Wanda Landowska was a celebrated Polish harpsichordist, composer, writer, and teacher. She was known as the guru of harpsichord fingerings, and was widely respected by composers. In this song, Scheer clearly imagines her as a woman with a large, intimidating personality. She laments waiting for her concerto, Poulenc’s Concert Champêtre (1927-8), and completely dominates Poulenc until she forces him to admit his love for Richard. Richard Chanlaire was an artist and later a fashion designer. In his twenties, Poulenc was deeply resistant to his own homosexuality. Eventually, he began and affair with Chanlaire, who became the first serious lover in Poulenc’s life. In this song Landowska impatiently urges Poulenc to go get him, so that he can finally finish her concerto.
Poulenc’s important association with Bernac has been noted above. In this song, Heggie and Scheer explore the collaborative nature of Poulenc’s relationship with Bernac. More than just composer and performer, the two worked together to try to create their art. As Poulenc plays Bernac “a setting of Cocteau,” specifically Plain-chant, Pierre politely expresses his distaste for the song, causing Poulenc to destroy the work. However, he immediately moves on and begins work on Tel jour, telle nuit, a cycle for…show more content… However, the entry in his song diary hardly does justice to their true relationship. She was a friend and confidante, and introduced him to the poetry and poets whom he would come to idolize, including Paul Eluard. During his relationship with Chanlaire, Poulenc even proposed marriage to Linossier, potentially as an effort to deny his sexuality. Linossier was well aware of his situation, and declined the proposal. Her untimely death shattered the young Poulenc. Despite the overwhelming sadness of this song, it his difficult not to make comparisons between Heggie’s delicate waltz and Poulenc’s “Les chemins de