Poulenc

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The Mellers book is very good, but I did get my copy a good bit cheaper than current prices!

Is it (like most of those OUP Studies of Composers) low on biographical detail, LMP?

[DracoM]

...woops, wrong thread.............

[Roslynmuse]

There's a biography by Benjamin Ivry, and one by Richard D E Burton, but the classic volumes are the Henri Hell and Claude Rostand books, Pierre Bernac's The Man and His Songs and Poulenc's own 'Diary of My Songs'. The latter is short but very amusing.

[Dave2002]

For Poulenc and opera fans everywhere - if you get a chance to see a repeat of last night’s Met relay of Dialogues Des Carmelites do not miss it - it was stunning.

I would second this, but with strong reservations. I wrote elsewhere that I find the music dreary - and I'm sticking to that. As a drama it is very powerful and striking.

Worth seeing, and some people may enjoy the music more than I did. It's not that I don't like Poulenc - I'm fond of his flute sonata which I used to play, and also his organ concerto and some of his choral works. The Met production is very good. See it, and make your own mind up.

[antongould]

I love Poulenc and keep stumbling across new gems ....... doesn’t he deserve a few more names and dates in his title ..... ???? But if then if Ferneyhough is missing bits .........

[LeMartinPecheur]

Is it (like most of those OUP Studies of Composers) low on biographical detail, LMP?

Some biographical background is there but integrated with the musical analysis, the main emphasis of the book. That the analysis of works is roughly chronological does help, but you won't find much about his parents, schooling, honours, etc if that's what you want.

[Pulcinella]

My partner, who has borrowing rights at the university, brought the Mellers book back with him at lunchtime: I've read the section on the opera, which is interesting and quite detailed. It would certainly be useful if you were studying the score, and it made me appreciate Poulenc's overall structure of the piece better.