''Sécheresses'' (Drought), FP 90, is a

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

for mixed choir ( SATB) composed in 1937 on poems by

Edward James Edward Frank Willis James (16 August 1907 – 2 December 1984) was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement. Early life and marriage James was born on 16 August 1907, the only son of William James (who had inherite ...

who commissioned it. It was regarded as a failure when it was premiered in 1938, but a great success when it was performed again in 1953.

History

It was the British poet Edward James who commissioned this work from the composer. Edward James (1907–1984) was also a rich patron of the arts, a friend of painters such as Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and Leonor Fini, but also of musicians such as the conductor Igor Markevitch. He offered Francis Poulenc twice the sum that Winnaretta Singer had paid for Poulenc's Organ Concerto (Poulenc), Organ Concerto. Francis Poulenc composed this

on four texts by Edward James between September and December 1937.''Sécheresses''. FP 90
on the site of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Two of the texts used had been published in the journal of surrealism, surrealist inspiration ''Minotaure''. The composer dedicated his work to Yvonne de Casa Fuerte, a violinist who had married the Marquis of Casa Fuerte. The work was premiered at salle Pleyel in Paris on 2 April 1938 by the Concerts Colonne orchestra and the singers of Lyon under the direction of Paul Paray. This first performance was a failure with the audience, and the composer wanted to destroy the score of his work, but Georges Auric dissuaded him. ''Sécheresses'' was played again much later, on 28 September 1953, by the Paris Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Eugène Bigot, and on 4 November 1953 at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées by the Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire under the direction of Georges Tzipine. The work was then a great success.Carl B. Schmidt, ''Entrancing Muse: A Documented Biography of Francis Poulenc'', Pendragon Press, 2001, (p. 388).

Sections

The cantata has a duration of about 17 minutes. It is structured in four Movement (music), movements: # ''Les sauterelles'' # ''Le village abandonné'' # ''Le faux avenir'' # ''Le squelette de la mer''

Discography

* Denise Duval, choirs of Élisabeth Brasseur, and Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire directed by Georges Tzipine, 1963 (EMI Classics, EMI). * and Nouvel Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France directed by Georges Prêtre, 1983 (Warner/Erato (label), Erato).

Notes

External links

*
Francis Poulenc, Sécheresses, Cantate pour chœur mixte et orchestre (partie 1/2)
on YouTube

on The LeaderNet Archive

on Classical archives
''Le singulier pluriel de Sècheresses de Poulenc''
on ForumOpera.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Secheresse Religious music by Francis Poulenc 1938 cantatas Music based on poems