ABSTRACT
This interview, given when the cantata Figure humaine had been composed but not yet performed, is without doubt the best source for understanding its origins and development. In talking about this score, which had become symbolic of a form of resistance under the Occupation, Poulenc often subsequently became inaccurate (see the Interviews with Claude Rostand, p. 788), unintentionally no doubt, but also, consciously or not, so as to present it as the product of personal inspiration, whereas it had its origins in a commission from Henri Screpel.
