Composers › Francis Poulenc › Programme note
Clarinet Sonata (1962)
Gerald Larner wrote 6 versions of differing length — choose one below.
Allegro tristamente
Romanza
Allegro con fuoco
Poulenc had always written well for woodwind instruments. So it was natural that, after the success of his Flute Sonata in 1957, he should turn his attention to creating similar works for oboe and clarinet respectively. Actually, although the Oboe and Clarinet Sonatas are of the same modest proportions as the Flute Sonata, they are rather different in character - not so much because they were the last scores he was to complete as because of the nature of the instruments themselves and the memorial aspect of both works.
The Clarinet Sonata, which is dedicated to the memory of Arthur Honegger, a fellow-member of the pre-War Groupe des Six, is by no means entirely elegiac. The tristamente (sadly) in the heading of the first movement surely applies not to its cheerful opening section but only to its tenderly expressive middle section. If the Romanza is all lament, down to the shrill protest at the end, the Allegro con fuoco finale is all celebration, except for the lyrical episode that so effectively offsets the carnival atmosphere elsewhere.
The Clarinet Sonata was completed in 1962 and first performed in Carnegie Hall, three months after Poulenc’s death, by Benny Goodman and Leonard Bernstein.
Gerald Larner©
From Gerald Larner’s files: “Sonata/clarinet/w199”
Allegro tristamente
Romanza
Allegro con fuoco
After the success of his Flute Sonata in 1957, Poulenc naturally turned his attention to creating similar works for oboe and clarinet respectively. Actually, although the Oboe and Clarinet Sonatas are of the same modest proportions as the Flute Sonata, they are rather different in character – not so much because they were the last scores he was to complete as because of the nature of the instruments themselves and the memorial aspect of both works. Written in memory of Arthur Honegger, the Clarinet Sonata was first performed by Benny Goodman and Leonard Bernstein three months after Poulenc’s death.
When the composer told a friend that he believed the Clarinet Sonata to be “very touching” he was surely not thinking of the first movement. Although it is headed Allegro tristamente, it begins with a mime of cheeky gestures on the clarinet and is characterised above all by the cheerful theme introduced by the same instrument a few bars later. The Très calme middle section is more reflective in its arching clarinet line, which does have the effect of subduing the spirits of both instruments in the shortened reprise.
The Romanza, on the other hand is all lament, from the demonstrative opening by way of one of the most beautiful of all Poulenc’s melodies to the shrill protest near the end. As for the Allegro con fuoco finale, except in the lyrical episode that so effectively offsets the carnival atmosphere elsewhere, it is all celebration, its ending positively strident in its defiance of good taste.
From Gerald Larner’s files: “Sonata/clarinet/w253”
Allegro tristamente
Romanza
Allegro con fuoco
Poulenc had always written well for woodwind instruments. So it was natural that, after the success of his Flute Sonata in 1957, he should turn his attention to creating similar works for oboe and clarinet respectively. Actually, although the Oboe and Clarinet Sonatas are of the same modest proportions as the Flute Sonata, they are rather different in character – not so much because they were the last scores he was to complete as because of the nature of the instruments themselves and the memorial aspect of both works. Written in memory of Arthur Honegger, the Clarinet Sonata was first performed by Benny Goodman and Leonard Bernstein three months after Poulenc’s death.
When the composer told a friend that he believed the Clarinet Sonata to be “very touching” he was surely not thinking of the first movement. Although it is headed Allegro tristamente, it begins with a mime of cheeky gestures on the clarinet and is characterised above all by the cheerful theme introduced by the same instrument a few bars later. The Très calme middle section is more reflective in its arching clarinet line, which does have the effect of subduing the spirits of both instruments in the shortened reprise.
The Romanza, on the other hand is all lament, from the demonstrative opening by way of one of the most beautiful of all Poulenc’s melodies to the shrill protest near the end. As for the Allegro con fuoco finale, except in the lyrical episode that so effectively offsets the carnival atmosphere elsewhere, it is all celebration, its ending positively strident in its defiance of good taste.
From Gerald Larner’s files: “Sonata/clarinet/w270”
Allegro tristamente
Romanza
Allegro con fuoco
Poulenc had always written well for woodwind instruments. So it was natural that, after the success of his Flute Sonata in 1957, he should turn his attention to creating similar works for oboe and clarinet respectively. Actually, although the Oboe and Clarinet Sonatas are of the same modest proportions as the Flute Sonata, they are rather different in character - not so much because they were the last scores he was to complete as because of the nature of the instruments themselves and the memorial aspect of both works. The Clarinet Sonata was written in memory of Arthur Honegger, a fellow-member of the pre-War Groupe des Six, and the Oboe Sonata in memory of Sergei Prokofiev.
When Poulenc told a friend that he believed the Clarinet Sonata to be “very touching” he was surely not thinking of the first movement. Although it is headed Allegro tristamente, it begins with a mime of cheeky gestures on the clarinet and is characterised above all by the cheerful theme introduced by the same instrument a few bars later. The Très calme middle section is more reflective in its arching clarinet line, which does have the effect of subduing the spirits of both instruments in the shortened reprise.
The Romanza, on the other hand is all lament, from the demonstrative opening by way of one of the most beautiful of all Poulenc’s melodies to the shrill protest near the end. Whether the final assertion of the cheeky gesture from the beginning of the work is intended to include it in the memorial or to give due warning as to what is to happen in the last movement, it is difficult to say. However that may be, except in the lyrical episode that so effectively offsets the carnival atmosphere elsewhere, the Allegro con fuoco finale is all celebration, its ending positively strident in its defiance of good taste.
From Gerald Larner’s files: “Sonata/clarinet/w313”
Allegro tristamente
Romanza
Allegro con fuoco
Dance was also an inspiration for a significant proportion of Poulenc’s Clarinet Sonata – somewhat incongruously since, as its dedication “à la mémoire de Arthur Honegger” indicates, it is a memorial to a late colleague, a fellow-member of the Groupe des Six in their formative years between the wars. Surely, when Poulenc told a fried that he believe the Clarinet Sonata to be “very touching” he was not thinking of the first movement, still less the last.
Although it is headed Allegro tristamente, the first movement begins with a mime of cheeky gestures on the clarinet and is characterised above all by the cheerful theme introduced by the same instrument a few bars later. The Très calme middle section is more reflective in its arching clarinet line and, if it is not exactly elegiac, it does have the effect of subduing the spirits of both instruments in the shortened reprise. The Romanza, on the other hand is all lament, from the demonstrative opening by way of one of the most beautiful of all Poulenc’s melodies – introduced by clarinet and no less expressively answered by the piano – to the shrill protest near the end. Whether the final assertion of the cheeky gesture from the beginning of the work is intended to include it in the memorial or to give due warning as to what is to happen in the last movement, it is difficult to say. However that may be, except in the lyrical episode that so effectively offsets the carnival atmosphere elsewhere, the Allegro con fuoco finale is all dance and celebration, its ending positively strident in its defiance of good taste.
Written at much the same time as the Oboe Sonata, dedicated to the memory of Sergei Prokofiev, was one of Poulenc’s very last works. It was first performed three months after his death by Benny Goodman and Leonard Bernstein.
From Gerald Larner’s files: “Sonata/clarinet/Fröst/w312.rtf”
Allegro tristamente
Romanza
Allegro con fuoco
Poulenc had always written well for woodwind instruments. So it was natural that, after the success of his Flute Sonata in 1957, he should turn his attention to creating similar works for oboe and clarinet respectively. Actually, although the Oboe and Clarinet Sonatas are of the same modest proportions as the Flute Sonata, they are rather different in character – not so much because they were the last scores he was to complete as because of the nature of the instruments themselves and the memorial aspect of both works. The Clarinet Sonata was written in memory of Arthur Honegger, a fellow-member of the pre-War Groupe des Six, and the Oboe Sonata in memory of Sergei Prokofiev.
When Poulenc told a friend that he believed the Clarinet Sonata to be “very touching” he was surely not thinking of the first movement. Although it is headed Allegro tristamente, it begins with a mime of cheeky gestures on the clarinet and is characterised above all by the cheerful theme introduced by the same instrument a few bars later. The Très calme middle section is more reflective in its arching clarinet line and, if it is not exactly elegiac, it does have the effect of subduing the spirits of both instruments in the shortened reprise.
The Romanza, on the other hand is all lament, from the demonstrative opening by way of one of the most beautiful of all Poulenc’s melodies – introduced by clarinet and no less expressively answered by the piano – to the shrill protest near the end. Whether the final assertion of the cheeky gesture from the beginning of the work is intended to include it in the memorial or to give due warning as to what is to happen in the last movement, it is difficult to say. However that may be, except in the lyrical episode that so effectively offsets the carnival atmosphere elsewhere, the Allegro con fuoco finale is all celebration, its ending positively strident in its defiance of good taste.
The Clarinet Sonata was completed in 1962 and first performed in Carnegie Hall, three months after Poulenc’s death, by Benny Goodman and Leonard Bernstein.
From Gerald Larner’s files: “Sonata/clarinet/w354/n.rtf”