Francis Poulenc
La Courte Paille
La Courte Paille (The Short Straw), FP 178, is a set of seven songs for voice and piano, composed in 1960 by Francis Poulenc on poems by Maurice Carême. The duration of the work is roughly 8
History of the work#
Composed in July–August 1960, the songs were premiered at the festival of Royaumont Abbey, in 1961, by soprano Colette Herzog and Jacques Février as the pianist.
Titles#
Le sommeil # Quelle aventure ! # La reine de cœur # Ba, be, bi, bo, bu # Les anges musiciens # Le carafon # Lune d’avril#
Origin of the poems#
Le sommeil, Ba, be, bi, bo, bu and Le carafon come from the collection of Maurice Carême La Cage aux grillons (1959). Quelle aventure ! , La reine de cœur, Les anges musiciens and Lune d’avril come from the collection Le Voleur d’étincelles (1960).
Dedicatee#
La Courte Paille is dedicated to the singer Denise Duval (1921–2016) in honor of her son Richard Schilling.
Discography#
- Fiançailles pour rire; La Courte Paille - Colette Herzog (soprano) and Jacques Février (piano) - Deutsche Grammophon, 1963.
- 3 et 6 : Les Nuits d’été; mélodies - Régine Crespin (soprano) and John Wustman (piano) - Decca Records, 1967.
- La Dame de Monte Carlo; La Courte Paille - Mady Mesplé (soprano) and Gabriel Tacchino (piano) - EMI Group, 1986.
- Mélodies - Elly Ameling (soprano) and Dalton Baldwin (piano) - EMI Group, 1991.
- Voyage à Paris - Frederica von Stade (mezzo-soprano) and Martin Katz (piano) - BMG France, 1995.
- Mélodies - Felicity Lott (soprano) and Pascal Rogé (piano) - Decca Records, 1998.
References#
Clifton, Keith E. “Beyond Childhood: Poulenc, La courte paille, and the Aural Envelope.” College Music Symposium 49/50 (2009/2010): 333-44.
External links#
- Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) - La courte paille on YouYube
- La Courte Paille, cycle de mélodies ? by Joelle Brun-Cosme
- Francis Poulenc sur La courte paille on INA.fr (26 February 1961)
- La courte paille, FP178 on Hyperion with French lyrics and English translations
- Composer
- Francis Poulenc