Sonata for cello and piano (Poulenc) - from CDA67255/6 - Hyperion Records

Reviews

‘An altogether first-class collection of Poulenc's very individual chamber music output played with real sensitivity … outstanding performances. The whole issue wins my enthusiastic recommendation: it bids fair to become the undisputed yardstick for the future’ (Gramophone)

‘A set which will surely and deservedly be popular’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Thoroughly excellent’ (The Observer)

‘Entrancing. It's hard to select the choicest treasures from this jewel box of Poulenc's most witty and vivacious, hauntingly melodic and touchingly heartfelt music, especially when it is played with such effervescence and devotion as here. The two masterpieces are the Sextet for Piano and Winds (1932) and the delectable "Mozartian" Trio for Piano, Oboe and Bassoon, played with dashing elan and soulful lyricism by the pianist Ian Brown and the Nash's brilliant wind principals. Richard Watkins's long-breathed account of the moving Elégie in memoriam Dennis Brain (1957) and Paul Watkins's noble-toned playing of the Cello Sonata (1940/48) are exceptional. But there is rapture, elation, zany high spirits in all of this music, dazzlingly played by the Nash Ensemble. Buy, buy, buy!’ (The Sunday Times)

‘It would be hard to imagine more consistently on-target presentations of Poulenc’s chamber music or more appropriate sound reproduction. Highly recommended’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Thirteen pieces lovingly brought to life by the Nash Ensemble. For once, the word 'jewel-box' for the CD container sounds about right’ (BBC CD Review)

‘Those who treasure performances of this music should hear this recording to discover the insights which the very best of today's musicians bring to these scores’ (Classical Express)

The Sonata for cello and piano was sketched in 1940 but not completed until 1948. It was first played in the Salle Gaveau in Paris on 18 May 1949 by the composer and the joint dedicatee, Pierre Fournier, who also played a significant role in the writing of the cello part. This is most evident in the central Cavatine and dance-like Ballabile, but in all four movements the piano usually announces and the cello decorates the essential line.

Esquissée en 1940, la Sonate pour violoncelle et piano fut achevée seulement en 1948 et créée à la Salle Gaveau (Paris), le 18 mai 1949, par le compositeur et le dédicataire, Pierre Fournier, qui joua également un rôle important dans l’écriture de la partie de violoncelle. Ce qui transparaît surtout dans la Cavatine centrale et le Ballabile dansant, mais, dans l’ensemble des quatre mouvements, le piano fait généralement l’annonce, tandis que le violoncelle orne la ligne principale.

Die Sonate für Cello und Klavier wurde 1940 skizziert, aber erst 1948 fertiggestellt. Ihre Uraufführung am 18. Mai 1949 im Salle Gaveau in Paris besorgten der Komponist und Pierre Fournier, einer der Adressaten der Widmung, der außerdem bei der Ausführung des Celloparts eine wesentliche Rolle gespielt hatte. Das macht sich am deutlichsten in der zentralen Cavatine und im tänzerischen Ballabile bemerkbar, doch hat in allen vier Sätzen das Klavier in der Regel Vorrang, während das Cello die Hauptstimme verziert.

Recording details: January 1999
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Antony Howell & Julian Millard
Release date: November 1999
Total duration: 22 minutes 29 seconds

Sonata for cello and piano

The Nash Ensemble

Reviews

Introduction