Editing Francis Poulenc (section)

===Chamber===
In ''Grove'', Nichols divides the chamber works into three clearly differentiated periods. The first four sonatas come from the early group, all written before Poulenc was twenty-two. They are for two clarinets (1918), piano duo (1918), clarinet and bassoon (1922) and horn, trumpet and trombone (1922).<ref>Keck, p. 285</ref> They are early examples of Poulenc's many and varied influences, with echoes of rococo ''divertissements'' alongside unconventional harmonies, some influenced by jazz. All four are characterised by their brevity&nbsp;– less than ten minutes each&nbsp;– their mischievousness and their wit, which Nichols describes as acid. Other chamber works from this period are the ''[[Rapsodie nègre]]'', [[FP (Poulenc)|FP]] 3, from 1917 (mainly instrumental, with brief vocal episodes) and the [[Trio for oboe, bassoon and piano]] (1926).<ref name=grove/>

The [[chamber works]] of Poulenc's middle period were written in the 1930s and 1940s. The best known is the Sextet for Piano and Wind (1932), in Poulenc's light-hearted vein, consisting of two lively outer movements and a central ''divertimento''; this was one of several chamber works that the composer became dissatisfied with and revised extensively some years after their first performance (in this case in 1939–40).<ref>Hell, p. 59</ref>{{refn|The [[List of compositions by Francis Poulenc]] gives dates for the major revisions|group= n}} The sonatas in this group are for [[Violin Sonata (Poulenc)|violin and piano]] (1942–43) and for [[Cello Sonata (Poulenc)|cello and piano]] (1948). Writing for strings did not come easily to Poulenc; these sonatas were completed after two unsuccessful earlier attempts,{{refn|An early violin sonata was performed at a Huyghens concert in 1919 but it was unpublished and is now lost.<ref>Schmidt (1995), p. 29</ref>|group= n}} and in 1947 he destroyed the draft of a string quartet.{{refn|Hell notes that Poulenc reused some of the themes in his 1947 Sinfonietta.<ref>Hell, p. 73</ref>|group= n}} Both sonatas are predominantly grave in character; that for violin is dedicated to the memory of [[Federico García Lorca]].<ref name=grove/> Commentators including Hell, Schmidt and Poulenc himself have regarded it, and to some extent the cello sonata, as less effective than those for wind.<ref>Daniel, p. 122; Hell, p. 65; and Schmidt (2001), pp. 282–283 and 455</ref> The ''Aubade'', "Concerto choréographique" for piano and 18 instruments (1930) achieves an almost orchestral effect, despite its modest number of players.{{refn|Hell lists the piece under the separate heading of "Works for Chamber Orchestra" along with the occasional work Two Marches and an Intermezzo (1937).<ref>Hell, p. 104</ref>|group= n}} The other chamber works from this period are arrangements for small ensembles of two works in Poulenc's lightest vein, the ''Suite française'' (1935) and the ''Trois mouvements perpétuels'' (1946).<ref>Schmidt (2001) p. 148</ref>

The final three sonatas are for woodwind and piano: for [[Flute Sonata (Poulenc)|flute]] (1956–57), [[Clarinet Sonata (Poulenc)|clarinet]] (1962), and [[Oboe Sonata (Poulenc)|oboe]] (1962). They have, according to ''Grove'', become fixtures in their repertoires because of "their technical expertise and of their profound beauty". The ''[[Élégie pour cor et piano|Élégie]]'' for horn and piano (1957) was composed in memory of the horn player [[Dennis Brain]].<ref name=grove/> It contains one of Poulenc's rare excursions into dodecaphony, with the brief employment of a twelve-note [[tone row]].<ref>Schmidt (2001), p. 419</ref>