- Poulenc, Francis
- (1899-1963)composerBorn in Paris, Francis Poulenc, a composer and pianist, studied with several noted musicians but taught himself composition. His first works, Rhapsodie nègre (1917) and Trois mouvements perpétuels for piano were written while he was serving in World War I. In 1920, he founded Les Six (The Six) with five others, including darius milhaud, in rebellion against the conservative influence of such composers as vincent d'indy, and césar franck. Among Poulenc's many compositions are Le Bestiare, inspired by the works of Guillaume Apollinaire (1919); the ballet Les Biches (1923); Concert champêtre (1928); Le Bal masque (1932); and Impromptus, Promenades, Toccatas, Improvisations, and Villageoises for piano. Later works were religiously inspired Litanies à la Vierge noire de Rocamadour (1936), Messe en sol majeur (1937), Concerto pour orgue et orchestre à cordes avec timbales (1938), Petites prière de saint François d'Assise (1950), a StabatMater (1950), and a Gloria (1959). Poulenc also composed operas (Dialogues des carmélites and La Voix humaine, after jean cocteau, 1958); a ballet (Les Animaux modèles, 1941), and a comic opera (Les mamelles de Tirésias, 1944), again after Apollinaire.
France. A reference guide from Renaissance to the Present . 1884.