Mouvement perpetuel No. 1

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Musical Terms (4)

• Mouvements perpetuels fr
  The term 'mouvement perpetuel' (perpetual motion) denotes a musical piece or passage of continuous rapid notes in a single, unwavering figuration. Poulenc's three pieces under this title (FP 14, 1918) are ironic applications of the form: rather than brilliant technical display, they use the ostinato texture to create a music of wry stasis, influenced by Satie's concept of 'furniture music' and the Dadaist aesthetic of the post-war Parisian avant-garde.
  Maintain absolute rhythmic evenness throughout. The pieces' character depends on their refusal to 'develop' in a traditional sense. Resist the temptation to add expressive shape to individual phrases; the flatness IS the expression. Pedal sparingly.
• Mouvements perpetuels fr
  The term 'mouvement perpetuel' (perpetual motion) denotes a musical piece or passage of continuous rapid notes in a single, unwavering figuration. Poulenc's three pieces under this title (FP 14, 1918) are ironic applications of the form: rather than brilliant technical display, they use the ostinato texture to create a music of wry stasis, influenced by Satie's concept of 'furniture music' and the Dadaist aesthetic of the post-war Parisian avant-garde.
  Maintain absolute rhythmic evenness throughout. The pieces' character depends on their refusal to 'develop' in a traditional sense. Resist the temptation to add expressive shape to individual phrases; the flatness IS the expression. Pedal sparingly.
• Les Six en
  A loose association of six French composers — Poulenc, Honegger, Milhaud, Auric, Durey, and Tailleferre — grouped by the critic Henri Collet in 1920 under the influence of Erik Satie and Jean Cocteau. They shared a reaction against both Wagnerian heaviness and Impressionist vagueness, favouring wit, clarity, economy, and everyday subject matter.
  In performance, Les Six aesthetics often translate to a certain deliberate dryness: avoid over-pedalling, keep textures clear, resist the urge to inflect every phrase romantically. Irony and understatement are as expressive as full emotional intensity.
• Les Six en
  A loose association of six French composers — Poulenc, Honegger, Milhaud, Auric, Durey, and Tailleferre — grouped by the critic Henri Collet in 1920 under the influence of Erik Satie and Jean Cocteau. They shared a reaction against both Wagnerian heaviness and Impressionist vagueness, favouring wit, clarity, economy, and everyday subject matter.
  In performance, Les Six aesthetics often translate to a certain deliberate dryness: avoid over-pedalling, keep textures clear, resist the urge to inflect every phrase romantically. Irony and understatement are as expressive as full emotional intensity.