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Francis Poulenc

Les Chemins de l'amour

"Les Chemins de l'Amour" ("The Ways of Love") is a 1940 valse chantée, or sung waltz, by Francis Poulenc to lyrics by Jean Anouilh. It was written for soprano voice as part of Poulenc's incidental

Genesis#

Composed in October 1940, the song is dedicated to the comedian and singer Yvonne Printemps, who sang it at the premiere of the play Léocadia on 1 December 1940. The song was somewhat successful, and Printemps recorded it. Max Eschig published the score in 1945.

Discography#

  • Yvonne Printemps and Marcel Cariven (conducting).
  • and Georges Delerue (conducting). Grand Prix du disque.
  • Felicity Lott (soprano) and Graham Johnson (piano) - Hyperion.
  • Jessye Norman (soprano) and Dalton Baldwin (piano) - Philips.
  • Véronique Gens (soprano) and Roger Vignoles (piano) - Erato.
  • Patricia Petibon (soprano), Christian-Pierre La Marca (cello), Amandine Savary (piano) - Sony.
  • Sophie Karthäuser (soprano), Eugène Asti (piano) - Harmonia Mundi
  • Mischa Maisky (cello), Daria Havora (piano) - Deutsche Grammophon
  • Yvonne Printemps - “Les chemins de l’amour” by Poulenc on YouTube
  • Léocadia, FP 106 (Poulenc, Francis) on IMSLP
  • French original lyrics and English translation
  • Two interprétations
Composer
Francis Poulenc