Inspired by some Russian folk tales from Afanasyev's collection, The Soldier's Tale was composed in 1918 while Stravinsky was in Morges, Switzerland, where he had taken refuge in 1914 to escape the First World War and the October Revolution that would overthrow the Tsarist regime in Russia in 1917. According to his autobiography, Chronicles of My Life , this work was conceived as a popular spectacle, to be recited, played, and danced ,  similar to those organized by traveling performers who traveled from city to city with limited means. For this reason, the instrumental lineup is reduced compared to the large orchestral mass of The Rite of Spring  to seven performers who represent all the timbres of the orchestra, belonging to the main orchestral families in the upper registers: the clarinet and bassoon for the woodwinds, violin and double bass for the strings, cornet and trombone for the brass, and a drum kit for the percussion. These instruments are used in a rather original way, being placed in contrast with each other thanks to the exploitation and exaltation of their differences in pitch and timbre in a writing that, in some aspects, recalls the typical sound of jazz.

Notes at the Museum

Palazzo Abatellis

Thus wrote Poulenc in 1945 to the French singer Pierre Bernac, whom he often accompanied on the piano, about his The Tale of Babar the Elephant , the composition of which had been begun almost by chance five years earlier, following a protest from one of his nieces. On a dull, sleepy afternoon in the summer of 1940, Poulenc, in the company of his family, was playing one of his compositions, Melancolie , on the piano , without much success with his four-year-old niece. The little girl, bored by the music, said sincerely and even a little impertinently to her uncle: " Uncle Francis, what boring music. Play this instead ." So saying, the little girl took an album with the tale of Babar the Elephant and placed it on the piano stand, ordering him to play. Poulenc, amused, began to improvise chords, pretending to read music from the album. Thus was born the idea of ​​composing a series of pieces to be organized into a cycle, which in its unified structure became The Story of Babar the Elephant . Originally composed for voice and piano, The Story was orchestrated in 1962, shortly before the composer's death, by Jean Françaix and enjoyed considerable success in this form. On this occasion, it is presented in the chamber orchestra version by David Matthews.

Dario Tarozzo

Events

Past events

Sep 24, 2026

Notes at the Museum · Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana

Apr 20, 2026

Poulenc's L'HISTOIRE DE BABAR & Campogrande's THE TWO NIGHTINGALES · Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana

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