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Francis Poulenc

Chanson à boire (Poulenc)

Chanson à boire, (Drinking song), FP 31, is a choral work by Francis Poulenc, composed in 1922 on an anonymous text of the 17th century for a four-part men's chorus a cappella. It was published first

History#

Chanson à boire is Poulenc’s first choral work, commissioned by a student choir, the Glee Club of Harvard University in the United States. Upon completion, Poulenc sent them the score. In an interview with Claude Rostand dated 1954, he said: Twenty-eight years separate the composition of the work and its first performance in The Hague. Poulenc states: “I was ready to do a lot of retouching. What was not my amazement (…) of not having one note to change!.”

Structure#

The work is written for an unaccompanied four-part men’s chorus. The total performance time is approximately four minutes.

Selected recordings#

  • Poulenc - Secular Choral Music, Norddeutscher Figuralchor, (cond.), label MDG Gold, MDG9471595 ;
  • Chansons française, Harry Christophers (cond.), label Technics, 1993
  • Chanson à boire, FP 31 (Poulenc, Francis) on IMSLP
Composer
Francis Poulenc