It may not contain everything written by French modernist composer Francis Poulenc -- the solo works, the chamber works, the stage works, and the songs with piano accompaniment are naturally not included -- but Charles Dutoit's five-disc set of the orchestral works, the concerted works, the sacred choral works, and the vocal works with orchestral accompaniment by Poulenc has everything else that matters and lots, lots more. It has the charming Piano Concerto and the delightful Two Piano Concerto, the impressive Organ Concerto and the beguiling harpsichord concerto called Concert champêtre, the four-movement Sinfonietta and the seven-movement Suite française, the ballet Les biches and the Concerto chorégraphique called Aubade, plus 11 other shorter orchestral works. It has the profane "Le bal masqué" and the sacred "Litanies à la Vierge Noire," the very early "Rapsodie nègre" and the very late Gloria, plus six other vocal works, including the magnificent Stabat Mater. While Dutoit may not be the all-time greatest conductor to ever record these works -- surely that honor should go to Georges Prêtre -- he is clearly under the skin of the music, and with such superb soloists as pianist Pascal Rogé, organist Peter Hurford, soprano Françoise Pollet and baritione François Le Roux, and the idiomatic playing of the Orchestre National de France (except in the concertos, where the playing of London's Philharmonia is less idiomatic but as persuasive), his five-disc collection contains consistently expert and affectionate performances -- and many more works than Prêtre ever recorded. Whether in London or Paris, Decca's digital recordings from the early '90s are cool, smooth, clear, and colorful. ~ James Leonard, All Music Guide
![Poulenc: Concertos; Orchestral & Choral Works [Box Set]](http://content.answers.com/main/content/img/amg/classical_albums/cov200/cm300/m339/m33983yinuh.jpg)
