Music from Francis Poulenc - Finale from Gloria

The great final movement of Poulenc’s Gloria begins with a fascinating dialogue between chorus a cappella (creating a “sacred” atmosphere) and the instrumental “joie de vivre” music from the very beginning of the Gloria. Then the party begins. It is joyous music and fast, racing ahead almost out of control. It finally spins off. Silence. Unaccompanied, the soprano soloist comes in: “Amen,” she says. The choir replies the same. Then comes an extended section of extraordinary beauty and calm. Although it is the lushest section of the entire Gloria, it never becomes cloying. It’s just exceedingly beautiful. Little by little, it gets quieter and quieter. After a brief fortissimo reprise of the Gloria’s opening, the work fades away, peacefully. We were so fortunate to have the gorgeous soprano Vanessa Vasquez and the organist extraordinaire Renée Anne Louprette. 

– Dennis Keene