Below you will find two exquisite performances of two pieces from Poulenc's La Courte Paille. Poulenc is at the piano with Denise Duval,the legendary French soprano who created the roles of Elle in La voix humaine and Thérèse in Les mamelles de Tirésias. She also had much success with the role of Blanche de la Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites, although she didn't sing the world premiere. The artistry between these two is absolutely stunning. Like Britten, Poulenc is considered one of the all time great accompanists. Read this NY Times article by William Crutchfield for more information.
The video begins with a short interview between Poulenc and the host. In it, you can hear Poulenc speaking about the cycle, that he wrote it for Denise Duval and he refers to her as one of his favorite singers. (They toured together quite a bit towards the end of his life, forming in addition to his great partnership with Bernac, one of the great duos in Art Song performance.) Listen to the interview and see how good your French comprehension is!
From
La Courte Paille/The Short Straw
Text: Maurice Carème (1899- 1978)
# 2
Quelle aventure/What an adventure
A flea was pulling
a little elephant in its carriage.
They looked
in all the jewelry store windows.
My God, my God! What an adventure!
Who's going to believe me?
The baby elephant was absent-mindedly
sucking on a pot of jam.
The flea didn't mind,
and pulled him with a smile on her face.
My God, my God! And it keeps right on!
I'll start to think I'm crazy!
Suddenly, by a fence,
the flea blew away in the wind
and I saw the little elephant
break down walls as he ran away.
My God, my God! It surely happened,
but how will I tell Mother?
# 5
Les anges musiciens/ The musical angels
Upon the threads of the rain
the Thursday angels
play on the harp for a long time.
And beneath their fingers, Mozart
tinkles, deliciously,
in drops of blue joy
since it is always Mozart
which is played endlessly
by the musician angels
who, all day Thursday,
make their harps sing
the sweetness of the rain.
Complete translations for La Courte Paille found here.
Denise Duval, soprano and Francis Poulenc, piano
Next, listen to this fabulous find!
Singer/actress, Yvonne Printemps sings "Le Chemin de l'amour" with orchestra in this very affecting performance. Pay close attention to the wonderful portamenti and her superb attention to the text.
Les Chemins de l'amour/ The Pathways of Love
Text: Jean Anouilh (1910-)
The pathways that go to the sea
have kept from our passage
some plucked flowers
and the echos under the trees
of our sweet, clear laughter.
Alas! Some days of happiness,
radiant times flown away,
I go on without finding traces of them in my heart.
Pathways of my love,
I search for you always,
Lost pathways, you're not there any more
and your echos are deafened.
Pathways of desperation,
Pathways of memories,
Pathways of that first day,
Divine pathways of love!
If I have to forget one day,
life erasing everything;
I want that in my heart one memory remains
stronger than any other love:
the memory of the pathway,
where radiant and delirious
one day I felt your hands burning upon me.
Pathways of my love,
I search for you always,
Lost pathways, you're not there any more
and your echos are deafened.
Pathways of desperation,
Pathways of memories,
Pathways of that first day,
Divine pathways of love!
Yvonne Printemps, soprano
One Final Performance: "C" Text: Louis Aragon (1897-1982)
This is one of Poulenc's most beautiful and moving compositions. It's not on the listening list, but you must be familiar with it!
Aragon, who was a member of the Communist Party since 1927 and was a high ranking member of the French Resistance wrote the poem. It is filled with imagery about the war, nostalgia for the past and hope for the future. Note that each line in the French ends with the rhyme Cé. Hugues Cuenod is the tenor. The pianist is unfortunately not noted.
Le Pont de Cé/ The bridge of Cé
I have crossed the bridges of Cé
It was there that it all began
A song of times past
Speaks of a wounded knight
Of a rose upon the road
And of a bodice unlaced
Of the castle of a mad duke
And of the swans in its moats
Of the meadow where will dance
An eternal fiancée
And like cold milk I drank
The long lay of false glories
The Loire carries off my thoughts
Along with the overturned cars
And the defused weapons
And the tears not rubbed away
Oh my France, oh my abandoned one
I have crossed the bridges of Cé.
Hugues Cuenod, tenor, pianist, unfortunately not noted.
11 years ago
