Francis Poulenc

Francis Poulenc

Francis Poulenc was born in Paris, on January 7, 1899. He took music lessons from his mother until he was 16. At this point he enlisted piano teacher Ricardo Vines. Influenced by the eccentric modern style of Erik Satie, Poulenc joined a group of young French musicians called the "Nouveaux Jeunes". Besides Poulenc, the group included composers Auric, Durey, Honegger, Milhaud, and Tailleferre. French critic Henri Collet called them "Le Groupe de Six", after the famous Russian Five. The name was later shortened to just "Le Six". Poulenc served in the French army from 1918 to 1921, before taking lessons from Koechlin, who taught him composition. Poulenc stayed with Koechlin until 1924. In 1935, Poulenc began to work for baritone Pierre Bernac as accompanist. He also wrote pieces for Bernac to sing. Poulenc also wrote ballet music. He was hired by Diaghilev to write for his Ballet Russes. Poulenc died in Paris on January 30, 1963. Poulenc's style was different than that of the rest of "Le Six". While they experimented wildly with wild new rhythms and harmonies, Poulenc preferred to follow the neo-Classicist strain. Poulenc best showed his skills when composing religious pieces, as well as those for the piano and the organ.