Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include
mélodies, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-known are the piano suite
Trois mouvements perpétuels (1919), the ballet
Les biches (1923), the
Concert champêtre (1928) for
harpsichord and orchestra, the opera
Dialogues des Carmélites (1957), and the
Gloria (1959) for
soprano, choir and orchestra.