Figure Humaine (The Face of Man)

Description

Figure humaine (Human Figure), FP 120, by Francis Poulenc is a cantata for double mixed choir of 12 voices composed in 1943 on texts by Paul Éluard including “'Liberté”. Written during the Nazi occupation of France, it was premiered in London in English by the BBC in 1945. It was first performed in French in 1946 in Brussels, then in Paris on 22 May 1947. The work was published by Éditions Salabert. Cherished as the summit of the composer's work and a masterpiece by musical critics, the cantata is a hymn to Liberté, victorious over tyranny.

1. De tous les printemps du monde
2. En chantant, les servantes s'élancent
3. Aussi bas que le silence
4. Toi ma patiente
5. Riant du ciel et des planètes
6. Le jour m'étonne et la nuit me fait peur
7. La menace sous le ciel rouge
8. Liberté