to Gabriel Laplane, Albéniz: sa vie, son œuvre, [Geneva],
Editions du milieu du monde, 1956, pp. 11–12 85
XIX ‘Notes on Ravel’, in Enciclopedia della Musica,
vol. 3, Milan, Ricordi, 1964, pp. 540–541 87
Part Iv: resPonse to a survey
XX ‘Is there a “Messiaen Affair”?’, Le Littéraire,
no. 4, 13 April 1946, p. 4 91
Contents vii
Part v: lectures
XXI ‘My Teachers and My Friends’, Conferencia, vol. 29/21,
15 October 1935, pp. 521–527 95
XXII ‘My Songs and Their Poets’, Conferencia, no. 36,
15 December 1947, pp. 507–513 105
Part vI: IntervIews
XXIII Interview with André Laphin 115
XXIV Interview with Lucien Chevaillier:
‘An Interview with … Francis Poulenc’,
Le Guide du Concert et des Théâtres Lyriques, no. 30,
26 April 1929, pp. 855–857 119
XXV Interview with José Bruyr: ‘Francis Poulenc’,
L’Ecran des Musiciens I, Paris, Des Cahiers de France,
1930, pp. 40–47 123
XXVI Interview with Nino Franck: ‘Poulenc in Montmartre’,
Candide, no. 424, 28 April 1932, p. 13 129
XXVII Interview with A.P.: ‘Francis Poulenc Talks to Us about
His New Ballet Les Animaux modèles’,
Le Figaro, no. 194, 14 August 1942, p. 4 133
XXVIII Interview with Jeannie Chauveau: ‘The Work of Two Great
French Artists, Written in Secret during the Occupation,
is Going to be Revealed to the World by the Chorale d’Anvers’,
Ce soir, no. 994, 25 November 1944, p. 1 137
XXIX Interview with Claude Chamfray: ‘Francis Poulenc Tells Us About
Music in England’, Arts, no. 25, 20 July 1945, p. 4 141
XXX Interview with Fernando Lopes-Graça:
‘Francis Poulenc’ in Visita aos Músicos Franceses,
Lisbon, Seara Nova, 1947, pp. 53–62 145
XXXI Interview with Paul Guth: ‘From “Les Mamelles de Tirésias” to the
“Stabat Mater” There are Two Sides to Francis Poulenc’, Le Figaro
littéraire, no. 317, 17 May 1952, p. 4 149
viii Francis Poulenc: Articles and Interviews
XXXII ‘Poulenc: An Act of Faith’, reported by Daniel Bernet, Arts,
no. 625, 26 June 1957, p. 7 155
XXXIII Interview with Henri Hell: ‘Francis Poulenc at Work:
The Music of La Voix humaine Will be My Most Intense,
Most Carefully Worked Composition’, Arts, no. 688,
17 September 1958, pp. 1 and 9 157
XXXIV Interview with Martine Cadieu: ‘Duet with Francis Poulenc’,
Les Nouvelles littéraires, no. 1757, 4 May 1961, p. 7 163
XXXV Interview: ‘A Denizen of Noizay and the Honorary President of
Local Musicmaking, Francis Poulenc is Going to Play to Restore his
Village Church. He is Going to Perform La Voix humaine Tomorrow
Evening in Amboise with Denise Duval’, La Nouvelle République,
7 September 1961 171
XXXVI Interview with Denise Bourdet:
‘5 December Will See the Musical Birth of
La Dame de Monte-Carlo. “For Me, Monte-Carlo is Venice.”’
Le Figaro littéraire, no. 815, December 1961, p. 19 173
Part vII: IntervIews wIth claude rostand
Preface to Interviews 179
Interview 1 Paris and Nogent-sur-Marne:
A Childhood Spent between Couperin and the Dance Hall 181
Interview 2 Musical Adventures with the ‘Moderns’:
Debussy, Stravinsky 187
Interview 3 Poulenc at the Piano: Advice and Favourites 191
Interview 4 The Maître of Arcueil and Lifelong Friends 197
Interview 5 From Monte-Carlo to Paris under the Occupation 203
Interview 6 The Composer and His Poets: The Meeting with Eluard 209
Interview 7 The Keyboard Concertos 215
Interview 8 Pierre Bernac, or the Unexpected Partner 221
Contents ix
Interview 9 Choral Music 227
Interview 10 Faith Restored 233
Interview 11 Chamber Works 239
Interview 12 The Monk and the Naughty Boy 245
Interview 13 Poulenc-Janus:
Le Bal masqué and Les Mamelles de Tirésias 251
Interview 14 A Countryman’s Prayers: A Mass and Some Motets 259
Interview 15 The Composer’s Studio: The Eye and the Ear 265
Interview 16 Musical Likes and Dislikes 273
Interview 17 What Future for Music? 279
Interview 18 Conclusions and Perspectives: At Work on the Dialogues 285
Index 291