Poulenc's Gloaming Sarabande

Though Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) needs no introduction here, it's important to note his career's parallel-yet-opposed relationship to Stravinsky's, from era touchpoints to their wildly differing interpretations of Neo-Classicism.  By the '60's, each man had attained lasting and unprecedented acclaim in their own craft, and at this time Stravinsky entered a super-concentration phase.  Perhaps his advanced age had given him the wisdom to say just as much with one stroke as others would with five, and I can't help but think that Poulenc felt the same of his own work.  He had never shied away from simplicity before, but now the close was near and the need to choose his words may have risen in priority.  Just a few years before his death, he wrote the Sarabande, his only work for guitar.

(Click for larger view)

The other leaf on David Leisner's album Music of the Human Spirit, Poulenc's meditative dance is a far and melancholic cry from Lou Harrison's Serenade.  Working with a slow heartbeat and the semi-stunted, chest-born resonance of the guitar, he weaves a haunting song with a minimal, yet effective, antique modality.  Much like Harrison he banks on repetition, getting a lot of mileage out of strains so natural they feel ingrained in our collective memory.  This isn't Neo-Classical so much as it is Neo-Baroque, harking to Dowland's lachrymose.  The guitar stands in for a lute, and the more limited resonance of the lute would work wonders here.  Once again Leisner's recording is my favorite, but there are about 17 dozen YouTube performances to choose from, including the very nice one below.  Consider the Sarabande a gift from me to you for a rainy day - Washington has entered the Wet and Dark, and so this piece seems more than necessary.

~PNK