''Aubade'' ( FP051a, and FP051b for the piano reduction), a ''choreographic concerto'' for piano and 18 instruments, is a work of

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...

premiered in 1929. It was conceived as a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, but is more often played as a chamber piano concerto.

History

aubade An aubade is a morning love song (as opposed to a serenade, intended for performance in the evening), or a song or poem about lovers separating at dawn. It has also been defined as "a song or instrumental composition concerning, accompanying, or ...

is a morning courting song, vs. a serenade in the evening. Here the action begins one morning, and ends the next day at dawn. Poulenc's work was originally conceived as

ballet music Ballet as a music form progressed from simply a complement to dance, to a concrete compositional form that often had as much value as the dance that went along with it. The dance form, originating in France during the 17th century, began as a thea ...

, but is today regarded as a

piano concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

. The work was premiered as a ballet on 18 June 1929 at the Noailles, which determined the size of the orchestra Poulenc could employ. The choreographer was

Bronislava Nijinska Bronislava Nijinska (; ; ; ; – February 21, 1972) was a Russian ballet dancer of Polish origin, and an innovative choreographer. She came of age in a family of traveling, professional dancers. Her own career began in Saint Petersburg. Soon ...

. A few months later, it was revived at the

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

in the choreography this time by

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

, of which Poulenc disapproved. Poulenc himself designed the scenario of the ballet whose theme is the solitude of women. The goddess

Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...

is the heroine. The action begins in a clearing. Diana's companions awaken little by little. Diana enters the scene, tormented by the chastity imposed on her. Her companions dress her then give her a bow: the hunt must serve her as a distraction. A solo of Diana follows, before she rejects the bow and goes into the forest, desperate. Her companions try to console her, but Diana goes hunting, alone. Her companions fall asleep.

Structure

# ''Toccata (lento et pesante)'' # ''Récitatif, (larghetto)'' # ''Rondeau, (allegro)'' # ''Presto'' # ''Récitatif (larghetto)'' # ''Andante (andante con moto)'' # ''Allegro féroce'' # ''Conclusion (adagio)''

Scoring

* solo

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, 2

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

s, 2

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

s (2nd doubling

cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn (mainly North America), is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially ...

), 2

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

s, 2

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

s, 2

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (anatomy) * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * Horns (novel), ''Horns'' (novel), a dar ...

in F,

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

, 2

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

s, 2

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

s, 2

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

es, 3

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...

. * The execution time is about 21 minutes.

Sources

''Guide de la musique symphonique''

François-René Tranchefort François-René Tranchefort (30 June 1933 – 22 May 2019) was a contemporary French musicologist. Biography Tranchefort has written, edited or directed, alone or in collaboration with other musicologists, a number of reference works on a wide ...

, dir. and rédacteur, series "les indispensables de la musique", éd.

Fayard Fayard (complete name: ''Librairie Arthème Fayard'') is a French Paris-based publishing house established in 1857. Fayard is controlled by Hachette Livre. In 1999, Éditions Pauvert became part of Fayard. Claude Durand was director of Fayar ...

1986, (p. 586-587)

External links

Francis Poulenc Aubade ~ Concerto choréographique
on YouTube

* ttp://imslp.org/wiki/Aubade,_FP_51_(Poulenc,_Francis) Aubade, FP 51 (Poulenc, Francis)on IMSLP
Poulenc: Aubade & Sinfonietta
on Hyperion {{italic title Concertos by Francis Poulenc 1929 compositions Piano concertos Ballets by Bronislava Nijinska Ballets by George Balanchine 1929 ballets Piano compositions by Francis Poulenc Ballets by Francis Poulenc Chamber concertos