This work, composed from the summer of 1942 to the spring of the following year, 1943, is Poulenc's last violin sonata. Poulenc confessed in a conversation with musicologist and critic Claude Rostand, "To tell the truth, I dislike the solo violin." However, he stated that he composed this work nonetheless thanks to the violinist Ginette Neveu, who commissioned a violin sonata from him. Around this time, Poulenc wished to compose a work dedicated to the memory of the Spanish writer Federico García Lorca, who was shot in 1936, and thus the work was dedicated to García Lorca. The premiere took place on June 21, 1943, at Salle Gaveau in Paris, with Neveu on violin and the composer at the piano. It should be noted that this work was revised in 1949, and today, this revised version is frequently performed.

First Movement (Allegro con fuoco)

The first movement (Allegro con fuoco) is in a modified ternary form. Following a short introduction with chordal attacks from the piano and violin, a theme based on a dotted rhythm motif takes center stage. After a long rest, the tempo slows as the meter changes to 2/4, and in the subsequent 12/8 section, a long, arching melody reminiscent of the final chorus from the opera Les mamelles de Tirésias (premiered in 1947) is presented. Finally, the opening theme returns, but quickly transitions to the concluding section and ends.

Second Movement (Intermezzo, Très lent et calme [Very slow and calm])

The second movement (Intermezzo, Très lent et calme [Very slow and calm]) was the first movement Poulenc completed. At the beginning of the score, the opening line from García Lorca's poem La Guitare (The Guitar), "La Guitare fait pleurer les songes" (The guitar makes dreams weep), is quoted. Poulenc described this movement as "a little Spanish," and it fuses Poulenc's characteristic elements, such as the functional harmonic progressions heard in the middle section, with elements reminiscent of Spanish folk melodies.

Third Movement (Presto tragico)

The third movement (Presto tragico) begins with an opening theme derived from the main theme of the first movement. After various repetitions of the opening theme, occasionally interspersed with piano solos, it concludes powerfully from a dissonant slow section marked "très expressif et douloureux" (very expressive and painful).