Poulenc’s Pianistic Perfection 

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Poulenc wrote his first two novelettes for piano in the 1920s and the third, near the end of his life, in 1959. This piece uses a theme that derives from a melody in Manuel de Falla’s ballet ‘El Amor Brujo’, although the two works are actually not particularly similar. Poulenc’s E minor Novelette has a pensive, autumnal quality, saturated with the uniquely fragrant melancholia of his late style. In its short frame, the Novelette manages to distil a lifetime of compositional experience: it finds a perfect blend of song-like melody in the right hand, with intricate arpeggiated accompaniment patterns in the left. But behind this beautifully rendered pianistic texture is an almost contrapuntal balance of melodic lines in left and right hands, with yearning appoggiaturas, beautiful irregularities of phrase and the spiciest of harmonies. The whole piece seems to be structured with all the perfection of a Bach prelude, the poise of a Mozart slow movement, the expressive grandeur of a Chopin nocturne, the mystery of a Debussy prelude and the late-night smokiness of a Bill Evans improvisation, and yet every bar is uniquely Poulenc’s own. The piece is the definition of refined pianistic invention.
Poulenc: Novelette III in E minor
#Poulenc #Novelette #themusicprofessor
Pianist: Matthew King.
Edited by Ian Coulter ( www.iancoulter... )
Produced and directed by Ian Coulter & Matthew King