Poulenc, Theme and Variations

It has been a few years since we featured anything by Francis Poulenc. That was the short French chanson Margoton va t’a l’iau. I noted then

French composer Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) developed a reputation for lighthearted and whimsical compositions, and yet he also composed some very significant large-scale sacred works of the 20th century. 

I’m working toward a larger scale work that should appear here in a few weeks. But I want to take an intermediary step first with this rather engaging set of variations.

Lynn René Bayley, reviewing a recent recording of Poulenc’s piano music, commented:

Francis Poulenc was one of those composers who, if he did not exist, would have to be invented by some clever writer. Sensitive yet witty, wickedly brilliant yet almost childlike in his humor (he described his Thème Varié as a “serious work, which I hope is not annoying”), able to penetrate the heart while satisfying the intellect, he wove his own way among contemporary French composers over a period of 45 years. 

That dichotomy seems always to be present: Poulenc’s expression of serious musical ideas through unaffected simplicity.

This set of variations from 1952 follows a rather classical outline and begins with a theme that sounds somewhat reminiscent of Mendelssohn—but not quite. Ten variations are labeled by mood: Joyeuse; Noble; Pastorale; Sarcastique; Mélancolique; Ironique; Elégiaque; Volubile; Fantasque; Sybilline, and ending with a Finale.