He was a Parisian by birth and death, and always preferred the city to the country. His mother, an amateur pianist, taught him to play, and music formed a part of family life.
Poulenc was a member of Les Six, a group of young French composers, Darius Milhaud, Georges Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger and Germaine Tailleferre, who also had links with Erik Satie and Jean Cocteau. He embraced the Dada movement's techniques, creating melodies that would have been appropriate for Parisian music halls. An outstanding pianist, Poulenc featured the keyboard in many of his early compositions. He also, throughout his career, borrowed from his own compositions as well as those of Mozart and Camille Saint-Saëns.
He composed music in all major genres, including art song, chamber music, oratorio, opera, ballet music and orchestral music. Among Poulenc's last series of major works is a series of works for Winds and Piano. He was particularly fond of the woodwind instruments, and planned a set of sonatas for all of them, yet only lived to complete four: the Flute Sonata (1956), and sonatas for oboe, clarinet and horn.
Poulenc's Rapsodie nègre (1917), written for baritone, piano, string quartet, flute, and clarinet, sets nonsense syllables purportedly by a black Liberian poet. The piece, dedicated to Erik Satie, kept him out of the Paris Conservatoire, composition teacher Paul Vidal saying, according to Poulenc, "Your work stinks, it's inept, infamous balls... Ah! I see you're a follower of the Igor Stravinsky and Erik Satie gang. Well, goodbye!" Stravinsky, hearing of this story, arranged to have the piece printed.
Later in his life, the loss of some close friends, coupled with a pilgrimage to the Black Madonna of Rocamadour, led him to rediscovery of his faith and resulted in compositions of a more sombre, austere tone. His opera, Les Dialogues des Carmelites was written at this time.
France
Les Chemins De L'amour FP. 106
Francis Poulenc Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Des fleurs effeuillées et l'écho, sous leurs arbres, de notre rire clair
Hélas!
Les jours de bonheur radieux, de joies envolées
Je vais sans en trouver trace dans mon cœur
Chemins de mon amour, je vous cherche toujours
Chemins perdus vous n'étes plus et vos défauts sont sourds
Chemin du désespoir, chemin du souvenir, chemin du premier jour
Si je dois l'oublier un jour, la vie effaçant toutes choses
Je veux qu'en mon cœur un souvenir repose plus fort que notre amour
Le souvenir du chemin où tremblante et toute éperdue
Un jour j'ai senti sur moi brûler tes mains
Chemins de mon amour, je vous cherche toujours
Chemins perdus vous n'étes plus et vos défauts sont sourds
Chemin du désespoir, chemin du souvenir, chemin du premier jour
Divin chemin d'amour
The lyrics to Francis Poulenc's song "Les chemins de l'amour" speak of the lasting impressions that love leaves behind. The opening lines describe how the paths that lead to the sea retain the memories of the lovers' presence, with flowers scattered and the echo of their laughter lingering beneath the trees. However, the singer laments that the days of radiant happiness and fleeting joys have left no trace in their heart. The paths of love are sought after endlessly, but they are lost and their faults go unheard. There is also a mention of the path of despair, the path of memories, and the divine path of love.
The second stanza reveals a desire to keep a memory alive, even if one day the singer is destined to forget everything, as life erases all things. This memory is meant to be stronger than the love itself. The singer recalls a tremulous and overwhelmed moment in which they felt the burning touch of their beloved's hands on their own body. The pursuit of the paths of love continues, but they are no longer found, and their flaws are ignored.
Overall, the lyrics of "Les chemins de l'amour" evoke a sense of longing, nostalgia, and the complexities of love. It explores the desire to hold on to cherished memories and the struggle to find that once blissful path of love that seems to have vanished.
Line by Line Meaning
Les chemins qui montent à la mer ont gardé de notre passage
The paths that lead to the sea have kept the memories of our presence
Des fleurs effeuillées et l'écho, sous leurs arbres, de notre rire clair
Flowers stripped of their petals and the echo, under their trees, of our joyful laughter
Hélas!
Alas!
Les jours de bonheur radieux, de joies envolées
The days of radiant happiness, of fleeting joys
Je vais sans en trouver trace dans mon cœur
I search in vain for any trace of them in my heart
Chemins de mon amour, je vous cherche toujours
Paths of my love, I'm always searching for you
Chemins perdus vous n'étes plus et vos défauts sont sourds
Lost paths, you are no longer there and your flaws are unheard
Chemin du désespoir, chemin du souvenir, chemin du premier jour
Path of despair, path of memory, path of the first day
Divin chemin d'amour
Divine path of love
Si je dois l'oublier un jour, la vie effaçant toutes choses
If I must forget it one day, life erasing all things
Je veux qu'en mon cœur un souvenir repose plus fort que notre amour
I want a memory to reside in my heart stronger than our love
Le souvenir du chemin où tremblante et toute éperdue
The memory of the path where trembling and utterly lost
Un jour j'ai senti sur moi brûler tes mains
One day I felt your hands burn on me
Chemins de mon amour, je vous cherche toujours
Paths of my love, I'm always searching for you
Chemins perdus vous n'étes plus et vos défauts sont sourds
Lost paths, you are no longer there and your flaws are unheard
Chemin du désespoir, chemin du souvenir, chemin du premier jour
Path of despair, path of memory, path of the first day
Divin chemin d'amour
Divine path of love
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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