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From the banal to the surreal : Poulenc, Jacob, and Le Bal masqué

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) demonstrates a remarkable affinity for surrealist poetry in his numerous settings of leading modernist French poets from the first half of the twentieth century. The poetry of Max Jacob (1876-1944), a once unduly marginalized writer who is now regarded as an influential initiator of surrealism, provided the inspiration for one of Poulenc's most significant works, the chamber cantata Le Bal masque (1932). / This thesis seeks to shed light on Poulenc's largely neglected artistic interaction with Jacob by exploring musical counterparts to the poet's unique surrealist aesthetic in Le Bal masque. Chapter one examines Poulenc's artistic milieu surrounding the composition and first performance of Le Bal masque, and reviews previous literature on Poulenc's involvement with avant-garde art and literature. Chapter two focuses on Jacob himself and discusses key aspects of his subversive poetic aesthetic. Chapter three outlines the fundamental characteristics of surrealist art in general and reviews previous discussions of music and surrealism. The final chapter explores surrealist influences in Le Bal masque while concentrating on musical parallels to central features of Jacob's poetry and surrealist art in general described in the preceding chapters.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.83180
Date January 2005
CreatorsEhman, Caroline
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageMaster of Arts (Faculty of Music.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 002701679, proquestno: AAIMR22596, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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