Villanelle (Poulenc)

Villanelle, FP 74, by Francis Poulenc is a piece of chamber music composed in 1934. It was written for recorder and piano. The execution time is about 2 minutes.

Genesis
The work was commissioned by the Australian Louise Hanson-Dyer, who inserted it into a collection of pieces for piano and recorder (entitled Pipeau).

Reception and legacy
Because of its modesty, this piece is rarely performed. The instrument for which it is written, the recorder, deprives it of a real notoriety. It is not mentioned in the catalog of works of the composer established by the biographer Henri Hell.