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

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VI. Conclusion
One cannot conclude this study without comparing the individual composers’
differences in popularity, lifestyle and choices.
While it is generally agreed that Poulenc’s setting is superior to Durey’s, one
cannot overlook Durey’s contribution of setting all 26 of the animal poems to music.
Graham Johnson comments that while “the younger composer’s [Poulenc’s] inherent wit
and tenderness are hard to beat…Durey’s wider selection of animal poems (elephant, fly,
flea, and dove, among many others), supplements Poulenc’s much smaller menagerie.” 76
It is intriguing to consider the differences in popularity of each cycle. Perhaps
Poulenc’s sampling of six settings was to his advantage in a “quality over quantity”-like
manner. Maybe the number of settings did not impact the success and it was merely that
more people preferred Poulenc’s setting. It is also possible that since Poulenc was on the
rise as a popular, young Parisian composer, people simply paid more attention to his
setting. Durey’s settings of “Le chèvre, dromadaire, dauphin, sauterelle, écrevisse, and
carpe,” however, stand their own ground when compared directly to Poulenc’s same six
settings.
It is important in comparing these two cycles to observe the similarities and
differences since the composers both stemmed from the same Parisian artistic climate. It
is apparent that both Durey and Poulenc appreciated and were inspired by Apollinaire’s
poetry. While it is difficult to tell whether or not the two drew inspiration from Dufy’s
woodcuts, it is apparent that they considered Apollinaire’s surface implications, as well
as deeper meanings conveyed through the text. Poulenc seems to have struck a chord
with Apollinaire’s deeper implications and Graham Johnson goes as far as to say that
76 Graham Johnson, A French Song Companion, 152.