Sonate Pour Clarinette Et Piano / Sonate Pour Hautbois Et Piano / Aubade, Poème Chorégraphique Pour Piano Et Dix Huit Instruments

Released in 1960 by the French label Le Chant Du Monde, this recording serves as a significant document of mid-century French chamber music interpretation. The album captures the works of Francis Poulenc—the Clarinet Sonata, the Oboe Sonata, and the choreographed poem Aubade—performed by a distinguished ensemble featuring pianist Jacques Février, who was a close associate of the composer. Le Chant Du Monde was known for its commitment to high-fidelity documentation of French classical repertoire, and this release captures the intimate, witty, and lyrical characteristics central to the Les Six movement to which Poulenc belonged.

The recording benefits from the participation of instrumentalists like Pierre Pierlot and André Boutard, whose stylistic rapport with the music reflects the specific aesthetic of the French school of the period. By the time of this 1960 release, Poulenc’s chamber works were well-established in the repertoire, celebrated for their juxtaposition of melancholic elegance and playful dissonance. The production by Le Chant Du Monde sought to preserve these interpretations with clarity, receiving acknowledgment for the musicians' technical precision and their ability to capture the nuanced emotional transitions characteristic of Poulenc's later style.