| French: La Courte Paille | |
| Type: | Songs |
| Composer: | Francis Poulenc |
| Catalogue: | FP 178 |
| Based On: | Poems by Maurice Carême |
| Premiere Location: | Festival 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.
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]
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).
La Courte Paille is dedicated to the singer Denise Duval (1921–2016) in honor of her son Richard Schilling.
Clifton, Keith E. "Beyond Childhood: Poulenc, La courte paille, and the Aural Envelope." College Music Symposium 49/50 (2009/2010): 333-44.