Editing Pierre Bernac (section)

===Partnership with Poulenc===

[[File:Poulenc-1922.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=young clean shaven white man with a full head of dark hair|[[Francis Poulenc]] (1920s picture)]]
Bernac and Poulenc introduced their partnership to Paris at the [[École Normale de Musique de Paris|École normale de musique]] on 3 April 1935, when they gave the premiere of Poulenc's ''Cinq poèmes de Paul Eluard''. They continued to perform together for 25 years, in France and abroad, until Bernac retired. They built up a repertory, based on Poulenc's own songs, but also exploring the works of other prominent French songwriters from the 17th to the 20th centuries,<ref>Schmidt, pp. 488–491</ref> and including songs by [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]], [[Federico Mompou|Mompou]], [[Franz Schubert|Schubert]], [[Robert Schumann|Schumann]], [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]] and others.<ref>Schmidt, pp. 266; "Recitals of the Week", ''The Times'', 28 February 1949, p. 7 and 20 November 1950, p. 2</ref>

They began performing outside France quite soon after launching their partnership: in November 1935 they performed at the French embassy in London at a reception for the [[George VI|Duke]] and [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Duchess of York]],<ref>"Court Circular", ''The Times'', 21 November 1935, p. 17</ref> the following year they broadcast the first of many recitals together on the [[BBC]],<ref>"Broadcasting", ''The Times'', 1 December 1936, p. 29</ref> and their first British tour, in 1939, took in four cities in addition to London.<ref>Schmidt, p. 488</ref> The [[Second World War]] delayed their American debut until 1948;<ref name=baker/> ''[[The New York Times]]'' said of Bernac, "the integrity and elegance of his singing quickly won him a following among connoisseurs of art song interpretation".<ref name=nyt>Hughes, Allen. [https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/19/archives/pierre-bernac-80-baritone-and-poulenc-partner-dies-advice-sought-by.html, "Pierre Bernac, 80, Baritone and Poulenc Partner, Dies"], ''The New York Times'', 19 October 1979. Retrieved 18 May 2020</ref>

Poulenc wrote 90 songs for Bernac, "his style influenced by the baritone's peculiarly refined artistry", according to ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]''. Although Bernac avoided the operatic stage after 1936, Poulenc relied on him for technical advice on vocal matters when writing his opera ''[[Dialogues des Carmélites]]'', and his late [[Gloria (Poulenc)|Gloria]].<ref name=s216/> Poulenc said that his association with Bernac was the reason why he wrote so many songs. "No one will ever sing them better than Bernac, who knows the inner secrets of my music. It was also through accompanying him in Schubert, Schumann, Fauré, Debussy and Ravel that I learnt my trade as a melodist."<ref>Poulenc, p. 224</ref> Other composers who wrote for Bernac include, from France, [[André Jolivet]], [[Henri Sauguet]] and [[Jean Françaix]]; from Germany, [[Paul Hindemith]]; from England, [[Lennox Berkeley]]; and from the US, [[Samuel Barber]].<ref name=grove/>

Bernac retired from the concert platform in 1959, when he was 60.<ref>Schmidt, p. 208</ref>