Sonata for Two Clarinets - Francis Poulenc // Not A Clarinet Choir
Not A Clarinet Choir Presents "Musings 2"
17 December 2023
Sonata for Two Clarinets - Francis Poulenc
At the beginning of the twentieth century, French composers were some of the first to turn away from the domination of German Romanticism. A group of French composers known as Les Six banded together to promote their own works and initiated an anti-impressionist movement. The group included Francis Poulenc, and the Sonata for Two Clarinets was one of his first compositions. The three short movements of this piece are spirited and simple, typical of his early writing. Poulenc was born in Paris and began his musical education with his mother. He studied piano with Spain’s Ricardo Vines at the age of sixteen, and it was through Vines that Poulenc was introduced to Erik Satie, who greatly influenced his early compositions. Poulenc composed in an improvisational manner at the piano, sometimes borrowing melodic ideas from composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Frédéric Chopin, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Giacomo Puccini. Despite this respectful plagiarism, Poulenc made his music as personal as any composer of the twentieth century.
Programme Notes from United States Marine Band
A Clarinet: Phoong Khang Zhie
B-flat Clarinet: Brian Lim
Video Editor: Zachary Ng
Videography: Gerald Wong
Audio Editing: Ho Wee Yang
–
In March 2022 we hosted our first concert to a full house, and we are looking forward to more projects in the future. The group also participated in the Singapore International Band Festival 2022, Division Ensemble 1 and clinched the top prize, Gold with Distinction, with the highest score across the entire ensemble division.
Check us out on Instagram at https://bit.ly/notaclarinetchoir