Gloria, for soprano, chorus and orchestra, FP177

The piece unfolds in six short movements, all setting phrases from the Gloria of the Latin mass.

I. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Bright, stamping brass and timpani open the work, a bold fanfare that feels almost too festive for church, followed by a full choral shout of praise.

II. Laudamus te. A quick, bouncy movement with off-kilter accents. Poulenc himself said he was thinking of monks playing soccer, and the choir's spiky rhythms carry that same playful energy.

III. Domine Deus. Soft and slow, with the soprano soloist entering over a hushed orchestra. This is the still center of the piece, gentle and searching.

IV. Domine Fili unigenite. A short, brisk movement with the choir singing in bright, almost march-like unison, a jolt of energy after the calm before it.

V. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei. The soprano returns, floating long lines above sustained chords. Listen for the melody's wide, arching leaps.

VI. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris. The finale recalls the opening fanfare, then closes quietly, the soprano's voice fading upward on the words "in gloria Dei Patris, Amen."

Poulenc composed his Gloria in 1959 on a commission from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, dedicating it to the memory of Serge and Natalie Koussevitzky. It was his first large choral work after several earlier sacred pieces had established him as a serious composer of religious music, a surprising turn for a man once known mainly for witty, urbane songs and chamber pieces. The premiere took place in Boston in 1961, with soprano Adele Addison, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Chorus Pro Musica under Charles Munch. The work was quickly embraced for its unusual combination of solemn text and buoyant, sometimes puckish music, and it has remained one of the most frequently performed choral works of the twentieth century, a staple alongside masses by Mozart and Verdi.