Music TheoryPrint

Francis Poulenc

Sonata for horn, trumpet and trombone

The Sonata for horn, trumpet and trombone (Sonate pour cor, trompette et trombone), FP 33a, by Francis Poulenc is a piece of chamber music composed in 1922 and dedicated to Raymonde Linossier

Structure and style#

Like most of the composer’s chamber music pieces, with the exception of the Cello Sonata, the sonata for horn, trumpet and trombone has three short movements: The character of the music resembles a fair music, conforming to the spirit of Les Six. Kathy Henkel described the first movement as a series of dance episodes, the second as a lullaby derived from motifs of the first movement, and the third as a rondo with more light-hearted dance music. She summarizes the piece’s “variety of tone colors, striking rhythms, delicious dissonances, and elegant wit”.

Reception and legacy#

Since its inception, reception has been favourable, especially that of Charles Koechlin which Poulenc reports in one of his letters, specifying: “… a beaucoup aimé ses ‘fourbis’, qu’il a trouvé très bien écrits. C’est là l’essentiel.” (… loved very much his ‘mess’ which he found very well written. That is essential.) Poulenc’s biographer Henri Hell finds that the two pieces written the same year “acid and tender, well written for wind instruments, have all the quality of the Sonata for two clarinets and the contemporary Trois mouvements perpétuels”.

Selected recording#

  • Ab Koster (horn), Frédéric Mellardi (trumpet), Nicolas Vallade (trombone) : Francis Poulenc – Intégrale Musique de chambre – RCA Red Seal
  • André Cazalet (horn), Frédéric Mellardi (trumpet), Guillaume Cottet-Dumoulin (trombone) : Francis Poulenc – Intégrale Musique de chambre avec vents – indésens!
  • Francis Poulenc – Sonata for Horn, Trumpet and Trombone (1924) (Score-Video) on YouTube
  • Sonata for Horn, Trumpet and Trombone, FP 33a (Poulenc, Francis) on IMSLP
  • Francis Poulenc: Sonata for horn trumpet and trombone / A structural analysis identifying significance, form and implications for performance (Doctoral thesis) digital.library.unt.edu
  • Sonata for Horn, Trumpet and Trombone by Poulenc on laphil.com
  • Francis Poulenc — Sonata for Horn, Trumpet, and Trombone on Paul Thomason writer
  • Sonata for horn, trumpet and trombone (1922) Francis Poulenc on Trove
Composer
Francis Poulenc