F. Poulenc | Violin Sonata FP 119

I. Allegro con fuoco 00:00
II. Intermezzo 07:00
III. Presto tragico 13:26


Salle Bourgie, Montreal, Canada
25 April 2023

Violin | SongHa
Piano | Carson Becke


• About the piece •

" The guitar makes dreams weep.
The whimpering of lost souls
Escapes from its round mouth"

from The Six Strings by Federico Garcia Lorca (1921)


The Violin Sonata FP 119 was written in memory of a Spanish resistant poet Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936), primarily known for his Andalusian poetry collections and his role in inaugurating a second Golden Age of the Spanish theatre. Lorca was assassinated by nationalist militia in 1936.

It was due to a French Violinist Ginette Neveu's persistent request that he had finally finished the sonata, with a "few delicious violinistic details of the score" full of tips from Neveu herself. It was premiered at the Salle Gaveau in Paris, on 21 June 1943, with Poulenc on the piano and Neveu on the violin. The work was harshly criticised at the time of its premiere and publication, and Poulenc revised the sonata in 1949, after Neveu's untimely death.

The sonata is full of self citations and borrowings from other composers, such as Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, as well as the main theme of 'Tea for Two', a popular American jazz tune that was banned by the Nazis at the time, which indicates musical protest against the ongoing German Occupation. The subheadings of the outer movements "1. allegro con fuoco" and "3. presto tragico" imply the context of his political resistance as well as the tragedy of Neveu's sudden passing away.

The sonata follows a traditional fast-slow-fast movement structure. Quotations of Tchaikovsky's June from the seasons and Poulenc's own song Le présent from the Trois Poèmes by Louise Lalanne can be heard in the first movement "Allegro con fuoco", during the constant playful exchange of thematic materials between the two instruments.

The second movement "Intermezzo" is accompanied by the first line of the above mentioned poem, The Guitar makes dreams weep. The spread out pizzicati on the vicolin and the repeated chords on the piano are to represent and imitate the sound of strumming a guitar. Faint Spanish influences can be heard in its improvisatory melodic lines. One can assume the prosodic relation between the Poulenc's song-like melodious music and Lorca's text. Prominent influences of Albeniz and Falla, with associations of Andalusian cante jondo, as well as a hint of tango in the centre of the movement can be clearly heard. 

Throughout the lyrical yet rapid paced final movement Presto tragico, Poulenc's childhood affinity for funfair music can be heard. The music builds up in conversational sequences and progresses towards the abrupt and ending, indicating the violent execution of Lorca's death.

(Written by SongHa Choi)