Sextet for wind quintet & piano in C major, FP 100 (1932-1939)
I. Allegro vivace II. Divertissement (andantino) III. Finale (prestissimo)
Jacques Février, piano Le Quintette à vent de Paris
The Sextet has earned a place in Poulenc's canon as one of his most popular works, and in the right interpretive hands the work exudes French wit as well as a degree of emotional depth. Poulenc wrote the three-movement work in 1932, scoring it for flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, horn, and piano; he revised it in 1939. The piece offers a mix of elegant, deceptively simple motives, rhythmic vitality, and playful harmonic turns in a virtuosic framework.
In three movements -- Allegro Vivace, Divertissement, and Finale -- the sextet lasts just over 15 minutes in performance. The first movement opens with a fast, toccata-like statement that is obviously indebted toStravinsky's neo-Classicism. The second movement, marked Andantino, begins with an oboe melody that is passed off to other instruments and developed before returning to the oboe at the conclusion. This symmetry is matched by a slow-fast-slow classical structure. The prestissimo Finale is a modified rondo in which rhythmic and lyrical sections are present in equal measure, with an intense conclusion. The Sextet was first performed in Paris in December 1940. [allmusic.com]