''La Courte Paille'' (''The Short Straw''), FP 178, is a set of seven songs for voice and piano, composed in 1960 by

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

on poems by

Maurice Carême Maurice Carême (12 May 1899 – 13 January 1978) was a Belgian francophone poet, best known for his simple writing style and children's poetry. His work was part of the literature event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympic ...

. The duration of the work is about 8 minutes.

History of the work

Composed in July–August 1960, the songs were premiered at the festival of

Royaumont Abbey Royaumont Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey, located near Asnières-sur-Oise in Val-d'Oise, approximately 30 km north of Paris, France. History It was built between 1228 and 1235 with the support of Louis IX. Several members of the Frenc ...

, in 1961, by

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

Colette Herzog and

Jacques Février Jacques Février (26 July 1900 – 2 September 1979) was a French pianist and teacher. Life and career Jacques Février was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the son of the composer Henry Février. He studied with Édouard Risler and Marguerite Lo ...

as the pianist.''La Courte Paille''
on the site of the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

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) for her son Richard Schilling.

Discography

* ''Fiançailles pour rire ; La Courte Paille'' - Colette Herzog (soprano) and

(piano) - Deutsche Grammophon, 1963. * 3 et 6 : ''Les Nuits d'été ; mélodies'' -

Régine Crespin Régine Crespin (23 February 1927 – 5 July 2007) was a French singer who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto soprano ...

(soprano) and John Wustman (piano) -

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

, 1967. * ''La Dame de Monte Carlo ; La Courte Paille'' -

Mady Mesplé Mady Mesplé (7 March 1931 – 30 May 2020) was a French opera singer, considered the leading coloratura soprano of her generation in France, and sometimes heralded as the successor to Mado Robin, with ''Lakmé'' by Delibes becoming her signatur ...

(soprano) and

Gabriel Tacchino Gabriel Tacchino (4 August 1934 – 29 January 2023) was a French classical pianist and teacher. Life and career Tacchino was born in Cannes on 4 August 1934. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire from 1947 to 1953, where his teachers included J ...

(piano) - EMI Group, 1986. * ''Mélodies'' - Elly Ameling (soprano) and

Dalton Baldwin Dalton Baldwin (December 19, 1931 – December 12, 2019) was an American accompanist. He made more than 100 recordings and won numerous prizes, working with outstanding singers such as Gérard Souzay, Elly Ameling, Arleen Auger, and Jessye Norman. ...

(piano) - EMI Group, 1991. * '' Voyage à Paris'' -

Frederica von Stade Frederica von Stade OAL (born June 1, 1945) is a semi-retired American opera singer. Since her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970, she has performed in operas, musicals, concerts and recitals in venues throughout the world, including La Scala, th ...

(mezzo-soprano) and Martin Katz (piano) - BMG France, 1995. * ''Mélodies'' -

Felicity Lott Dame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott, (born 8 May 1947) is an English soprano. Education Lott was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. From her earliest years she was musical, having started studying piano at age 5. She also played violin and bega ...

(soprano) and

Pascal Rogé Pascal Rogé (born 6 April 1951) is a French pianist. His playing includes the works of compatriot composers Saint-Saëns, Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, Satie, and Poulenc, among others. However, his repertoire also covers the German and Austrian ...

(piano) -

, 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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Courte Paille, La Mélodies Piano Compositions by Francis Poulenc 1960 compositions