There is a biographical poignancy in this messa di voce of mélodies, certainly, but the piling on of a dizzying juxtaposition of songs, particularly in that amazingly fecund middle period, is an embarras de richesses that does little to help the listener discern the separate paths that Poulenc, a mercurial and Protean artist, followed in his career.
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If the listener had the time to listen in a single sitting to four or five discs arranged in such an historically accurate way we could trace a mighty crescendo followed by a gentle diminuendo, the early songs from 1918 and the ’20s leading to the great masterpieces bunched together between the years 19, and then a gradual unwinding, full of distinguished music but a decrescendo nevertheless, through the ’50s to the early ’60s. Of course the pros and cons of a straightforward chronology across the entire set were carefully considered. Instead, each of the four discs presents a programme of songs in an order that is chronological for that disc alone-signifying four different journeys through the composer’s career. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of Poulenc’s death the Hyperion Poulenc Edition is issued as a complete set, but not in chronological order. The mélodies of Poulenc have been recorded complete at least three times before, and they have been presented either in chronological order, or in separate programmes with one disc issued at a time. In Johnson’s words, Poulenc’s music 'has seemed dark and joyous, accessible and remote, imperishable yet infinitely fragile, and now it is in the hands of a younger generation’ () These songs will comfort the most jaded of palates, and this box set contains enough riches to sustain a lifetime’s listening. Johnson’s accessible, comprehensive notes deserve to be published in book form, and Hyperion generously provide full texts and translations. A wonderful bonus is the inclusion of a 1970s BBC taping of Babar, narrated with impeccable grace and wit by Poulenc’s long-time recital partner Pierre Bernac. There’s not a weak link among the vocal cast, and there’s even a cameo from the great Felicity Lott. The Huit chansons polonaises, sung by Agnieszka Adamczak, pay oblique homage to Poulenc’s beloved Chopin.
Soprano Susan Bickley is superb in Poulenc’s early Poèmes de Ronsard-sparky settings of Renaissance poetry, and Ashley Riches has fun with the better-known Chansons gaillardes. ‘Especially enjoyable is the final disc, subtitled Fancy.