''Banalités'' ( FP 107) is a set of five

mélodie A ''mélodie'' () is a form of French art song, arising in the mid-19th century. It is comparable to the German '' Lied''. A ''chanson'', by contrast, is a folk or popular French song. The literal meaning of the word in the French language is " ...

s for voice and piano composed by

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 ...

in 1940 on poems by

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire (; ; born Kostrowicki; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist and art critic of Poland, Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...

(1880–1918).

History of the work

Composed in 1940, the mélodies were premiered at

salle Gaveau The Salle Gaveau, named after the French piano maker Gaveau, is a classical concert hall in Paris, located at 45-47 rue La Boétie, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It is particularly intended for chamber music. Construction The plans for t ...

, on 14 December 1940, by

Pierre Bernac Pierre Louis Bernac (né Bertin; 12 January 1899 – 17 October 1979) was a French singer, a baryton-martin, known as an interpreter of the French mélodie. He had a close artistic association with Francis Poulenc, with whom he performed in F ...

(baritone) and the composer (piano).Banalités
on

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

Titles

# Chanson d’Orkenise # Hôtel # Fagnes de Wallonie # Voyage à Paris # Sanglots

Source of the poems

"Chanson d'Orkenise", "Fagnes de Wallonie" and "Sanglots" are taken from the collection ''Il y a'' (1925). "Hôtel", written in 1913, was published in the posthumous collection ''Le Guetteur mélancolique'' (1952). "Voyage à Paris" was published in the ''Poèmes retrouvés'' from the ''Œuvres poétiques'' by Apollinaire in 1956.

Dedicatees

"Chanson d'Orkenise" is dedicated to Claude Rostand, "Hôtel" to Marthe Bosredon, "Fagnes de Wallonie" to Ms. Henri Frédéricq, "Voyage à Paris" to

Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...

, and "Sanglots" to Suzette Chanlaire.

Discography

(baritone) and

(piano) in 1950 (

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

). * 1 and 2:

Régine Crespin Régine Crespin (23 February 1927 – 5 July 2007) was a French soprano who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto sopran ...

(soprano) and John Wustman (piano) in 1967 (Decca). *

Nathalie Stutzmann Nathalie Stutzmann (née Dupuy; born 6 May 1965) is a French contralto and, in her more recent career, conductor. Life and career Early life Stutzmann was born in Suresnes, France, to musical parents. Her mother was soprano , and her father w ...

(contralto) and (piano) (RCA). *

Michel Piquemal Michel Piquemal (born 15 April 1947) is a French choir conductor and conductor. He is also an operatic singer (baritone). Biography Born in Paris, originally from Ariège, his parents were not musicians at all. Michel Piquemal wanted to play ...

(baritone) and Christine Lajarrige (piano) (Naxos). *

Véronique Gens Véronique Gens (born 19 April 1966) is a French operatic soprano. She has spent much of her career recording and performing Baroque music, Baroque music. Gens was born in Orléans, France, and studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, winning fir ...

(soprano) and

Roger Vignoles Roger Vignoles (born 12 July 1945), is a British pianist and accompanist. He regularly performs with the world's leading singers, including Kiri Te Kanawa, Thomas Allen, Anne Sofie von Otter, Thomas Hampson, Gitta-Maria Sjöberg, Sarah Walker, ...

(piano) (Erato).

Quote

* One song by the band

Pink Martini Pink Martini is an American band founded in 1994 by pianist Thomas Lauderdale in Portland, Oregon. Group members call it a little orchestra that crosses several styles, such as Classical music, classical, Latin music, Latin, traditional pop, and ...

, "

Sympathique ''Sympathique'' is the first studio album from American band Pink Martini. It was released on November 11, 1997 by Pink Martini's own record label, Heinz Records. As of 2013 it has sold over one million copies worldwide. Their first single, Sym ...

",''Sympathique (je ne veux pas travailler)''
on YouTube is inspired by the poem "Hotel" by Apollinaire and its setting to music by Poulenc.

References

External links

Banalités
on IMSLP
Pierre Bernac sings "Banalites" of Poulenc with Poulenc
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Banalites Mélodies Song cycles by Francis Poulenc Musical settings of poems by Guillaume Apollinaire