Élégie. Paisiblement sans presser
Scherzo. Très animé
Déploration. Très calme

Poulenc described the elements of the Oboe Sonata – his last major work – as follows: ‘The first movement is elegiac, the second scherzando, and the last a sort of liturgical chant.’ The form of the Sonata is slow–fast–slow with its most original feature being the finale, a deeply-felt ‘Déploration’. This eloquent tribute was dedicated to the memory of Serge Prokofiev, but it was first performed at the Strasbourg Festival on 8 June 1963 by Pierre Pierlot and Jacques Février as a memorial to Poulenc himself who had died earlier in the year.

© Nigel Simeone 2015