ABSTRACT
CR: We talked last time about Le Bal masqué and Les Mamelles de Tirésias as being the first of the two poles of the essential Poulenc, and today we come to the second pole with a group of sacred works. You’ve already talked to me about your church music, but confining yourself entirely to generalities. Now I know that the majority of listeners consider your sacred music as a particularly essential part of your œuvre, so it would therefore be in order for you to embark on certain details. You also spoke at some length about the genesis of the Litanies, but you passed at some speed over the Mass. Now it seems to me that’s an important work, firstly because it’s your first liturgical one, and secondly because it’s your first unaccompanied sacred work. How did it come about?
