All aboard......

Sometime I put the IPOD onto shuffle play when I am in the car. Not only is this safer (no need to access the controls......) but I also enjoy the random juxtapositions that sometimes occur.



It has been a very busy couple of weeks and I was not feeling at my best when I drove to a rehearsal last night but I was immediately cheered up when the IPOD turned up this gorgeous piece for two pianos by Poulenc.  L'embarquement pour Cythère, was originally written for the film le Voyage en Amérique but was published as a separate piece .  Poulenc suggested that it was reserved as an encore piece.



This is a masterpiece of insouciance. It verges on the trivial but never slips into it.  The waltz theme is irresistible and the harmonic twists and changes of key keep the ear guessing.  And like so much of Poulenc there is an indefinable air of melancholy and wistfulness just under the surface.



My knowledge of Poulenc is pretty limited and I don't really know much of the more serious music but this little trifle is always one of my favourites. If you ever need cheering up I thoroughly recommend it.