Poulenc Organ Concerto, FP 93

[David Campbell]

Poulenc Organ Concerto, FP 93

I have the organ part and a miniature FS for this. Per the score:

"La registration a été établie avec le concours de Monsieur Maurice Duruflé"

Would Duruflé's assistance with the organ registration disallow uploading this to IMSLP? Many thanks.

[Carolus]

I expect it could be argued that registration instructions are 'original' in nature, which means the organ part is likely ineligible. Does the score include them also?

[David Campbell]

Yes, with the same notice.

[coulonnus]

I expect it could be argued that registration instructions are 'original' in nature [...]

I am a bit surprised because registrations are simply a selection between a set of organ stops. Vierne, Widor, French Baroque masters edited by Guilmant etc. are full of examples. In my view registrations are something like: "In Charmingcity turn right, drive 2 miles on Road XYZ, at traffic signal turn left etc." But in doubt, David, does your image-editing program allow to delete these registrations?

[panda]

I suggest that registration instructions are an intrinsic part of the composition and that, whoever may have assisted the composer derive them, the composer is the person responsible for their appearance. It seems to me that Poulenc (who wasn't an organist) is just giving credit to Durufle for this assistance. I'm reminded of Vaughan Williams who later in life had Roy Douglas's assistance in preparing works for publication. It doesn't mean Douglas composed any parts of them.

[bg318]

I have spent a bit of time looking into this, because I think it would be wonderful to be able to host such an important work here. Everything I have read seems to suggest that Duruflé did not edit, so to say, the registrations himself: his imput was as a general advisor for Poulenc about the organ.

The All Music Guide contains the following:

'Maurice Duruflé, who was the solost in the earliest performances, advised the composer on matters of the instrument's registration.'

In 'Maurice Duruflé, 1902-1986: The Last Impressionist', we find the following on page 24:

'...Duruflé advised Poulenc on the organ registrations at Salle Gaveau, whose organ was a grand orgue de concert...'

Chapter 10 of 'Maurice Duruflé: The Man and His Music' is dedicated to the concerto, but I have been unable to access it.

To me, this does look like a typical case of a composer unsure of an instrument consulting with a capable colleague, yet also acknowledging this at the top of the score. This is not uncommon at all: think about Joachim and the Brahms violin concerto or Siloti and the Tchaikovsky first piano concerto (imagine if we said this is not public domain in Europe!).

I hope this research might assure you about the copyright and that we might see this wonderful work uploaded.

[Carolus]

This latest sort of changes the 'color' of the beast. If Poulenc put the registrations in at the suggestion of Durufle, the registrations are still Poulenc's - at least from a copyright standpoint - since it was Poulenc, not Durufle, who wrote them into the fair copy or publication proofs.

[bg318]

I am still without success at finding the aforementioned 'Maurice Duruflé: The Man and His Music', which seems the best source available for this question. I have, though, found a copy of the booklet note by Philip Borg-Wheeler of Ian Tracey's Chandos recording, which states:

'After studying the possibilities of the instrument, Poulenc also took advice from Maurice Duruflé regarding the solo part.'

The BBC aired a forty minute radio documentary about the piece (located here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p020by7q; I do not know whether this is accessible outside the UK) that made no mention of Duruflé whatsoever.

[David Campbell]

This latest sort of changes the 'color' of the beast. If Poulenc put the registrations in at the suggestion of Durufle, the registrations are still Poulenc's - at least from a copyright standpoint - since it was Poulenc, not Durufle, who wrote them into the fair copy or publication proofs.

How does the French actually translate?

"La registration a été établie avec le concours de Monsieur Maurice Duruflé"

Did Duruflé contibute or merely give his approval?

[David Campbell]

We have allowed the Cello Sonata to be added to IMSLP with a similar situation and notice:

La partie de Violoncelle a été établie par l'auteur en collaboration avec Pierre Fournier
(Pierre Fournier, 1906-1986)

Is it safe to allow the Organ Concerto as well?

[coulonnus]

How does the French actually translate? "La registration a été établie avec le concours de Monsieur Maurice Duruflé". Did Duruflé contibute or merely give his approval?

He definitely contributed. concours is very close to contribution or collaboration in French, in this context.

[bg318]

Of course, the question is whether Duruflé contributed with advice about the registration or contributed by directly composing the registration. One would be insufficient for copyright, the other might not be. The sources above do suggest Duruflé just contributed through advice; I suspect chapter ten of 'Maurice Duruflé: The Man and His Music' will give a more detailed confirmation.

The case for the cello sonata seems more problematic: my initial research suggests Fournier might have directly written and edited aspects of the cello part.

We must also be careful about copy-fraud or over-recognition: is the phrase on the score entirely accurate?

[bg318]

I have found some further references. In the October 2014 issue of BBC Music Magazine, Terry Blain writes in his feature 'Building a library' about the concerto (the piece for that month)

'... Poulenc was not an organist, but fellow-composer Maurice Duruflé advised him on technical issues, and gave both the private premiere, at the Princesse's Parisian salon, and the first public performance. ...'

In 'French Music Since Berlioz', we have

'He [Poulenc] took a number of years to complete the piece, working on it with great care until it was eventually finished in August 1938 (with technical advice from Duruflé).'

Interestingly, I have found the following in 'Entrancing Muse: A Documented Biography of Francis Poulenc':

'He complained that this work above all others had given him great difficulty in finding his means of expression, and blamed delay on the need to consult the touring Nadia Boulanger about registrations and other compositional details. ... Again, Duruflé was the soloist [at the public premiere], and he, not Boulanger, is acknowledged in the printed score for having assisted with the registration.'

An academic essay from Arthur Peter Lawrence explains

'Poulenc has also given specific registrational instructions, in which he was assisted by M. Duruflé, as is indicated on the score.'

The secondary sources we have found so far do all agree that it was Poulenc who wrote the registrations on the advice of Duruflé, not that Poulenc chose the notes and Duruflé the registration. This strongly supports that the edition is in the public domain in 'life plus 50 years' territories.