Sonata for horn, trumpet and trombone

Composition by Francis Poulenc

horn
trumpet
trombone

PremiereDate4 January 1923 (1923-01-04)LocationThéâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris

The Sonate pour cor, trompette et trombone (Sonata for horn, trumpet and trombone), FP 33a, by Francis Poulenc is a piece of chamber music composed in 1922 and dedicated to Raymonde Linossier (1897–1930).^[1] Poulenc revised it in 1945. Its total performance time is about eight minutes.

History

The sonata is the composer's second extant work of chamber music, after the Sonata for two clarinets. It was written between August and October 1922 at the same time as the Sonata for clarinet and bassoon,^[2] and was premiered at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris on 4 January 1923 at a Satie-Poulenc concert organized by Jean Wiener.^[3] Poulenc revised the composition in 1945.^[4]^[5]

Reception and legacy

Since its inception, reception has been favourable, especially that of Charles Koechlin which Poulenc reports in one of his letters, specifying: "... a beaucoup aimé ses 'fourbis', qu'il a trouvé très bien écrits. C'est là l'essentiel." (... loved very much his 'mess' which he found very well written. That is essential.)^[2] Poulenc's biographer Henri Hell finds that the two pieces written the same year "acid and tender, well written for wind instruments, have all the quality of the Sonata for two clarinets and the contemporary Trois mouvements perpétuels".^[6]

Structure and style

Like most of the composer's chamber music pieces, with the exception of the Cello Sonata, the sonata for horn, trumpet and trombone has three short movements:

Allegro moderato
Andante
Rondeau

The character of the music resembles a fair music, conforming to the spirit of Les Six.^[3] Kathy Henkel described the first movement as a series of dance episodes, the second as a lullaby derived from motifs of the first movement, and the third as a rondo with more light-hearted dance music. She summarizes the piece's "variety of tone colors, striking rhythms, delicious dissonances, and elegant wit".^[4]

Selected recording

Ab Koster (horn), Frédéric Mellardi (trumpet), Nicolas Vallade (trombone) : Francis Poulenc – Intégrale Musique de chambre – RCA Red Seal^[7]
André Cazalet (horn), Frédéric Mellardi (trumpet), Guillaume Cottet-Dumoulin (trombone) : Francis Poulenc – Intégrale Musique de chambre avec vents – indésens!

References

^ Raymonde 2017.
^ ^a ^b Machart 1995, p. 41.
^ ^a ^b Record 2017.
^ ^a ^b Henkel 2017.
^ BNF 2017.
^ Hell 1978, p. 63.
^ Arkiv 2017.

Bibliography

Hell, Henri (1978). Francis Poulenc. Paris: Fayard. ISBN 978-2-213-00670-3.
Kathy, Henkel (2017). "Sonata for Horn, Trumpet and Trombone / Francis Poulenc". Los Angeles Philharmonic. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
Machart, Renaud (1995). Poulenc. Paris: Seuil. ISBN 978-2-02-013695-2.
"Raymonde plissier" (in French). BNF. 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
"Poulenc: Complete Chamber Music / Pahud, Le Sage, Meyer". arkivmusic.com. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
"Sonates – Cor, trombone, trompette. FP 33" (in French). BNF. 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
Francis Poulenc – Intégrale Musique de chambre. RCA Red Seal. 2017. p. 5.

External links

Francis Poulenc – Sonata for Horn, Trumpet and Trombone (1924) (Score-Video) on YouTube
Sonata for Horn, Trumpet and Trombone, FP 33a (Poulenc, Francis) on IMSLP
Francis Poulenc: Sonata for horn trumpet and trombone / A structural analysis identifying significance, form and implications for performance (Doctoral thesis) digital.library.unt.edu
Sonata for Horn, Trumpet and Trombone by Poulenc on laphil.com
Francis Poulenc — Sonata for Horn, Trumpet, and Trombone on Paul Thomason writer
Sonata for horn, trumpet and trombone (1922) Francis Poulenc on Trove

Francis Poulenc