Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
       Solo Piano Works

 From my perspective, Poulenc's piano music has a few prevalent qualities.
First, it is thoroughly urban and sophisticated.  Second, much of it gives
off the perfumed atmosphere of the salon.  Third, Poulenc's works tend
to have a fragile and even brittle quality with many unexpected turns.
Fourth, the scent of sex often hangs in the air.  Fifth, Poulenc could
spin out gorgeous melodies at will.  Sixth, and most important, Poulenc
consistently conveys a love and full appreciation of life.  This isn't
about the creation of life but simply the day to day enjoyment of being
among the breathing and taking in what life has to offer.

These are the recordings which I am reviewing:

Olivier Cazal..... Naxos(3 volumes)
Paul Crossley......Sony(3cds)
Eric Parkin........Chandos(3 volumes)
Pascal Roge........London(2 volumes)
Gabriel Tacchino...EMI(2cds)

First, I'll cover the performances of Olivier Cazal on Volume 1 of his Naxos
series:

Eight Nocturnes(1929-1938)
Suite in C(1920)
Promenandes(1921)
Pastourelle(1927)
Villageoises(1933)
Feuillets d'Album(1933)
Three Intermezzi(1934/35)
Bourree au Pavillon d'Auvergne(1937)
Valse(1919)

Naxos 8.553929
Recorded 1995
Olivier Cazal, Piano
TT 61:41

The liner notes give top priority to telling us of the awards that
Cazal has garnered.  These are poor notes and quite self-serving as well.
Although the Cazal interpretations are superior to the notes, they are a
far distance from being worthy.  Cazal possesses a large list of problems,
and the most critical is his utter lack of identification with the
composer.  Cazal places highest priority on momentum; unfortunately, the
composer did not.  Cazal conveys little of Poulenc's sensuality and pretty
much glosses over most nuances with his speedy tempos.  If the performer
can't or won't get into the atmospheres in the scores created by Poulenc,
success is impossible.  This is Cazal's basic problem and one which is
insurmountable.

Here is an account of my trip through Volume 1:

Volume 1 begins with the Eight Noctures which Poulenc wrote over a number
of years.  Yet, they do constitute a set as the eighth nocturne is titled
"Pour Servir de Coda au Cycle".  Cazal displays some problems in the Eight
Nocturnes.  His playing shows a lack of fluidity and misses much of the
sensuality in Poulenc's music.  Also, Cazal is not very expansive, and the
sound is rather dry.  Another issue concerns his penchant for emphasizing
momentum; the man rarely hangs around to smell the roses.  I find that the
1st nocturne exudes sensuality and the hunt for sexual satisfaction, but
you'll find little of that in Cazal's performance.  Suspensions form much
of the foundation of the 2nd nocturne, and Cazal makes light of them.  The
3rd nocturne needs tenderness, nostalgia, and fragility; Cazal is moot in
these areas.  In the 6th nocturne, he plays too quickly and loses sight of
many nuances in the music.  When Cazal does relax, as in the 4th & 8th
nocturnes, the results are excellent.  Overall, Cazal's Eight Nocturnes
are the least rewarding of the alternative recordings.

Volume 1 continues with the Suite in C which is a three movement work of
delicate pedigree.  The first movement Presto is particularly enjoyable
with its exciting bass line which churns up agitation, and this is where
I feel Cazal fails to satisfy.  He takes the Presto at a blistering pace
which is admirable; however, his bass line bumps along and sounds detached
from the body of the music.  It's definitely not what I consider a churning
up of agitation, but more like a sputtering.

The "Promenades" comes next, and it's a 'scream' of a work involving ten
different forms of transportation: on foot, auto, horse, boat, airplane,
bus, horse and carriage, train, bicycle, and postal vehicle.  Poulenc's
notions of travel by auto, boat, and bus are wild stuff and additional
evidence that he was 'one of a kind'.  On foot, Poulenc sounds tipsy.
On horse, the horse sounds tipsy.  In the boat, Poulenc can't handle the
turbulence and is vomiting all over the place; the stiff wind propels his
vomit toward fellow passengers.  Yes, it is a wild time, and Poulenc's main
message of the Promenades might be that travelling anywhere is risky
business; do not treat it as a routine matter.

Cazal's Promenades displays a number of his strengths and challenges.
Since the work revolves around travel, I expected that his priority on
momentum would serve him well.  It does, but there are offsetting features.
Cazal is simply too loud at times in most every piece; it ruins the
atmosphere presented by the music.  Also, he isn't strong on conveying
nuance, so there isn't much atmosphere to begin with.  The versions from
Crossley and Parkin are loaded with atmosphere and are significantly more
enjoyable.  There is one very positive sign about Cazal in the Promenades;
he excellently conveys the jazz rhythms which create for me the sense of
'tipsy' humans and animals.

Well, I'd only be redundant to go into detail concerning the remainder
of the program.  Outside of of a delicious first movement of Feuillets
d'Album, the rest of the works are performed only capably.

Don's Conclusions: I can't deny that the Naxos price can make Cazal's
three discs tempting propositions.  He plays well and does fully satisfy
at times.  However, he's largely lacking that 'something' which defines
Poulenc's music as distinctive and even unique.  Atmosphere is part of the
problem; Cazal is often quite generic.  The fragile nature of many of
Poulenc's works is not addressed well, and Cazal's loudness worsens this
element.  Sensuality and nuance are sporadically achieved, and the beauty
of the music is not fully realized.  The sound is extremely dry and quite
contrary to the atmosphere of much of Poulenc's music.  Most damaging,
Cazal does not convey much of Poulenc's zest or interest in life.  In the
final analysis, I feel that Cazal glosses over Poulenc's music and
psychology.  Not recommended.

Don Satz