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.La Courte Paille on the site of the Bibliothèque nationale de France
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 YouTube 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