FIGURE HUMAINE is a cantata by Francis Poulenc for an unaccompanied double mixed choir of 12 voices. He composed it in 1943, when France was under Nazi occupation, setting texts from Paul Éluard’s 1942 anti-war poems, Poésie et vérité. Today’s Beautiful Music is a May 2020 performance in Oslo, Norway of FIGURE HUMAINE by The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, conducted by Grete Pedersen. The recording begins with a description of the piece and some of the context of its composition and premiere.