La Courte Paille

PremiereLocationFestival de Royaumont (then Seine-et-oise department)

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 minutes.

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.^[1]

Titles

1. Le sommeil
2. Quelle aventure !
3. La reine de cœur
4. Ba, be, bi, bo, bu
5. Les anges musiciens
6. Le carafon
7. 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.^[1]

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