Nice to hear but not too surprised and pleased : Poulenc was an accomplished pianist and accompanist himself so he would know. And indeed it s beautiful to hear (especially played by Jacques Fevrier). Thanks so much for this precious upload.
Didn't expect to see you here. I love the Poulenc woodwind sonatas so much. And the Trio too... :) They're always what I think of when I think of what I would want a woodwind sonata to sound like if I ever actually write one.
I'm playing this for the first time at 16, for my Grade 7. Have to say, out of all my pieces. This is definitely my favourite! Those top notes are gorgeous if hit correctly. Fair play to anyone who can hit them without squeaking. I'm getting there. Let's hope the examiner likes it 🙏
The part from 5:03 is brilliantly evocative clarinet playing. I imagine a drunkard in the gutter who feels pity for himself , smashes his bottle, vows to take revenge on the world and disappears into the dark..
Hendrik Mertens That is the most perfect description I have ever heard! Like an old Parisian Victorian times drama! 😂 I shall think of that every time I play this piece! Thank you! 😂🎶
The second movement of this sonata reminds me of the second movement of the flute sonata. I see a lot of similarities between both sonatas but each sonata shows the personality of each instrument. Maybe I'm biased but the flute sonata is my favorite of the three woodwind sonatas that he wrote :)
Michel Portal’s playing is incredibly brilliant. The range of dynamics! The expression! The subtle vibrato that so sets his sound apart!* I will never sound like this even though I’m going to play clarinet the rest of my life *(Why are people hating on his vibrato? I’d like to see them do it.)
I hate clarinet vibrato. But more importantly, It think his tone sounds pretty thin and lacks center. Bonade school of playing is my model so this sounds very poor to me, in my opinion.
@@Trenton.D Ok so I've learned a lot in the 3 years since I made that comment and I now understand how different Portal's sound is from the Bonade School, so your perspective makes sense. However I still don't think Portal sounds "bad" and I think his style of playing fits the Poulenc sonata really well.
Great video. I'm an amateur clarinet player and I can say the score is more scary than really difficult, just takes practice. One think I don't understand is why the score has certain notes that, in practice, are played different. But I haven't found any revised score with the 'right' notes below: - The F just a bit before the rehearsal mark is played as an E. - 4 measures later, the low C that concludes the phrase is also played an E. - 4 measures after , the A that concludes the phrase is played a C#. This in every version I heard including this.
I can’t believe that once upon a time (42 years ago!) I actually could play this! Unfortunately all recorded evidence was lost by the department chair ☹️
A fantastic recording with great artists. Sorry that I have not heard this klarinettist before,he is a player after my taste. Tell him that!!! And a great Thank You to olla-vogala!!
Brilliant performance! The most difficult performance problem is playing his chamber music at the tempo he requires. This brilliant composer doesn't think small, nor slow. He is at his best at virtuosic speeds which is probably the way he played his compositions. Oh, yes! He writes brilliantly beautiful slow sections or movements, but when he "flies", he flies.
How did it go? The 3rd movement's got some crazy shit in it, but still sounds amazing. I chose the 2nd movement as the 2nd piece for a competition & I'm looking forward to it 🙌✨Poulenc has composed some crazy stuff in this sonata
Poulenc is really brilliant. My choir sang "Les Tisserands" in quarantine style. Write this down in the research. You will love it for sure: Corale Novarmonia - Les Tisserands (F. Poulenc)
grałem to grałem, wiele razy.... Bardzo to lubiłem. 27 lat temu myślałem, że grałem "muzykę współczesną". Tymczasem Poulenc dzisiaj - jest dla mnie muzyką bardzo dawną :-). Wiele tu podobieństwo z sonatami na obój, czy fletową tego samego kompozytora. Od 3:22 bardzo dużo mnie kosztowało, ale ładniej to zagrałem, niż na nagraniu... Się miało kondycję wtedy... A od 9:59 - na nagraniu jest bardzo brzydki dźwięk... u mnie była radosna zabawa księżycowego Pierota
Interesting use of the same material in the opening of the second movement as in the Agnus Dei movement of his Gloria, written just under 2 years before this sonata.
Wow, didn't know that. But here's a thought: Check out " Sonata a la maniere de Francis Poulenc" by Dutch composer Wijnand van Klaveren for alto saxophone and piano. All three movements are uploaded to RU-vid with the composer as accompanist, and my ear tells me the transition from sax to bassoon is a possibility. Indeed, Poulenc's Trio for oboe, bassoon and piano HAS been arranged for two saxes and piano, again uploaded to RU-vid.
My take: Benny Goodman commissioned this piece in which one can hear elements of jazz and Klezmer. It ain’t Mozart. I liked the subtle vibrato. Again, it’s a matter of preference.
Thanks for posting. I do like this sonata and many other pieces by "good old Francis". I feel "saudades" ( a Portuguese word that means a sort of nostalgia) of the times when France had good composers, good music, great actors, good films, etc., etc. Then came the Boulez's, the Nouvelle Vague... and even more disgraceful things.... Shared on Google+
Мишель Порталь - виртуоз-гений. Но дышит он по-своему: более короткими фразами, чем прописал Пуленк. Поэтому legato в быстром темпе у него немного суетливое. Зато в кантиленах медленной части они с Февриером добиваются того, ради чего сочинялась эта гениальная музыка: самого существа лирики. Это не похоже ни на что, это настоящий подарок музыкальному икусству и от композитора, и от исполнителей.
Question for the clarinettists: It appears there are a lot of fast motions and slurs across the break. Would this be considered a difficult challenge for most players? Not so difficult for a professional? I am not a clarinettist.
Robert Wilks most of the piece is doable, and it often isn’t the runs for us that are the hardest. Usually the hitting the super high notes in this piece is hard
Thanks for uploading! Apart from the beautiful music, I noticed a very well-written program note attached in the description. I wonder if it's written by you or not.
I hear a lot of Poulenc's Oboe Sonata within the _Tres calme_ part of the first movement. Since I'm not too familiar with Poulenc - Were the phrases he used in both works his "trademark" or something? Or was there a specific reason he "recycled" those phrases? I'm really curious.
Both sonatas were composed at the same time and share a lot of things. I'm not sure if there was a programmatic intent, but I have always considered them as some sort of "twins"
me first chair honors middle school, reading all the comments about how people had to play this for honors high school… *so is this how my reign ends?*
I totally agree with Amy. Of course very nice technique and expression, but clarinet vibrato here is not what Francis Poulenc asked for. Some people even think it sound's vulgar in this repertoire...
Where´s the interpretation and felixibility of music, the vibrato isn´t killing it, just adding something new that maybe the composer couldn´t think about when writing it down.
DI FATTI IL PRIMO MOVIMENTO E LA RIPRESA IN STILE MINORE DI QUELL ARIA!...C E DEL MOZART ANCHE IN POULENC ANZI È LO SPIRITO GIUSTO PER SUONARLA IN MANIERA DIVINA E NON IN MANIERA SBRAGATA!
This sonata sounds super nice but some rhythms are kinda copied from the flute sonata (the seven note clusters in both of the first movements), etc. I think that all 3 high woodwind sonatas sound nice tho!
Their vibrato is not matching this piece at All. Clarinet vibrato is more for jazz this is not the best recording. They played everything else perfectly
You need to remember however that the piece was commissioned by Benny Goodman, who was known for playing both Classical and Jazz music for the clarinet! It is purely down to personal preference.
Really? I feel like there's so much potential there that's wasted without the inclusion of the vibrato. There's an empty gap when expression is the core of this piece. If anything, I think the vibrato should be a given here.
