Francis Poulenc - Sonata for Cello & Piano, I-II

Sonata for cello & piano, FP 143 (1948)

I. Allegro (tempo di marcia)
II. Cavatine
III. Ballabile
IV. Finale

Pierre Fournier, cello
Jacques Février, piano

Woodwind pieces dominate Poulenc's chamber music oeuvre, but the Cello Sonata, like the somewhat earlier Violin Sonata, is a substantial work finding the composer at the height of his powers, and his tongue planted less firmly in his cheek.

Despite a rather rude initial outburst from the piano, the sonata-form first movement, Allegro (tempo di marcia), leavens its fragmentary fanfare-like motifs with lyrical, good-humored material for the cello. One important theme is especially broad, romantic, and bittersweet, although much of the development section is given over to playful treatments of the melodies, with staccato piano accompaniment to cello pizzicato.

The slow second movement, Cavatine, is one of Poulenc's most tenderly songful creations. After a long introduction, the cello takes up a mournful, nostalgic theme, and with the piano subjects it to several elaborations, some intense, some hesitant, ending with a lullaby for lost souls.

Unusually for Poulenc, an extra movement separates the slow section from the finale. This Ballabile -- a word suggesting a dance-like nature -- is a playful intermezzo offering a nod to the music hall in its outer sections. A trace of wistfulness colors the still cheerful middle portion.

The Finale begins with a stern cello recitative over sour piano chords, pausing for an eerie passage of harmonics. The movement's main matter scampers quickly through several episodes of short-breathed cello phrases and rippling piano passagework, with time out midway and again just before the end for more tender if occasionally dizzy music. The movement concludes with the recitative with which it began. [allmusic.com]

Art by Cleve Gray