āĻāĻ āĻāĻŦā§āĻāĻāĻ¨ā§° āĻŦāĻŋāĻˇā§ā§
Part of the answer lay in always being his own man, and this independence of spirit shows through in his writings and interviews just as brightly as in his music, whether itâs boasting that heâd be happy never to hear The Mastersingers ever again, pointing out that what critics condemn as the âformlessnessâ of French music is one of its delights, voicing his outrage at attempts to âfinishâ the Unfinished Symphony, writing âin praise of banalityâ - or remembering the affair of Debussyâs hat. And in every case, his intelligence, humour and generosity of spirit help explain why he was so widely and deeply loved.
This volume comprises selected articles from Francis Poulenc: JâÊcris ce qui me chante (Fayard, 2011) edited by Nicholas Southon. Many of these articles and interviews have not been available in English before and Roger Nichols's translation, capturing the very essence of Poulencâs lively writing style, makes more widely accessible this significant contribution to Poulenc scholarship.
āĻ˛āĻŋāĻāĻā§° āĻŦāĻŋāĻˇāĻ¯āĻŧā§
Nicolas Southon has a doctorate in musicology and graduated from the National Conservatoire of Music, Paris. Il a enseignÊ à l'universitÊ de Tours ainsi qu'au conservatoire de rÊgion d'Aubervilliers, a ÊtÊ critique dans des revues musicales spÊcialisÊes, et apparaÎt rÊgulièrement comme producteur sur France-Musique. He has taught at the University of Tours and the Conservatoire of Aubervilliers, as well as writing reviews for numerous music magazines, and appears regularly as a producer on France Musique.
Roger Nichols studied Music at Oxford University. In 1980 he became a freelance writer, broadcaster, critic, translator and pianist and has made numerous broadcasts on BBC Radio 3, mainly about French music. In 2006 he was appointed Chevalier de la LÊgion d'honneur for services to French culture.
