Poulenc, Francis (fräNsēs` p

lăNk`), 1899–1963, French composer and pianist. He was one of Les Six Six, Les (lā sēs), a short-lived group of six young early 20th-century French musicians.
..... Click the link for more information. , a group of French composers who subscribed to the aesthetic ideals of Erik Satie Satie, Erik (ārēk` sätē`)
..... Click the link for more information. . The spontaneity and lyricism of Poulenc's style are best adapted to small forms—piano pieces such as Mouvements perpétuels (1918) and songs. Also outstanding are the ballet Les Biches (1924); Concert Champêtre (1929), for harpsichord and orchestra; the Mass in G (1937), for chorus and organ; Litanies à la Vierge noire (1936), for women's choir and organ; the Intermezzo in A Flat Major (1944), for piano; and the Concerto in G Minor for organ, strings, and percussion (1938). His operas are Les Mamelles de Tirésias (1947) and Dialogues des Carmélites (1957).

Poulenc, Francis (Jean Marcel)

(born Jan. 7, 1899, Paris, Fr.—died Jan. 30, 1963, Paris) French composer. In his teens he studied piano with Ricardo Viñes (1875–1943). Influenced by Erik Satie, Poulenc and five other like-minded young composers became known as Les Six. Poulenc wrote piano compositions, orchestral music, and chamber music, but he is best known for his vocal music, including many admired songs, the operas The Breasts of Tiresias (1944), Dialogues of the Carmelites (1956), and La voix humaine (1958), and such sacred choral works as Mass in G Major (1937), the Stabat Mater (1950), and the Gloria (1959), reflecting his devout Catholicism.