Episodes

The evening opened with no orchestra, only a choir. Poulenc’s Figure Humaine, scored for a double six-part vocal ensemble, is an intensely demanding work, a setting of eight poems by Paul Éluard written in the depths of the Second World War. The occupation of France had both darkened and hardened the oblique sensuality of Éluard’s imagery and Poulenc sought to reflect this in the unusual harmonies and rhythms of his part writing; the resulting cantata can be difficult to bring off, and even a flawless performance can be unnerving.

The Rundfunkchor seemed, for the most part, undaunted by the work’s complexities, sustaining a thoughtful elegance through eight poems of very different character. The basses were especially impressive, illuminating subtle harmonic flourishes by giving them an understated presence more felt than heard; they…