Chanson à boire (Poulenc)

Chanson à boire, (Drinking song), FP 31, is a choral work by Francis Poulenc, composed in 1922 on an anonymous text of the 17th century for a four-part men's chorus a cappella. It was published first by Rouart-Lerolle, but today by Salabert.

History
Chanson à boire is Poulenc's first choral work, commissioned by a student choir, the Glee Club of Harvard University in the United States. Upon completion, Poulenc sent them the score. In an interview with Claude Rostand dated 1954, he said:

"When my song was finished, I sent it to Harvard. Kaboom! Meanwhile, the Prohibition Act had just passed, and made this work impossible to sing. Then I forgot all about it, when, twenty-eight years later, in 1950, being in Holland, the president of the admirable male choir of the Hague invited me to listen to a repetition of my prayers Of St. Francis of Assisi and ... of this "Song to drink". I confess I was in my little shoes because I had never heard it."

Twenty-eight years separate the composition of the work and its first performance in The Hague. Poulenc states: "I was ready to do a lot of retouching. What was not my amazement (...) of not having one note to change!."

Structure
The work is written for an unaccompanied four-part men's chorus. The total performance time is approximately four minutes.

Selected recordings

 * Poulenc - Secular Choral Music, Norddeutscher Figuralchor, Jörg Straube (cond.), label MDG Gold, MDG9471595 ;
 * Chansons française, Harry Christophers (cond.), label Technics, 1993