Musique pour faire plaisir

From Wind Repertory Project
Jean Françaix

Jean Françaix


General Info

Year: 1984
Duration: c. 9:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Piano
Publisher: Editions Max Eschig
Cost: Score and Parts - Rental


Movements

1. Petite Valse - Introduction
2. Elègie
3. L'embarquement pour Cythère - grande valse dèmocratique


Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I-II (both doubling Piccolo)
Oboe
English Horn
Bassoon
Contrabassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
Horn in F I-II


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Jean Françaix’s (1912–1997) Musique pour faire plaisir was written in 1984 as an orchestration for winds of three piano miniatures by Francis Poulenc. The work requires 10 players, and the instrumentation is essentially a double wind quintet, but instead of scoring a strict double wind quintet (2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns), Françaix expands the color palette by having some of the resulting “pairs” of instruments be complements. Thus, the resulting instrumentation is 2 flutes, oboe and English horn, clarinet and bass clarinet, bassoon and contrabassoon, and 2 horns.

The music which Françaix chose to comprise his three-movement suite are three unrelated pieces of Poulenc. The first movement, Petite Valse – Introduction, is Poulenc’s Valse en ut (Waltz in C) from 1919, which he contributed to L’Album des Six, a compilation of works by the six composers Les Six. The source for the second movement, Elègie, is Poulenc’s Elègie en accords alternés (Elegy in alternating chords) (1958) for two pianos. The work is so called because it is characterized by a melody which is accompanied by another melody an eighth note behind, thus creating an alternation of sounds.

The final movement, L’embarquement pour Cythère (The Embarkation for Cythera), comes from a film score which Poulenc composed for a French comedy, Le voyage en Àmerique (The Trip to America), from 1951. The music is fittingly comical, light-hearted, and fun.

- Program Note by Kyle Aufderhar


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • University of Louisiana at Lafayette Wind Ensemble (Kyle Aufderhar, conductor) - 28 March 2021


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • Françaix, J. Musique pour faire plaisir [score]. Editions Max Eschig: Paris.