Introducing Wind Instruments - Francis Poulenc

Another way I thought of investigating the characters of the different woodwind instruments is though the works of Francis Poulenc. Poulenc wrote 3 sonatas for solo woodwind and piano. He had planned to write a complete set of woodwind sonatas, but he died shortly after the completion of his third; the oboe sonata. The other 2 works are the flute sonata (1956-7) and the clarinet sonata (1962). He did, however, also write other chamber music works for woodwind; a sonata for clarinet and bassoon, a trio for oboe, bassoon and piano and a sextet for piano and wind quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn).

Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet (1932–9)

The sextet for piano and wind quintet is an interesting piece because it shows off Poulenc’s awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the different wind instruments. It’s a virtuoso piece for all the instruments and shows them all off in equal light. It’s written in three movements in a fast-slow-fast form, though each movement has a middle section which changes mood.

The first movement begins loud and boisterously, with short injections from each instrument. Here Poulenc plays around with pairing different instruments; solo lines are interspersed with duet lines for flute and bassoon, flute and clarinet, clarinet and bassoon and oboe and bassoon. The horn injects with fanfare style calls before the music eventually settles down with a flute melody that is echoed around the different instruments, interjected with rapid scales and different playing techniques such as trills and flutter tonguing. Again, loud horn interjections break the mood before a calm, smooth bassoon cadenza joins into the slower middle section, which begins with a piano solo. A slow oboe lament is shared around the instruments, first with a very low flute solo which creates a very sombre mood. By contrast the horn solo which follows, whilst quiet and contained, sounds more defiant and emphatic. The oboe returns, accompanied by a bassoon counter melody. The horn and clarinet exchange melodic lines with the other instruments playing long sustained notes to add to the texture. By changing the melodic line between instruments the mood and colour of the line changes whilst maintaining a quiet dynamic. The texture gradually builds with more instruments being added; Poulenc uses the more dexterous instruments like the flute and clarinet to embellish the texture with rapid scales and arpeggios around the other parts. A staccato bassoon and piano line under a long oboe line sees a change in style which introduces a return to the opening theme; the bassoon and oboe blend well together although their material is of a contrasting style. This time the theme is in a different key and subtly different instrumentation is used to change the sound of the music. A short coda passage then ends the movement.

The second movement begins with a long, smooth melodic line played by the oboe, accompanied by the piano and bassoon and horn chords. This is taken over by the clarinet and horn while the other instruments play long sustained chords. The bassoon and flute continue the melody before trills from the clarinet and oboe make the music more animated. The texture and dynamic build before the piano and bassoon accelerate into the faster middle section. The horn and flute exchange melodic lines before the clarinet and oboe play a vibrant duet over a bassoon trill. A further vibrant duet from the flute and clarinet high in their register show how well the 2 instruments can blend together. The thematic material is shared around other instruments while additional bits of texture are added, such as rapid flute scales, sustained chords and trills. The music gradually becomes more gentle and sustained, seeing a return to the style of the opening. Again, the pairing of the flute and bassoon returns, which is remarkably effective considering they can be playing over 2 octaves apart.

The opening of third movement is much like the first, with loud, short sharp interjections from different instruments accompanied by staccato chords and clarinet and flute flourishes. The music eventually settles with smooth flowing melodies under a mobile piano accompaniment. This is met by a sudden staccato horn melody, echoed low on the clarinet showing off the power of both instruments lower registers. The bassoon and oboe continue the theme, but their more nasal tone changes the colour of the music, creating a good contrast to the horn and clarinet pairing. Motifs reminiscent of the first movement are added by the flute and oboe along with an emphatic, trumpet like horn solo below dissonant sustained chords from the other wind instruments. The opening material then returns, but like the first movement Poulenc subtly changes the instrumentation to change the sound of the music, even adding a hand stopped passage of the horn to spice things up. The movement ends with a slower, reflective passage similar to the middle passage of the first movement. This builds in dynamic, becoming more dissonant as more instruments are added to the texture. Long but separated chords build in dynamic until one final staccato chord ends the piece. Here Poulenc shows how effectively you can build chords with wind instruments, either short or sustained, and by changing where the instrument is in the chord you can change the sound of it.

Flute Sonata (1956-7)

The flute sonata was composed for the French flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, considered by many to be the greatest flautist of the 20^th century. The piece is written in three movements in a fast-slow-fast form.

The first movement features smooth flowing melodies whilst at the same time showing off the dexterity of the instrument; trills and rapid tonguing are both required. He uses the same melody in different registers to show off the difference in tone of the instrument; the purity and clearness of tone in the upper register contrasting the weaker, more restrained lower register. He also uses a large dynamic contrast, particularly in the upper register, to change the mood; he writes passages in a lower register which are echoed later in the upper register.

The second movement features long, flowing melodies but with a more sorrowful mood; the title of the movement, Cantilena, literally translates as 'song'. Poulenc utilises the clarity of the upper register to create a very pure sounding melody, which when performed with little or no vibrato creates a mood of absolute calm and stillness. The character changes for a short middle massage which becomes more agitated. A long, loud low note shows off the harshness available in the flute lower register; a contrast to the two high lines either side of it. The music becomes more animated and agitated, building to a climax on a high trill, before the returning to the opening thematic material and mood; this time it is even quieter and more reflective showing the dynamic range of the instrument.

The final movement is upbeat and virtuosic, again showing off dexterity of the instrument, in particular the extremities of range that can be covered quickly. Much of the movement is at the top of the flute’s range, showing the ability it has to pierce through a texture at that pitch. Again, Poulenc uses are large dynamic range throughout the flute’s register. A reflective slower passage sees a return of a theme from of the first movement before the opening returns for a dramatic ending to the piece.

Clarinet Sonata (1962)

The clarinet sonata was dedicated to the composer Arthur Honegger, a fellow member of ‘Les Six’. It shares the same form as the flute sonata - three movements in a fast-slow-fast form.

The first movement begins very much like the first movement of the flute sonata; some of the melodic lines are very similar to those in the flute sonata. Like the flute sonata, the melody uses a lot of the clarinet’s range, showing the evenness of tone that can be achieved throughout the instrument; many of the melodies are made up of motifs based around ascending and descending broken chords and arpeggios. It also shows off well the large dynamic range the instrument has. The slower middle section of the movement features longer, more flowing themes, with a melodic line reminiscing of the orchestral opening of the ‘Domine Deus’ from the composer’s Gloria. A final reprise of some of the opening themes ends the movement, but generally quieter and more reflective.

The slow second movement has a more sombre feel. Again, there are echoes of melodic ideas from the 2^nd movement of the flute sonata, but in general the melodic line is more elaborate; long phrases joined by rapid scales and arpeggios showing the dexterity and even tone of the instrument. The melodic line uses the extreme top end of the clarinet’s range, but Poulenc uses this to emphasise moments of extreme hurt; the loud high passages make it sound as though the instruments is crying out in pain, in contrast to the pianissimo lower passages.   

Like the flute sonata the third movement is lively and energetic, featuring a rapidly moving melodic line and trills making it sound almost jokey and childlike. It also features smoother, quiet, reflective movements amongst the chaos. Like the first movement, this shows the dexterity of the instrument throughout the whole of its vast range and the large range of dynamic contrast available. 

Oboe Sonata (1962)

Unlike the flute and clarinet sonatas, the oboe sonata has three movements in a slow-fast-slow form, producing a more melancholy, sorrowful piece which suits the oboe particularly well; Poulenc dedicated the piece to his friend Sergei Prokofiev who had died in 1953.

In the first movement, Poulenc uses the contrasting tone quality of the oboe’s upper and lower register to reflect the mood of the music; he writes soft, reflective high passages to match the instrument’s sweet tones in the register. He then uses the lower register to produce a fuller, stronger tone to the melody. The music allows the lower melodies to sound confident and resonant, whilst the higher writing sounds more reflective and pensive.  The long, flowing melodic lines show the clearness the oboe can achieve; due to the resistant the double reed provides the oboe can achieve vast feats of endurance compared to other woodwind instruments. There are also moments where the melody is reminiscent of the middle section of the first movement of the clarinet concerto.

In contrast the second movement, 'scherzo', features more staccato, attacking lines to show off the raw, raspy quality of the oboe, particularly in the upper register. Again, Poulenc writes over a large range and shows of the dexterity of the instrument. The slower middle section is more reminiscing of the first movement; a return to long flowing lines.

The concluding lament (‘Déploration’) is particularly suited to the qualities of the oboe. Like the first movement, he writes high and low melodic lines to change the mood; at the extreme lower end of the oboe register he achieves a very raw, powerful sound. This phrase occurs twice; once loud and once very quietly to show off the different in tone colour available. He echoes melodies from the first movement but higher in the range, creating a calm, reflective mood.