a comparative analysis of louis durey and francis poulenc's settings ...

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La Carpe--Poulenc
“La Carpe” is argued to be Poulenc’s most profound Bestiaire composition.
Despite its simplicity, the 11-measure song conveys the poem’s sense of hopelessness
effectively. Appropriately indicated très triste, très lent (very sad, very slow), Poulenc’s
“La Carpe” is simple in structure. In fact, every other measure in the accompaniment is
the same, which gives a feeling of the banal existence of the carp. The repetitiveness in
the accompaniment makes the vocal line especially important. And, at a hushed
pianissimo, the voice creates the “drama” of the piece.
The vocal line is consistent, moving mostly in small intervals. The consistency
provides for contrast when the vocal line has larger intervals. The vocal line starts out at a
stifling whisper on E-flat to set the scene of the carp in its pool. The line creeps along
varying only when the pitch dips down a major second to D-flat and back up to E-flat,
which seems to be the “home base” for the voice. The consistency of the vocal line
makes the minor sixth jump at the voice’s next entrance at measure five especially
haunting; it adds drama to the line although it is still at a hushed pianissimo. Similarly,
the octave jump in measure ten achieves a similar effect and evokes a tender quality of
the voice to express the word mélancolie.
Fig. 13 “La Carpe,” mm. 9-10