Souvenirs

A previously unreleased piece by Francis Poulenc, published with permission from the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris and Benoît Seringe, secretary of the Association des amis de Francis Poulenc [Association of the Friends of Francis Poulenc]. Le Voyageur sans bagage [The Traveller Without Luggage], which had been premiered in 1937 with music by Darius Milhaud, was reprised on 1 April 1944 at the Théâtre de la Michodière; Francis Poulenc was asked to compose new stage music. The entire unpublished score lay undiscovered until Bérengère de l’Épine, a librarian at the Bibliotèque Historique de la Ville de Paris, announced the existence of a manuscript in the Association de la Régie Théâtrale collection. Poulenc finalised the score between 19 and 21 March 1944. It contains nine songs, all written for a small instrumental ensemble including oboe, clarinet, cello and piano.