: The vocal line is smooth and clean, moving largely in scalar motion with "lilting repeated leaps". While the harmonies feature Poulenc's characteristic subtle chromaticism, they are more conservative and "typically tuneful" compared to his more complex settings of surrealist poetry.
: These are set in C-sharp minor , evoking a sense of lost love and melancholy. Poulenc: Les chemins de l'amour, FP. 106
: The piece is in strophic form , primarily divided into two segments. : The vocal line is smooth and clean,
: While Poulenc provided roughly 20 minutes of music for the production, Les chemins de l'amour is the only portion that has survived; the rest of the score is lost. : The piece is in strophic form ,
Originally, the song was not intended as a standalone recital piece but as part of the incidental music for Jean Anouilh’s play Léocadia . The play tells the story of a young prince obsessed with the memory of a woman he knew for only three days; a young woman is eventually hired to impersonate her and bring him back to reality.
Beyond its surface as a theatrical "hit," scholars have explored deeper emotional layers within the song. Les chemins de l'amour, FP106 (Poulenc) - Hyperion Records