Search - Laurent Lefèvre, Stéphane Logerot, Natasha Emerson :: Poulenc - Complete Chamber Music, Vol. 5 ~ The Story of Babar, L'Invitation au Château, Léocadia

What a wonderful CD!!

William Supon | Cedartown, GA USA | 03/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I ran across this CD, I took a chance and ordered it. I am well-pleased with the results! Poulenc's music is wonderfully witty, and it's a real toss-up when it comes to choosing between the English and French versions. Both of the narrators are charming and bring lots of personality to the charming classic story. The other Poulenc pieces are very well-done; at these prices, blow youself to the complete Naxos set of his chamber music."

Slight, perhaps, but Poulenc could do slight

G.D. | Norway | 03/04/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It starts and ends with Babar, Poulenc's tale for children - with piano accompaniment. That is, we get two version, a French one with a boy narrator and an English one with a girl narrator. Peter and the Wolf it isn't, at least not quite, partially because the Babar story is as empty and silly as they come (maybe there's an allegorical level I just don't get here), but also because Poulenc's music, for all its charm and color, doesn't quite exhibit the level of inspiration or memorability of Prokofiev's work (although some of the themes do linger in the mind) - at the very least, you'll need the orchestral version for full effect. Both the narrators are good, however, and Alexandre Tharaud is an excellent performer, his playing full of character and color.



In between comes two sets of incidental music for Anouilh, L'invitation au chateau and Léocadia; relatively slight stuff, but then Poulenc knew how to do slight. L'invitation consists of some 15 brief numbers scored for clarinet, bassoon, violin, double bass and piano - Leocadia for the same combination, but adding mezzo-soprano - and the music breathes the air of Parisian, cabaret 30s style with a certain neo-classical touch as filtered through the bluesy room of a smoky café. It is really charming music, full of humor and wit and elegance even though it is quite obvious why they remain among the composer's less performed works.



I have no qualms about the performances, which are accomplished but more importantly stylish and elegant. In the end, I guess I am supposed to say that this one is primarily for completist, but I cannot quite do that - I don't like to think of anyone coming to Poulenc for the first time through a release like this, but it was a thoroughly pleasant and enjoyable experience nonetheless, completely shorn of profundity but with an abundance of wit and intelligence to make up for it."