Poulenc Sonata for Horn, Trumpet and Trombone mvmt 1

• Composer

  Poulenc (1899-1963)
• Work

  Sonata for Trumpet, Horn and Trombone, first movement (1922)
• Poulenc's trio

  • On the lighter end of the Neo-Classical style
  • Humorous with a generally uncomplicated melodic and harmonic language
  • Melody and harmony given a twentieth century twist, with unexpected dissonances, harmonic turns and rhythmic irregularities
• Contrast between A and B sections

  • Modulation to relatively distant key (Eb from G)
  • Change of tempo
  • Drastic change of mood from spiky to lyrical
• Transition from B to A

  Linking passage similar to B in tonality but to A in general feel
• End of first A section

  • Humorous codetta that augments the rhythm of the opening idea before putting it into the minor as he passes it between instruments
• Harmonic language

  • Mostly diatonic with lots of primary chords, particularly in A section (I IV VI at opening)
  • Added note harmonies add an astringent edge
  • Some unorthodox dissonances (e.g. the cadence in bar 8)
• Second part of A section

  • Unstable with sporadic implications of the minor key in the horn part
• Tonal structure

  • Unusual with a modulation to Eb from the opening G for the B section
  • Several unexpected modulations at the end of this section, which ends up briefly in Db major before suddenly modulating back to G for the beginning of the A section reprise
• Melody and rhythm

  • Melodies are short and memorable in the classical vein
  • The main idea is a simple descending triadic one
  • The phrasing is often regular, but the middle of the A section shifts between different meters, making the it much more irregular
  • The motif from the beginning undergoes a range of transformations, including rhythmic augmentation at the end of the A section
  • There are touches of chromaticism, for example in the final coda
• Texture and sonority

  • The instrumentation of horn, trumpet and trombone trio is an unusual combination
  • There are also some strange uses of the instruments, for example the large leaps in the trumpet at the end of the B section
  • In the reprise of the A section, the horn and trombone swap roles, with the former taking on the bass part
  • The texture is mostly melody and accompaniment, including a comic oom-pah accompaniment in the bridge section
  • Extensive use of doubling in sixths and thirds, for example in the second part of the A section
• Sections

  • Bridge to back to Section A
  • Idea A1'
  • 40-47
  • 48-533
  • Idea A4
  • 534-543
  • 544-553
  • 554-57
  • Section A'
  • 58-65
  • Idea A1
  • 66-72
  • Idea A4
  • 73-81
  • Idea A2
  • 82-85
  • Idea A3
  • 86-end
  • Coda
• Bb major

  Pushing towards F; simplified version of A1 ends with modulation to F major
• F major

  On F (as V of Bb); new idea on trumpet a bit like A3
• Starts with fragment of Db scale


  Then the horn plays equivalent fragment of G major scale, crudely modulating for return of A section proper
• G major

  As beginning
• G major

  From bridging section; starts in G major but ends on dominant seventh of G minor
• G minor

  Same basic idea as before, but Horn and Trombone have exchanged roles. Start much more strongly in G minor than in first section
• Very suddenly and incongruously chromatic

  Mock mysterious before ending on augmentation of initial idea from beginning, very quiet and a bit slower. As with codetta, this is playing with our expectations in an exaggerated and comical way
• Section A

  • 1-8
  • Idea A1
  • 9-17
  • Idea A2
  • 18-21
  • Idea A3
  • 22-25
  • Codetta