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.

La Courte Paille
Songs by Francis Poulenc
CatalogueFP 178
Based onPoems by Maurice Carême
ComposedSummer 1960 (Summer 1960)
PerformedSeptember 1961 (1961-09)
Scoring
  • Voice
  • piano
Premiere
LocationFestival de Royaumont (then Seine-et-oise department)

History of the work

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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

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  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

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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

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La Courte Paille is dedicated to the singer Denise Duval (1921–2016) in honor of her son Richard Schilling.[1]

Discography

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References

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Clifton, Keith E. "Beyond Childhood: Poulenc, La courte paille, and the Aural Envelope." College Music Symposium 49/50 (2009/2010): 333-44.

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