POULENC, Francis (1899-1963)

POULENC, Francis (1899-1963)

Autograph letter signed « Francis Poulenc » to Frederick Woods
[Saint-Raphaël], 3rd April 1960, 1 p. in-12°
Period fold mark, slight browning in some areas
Envelope included (tear on verso, see scans)

Poulenc refuses to talk about his secular cantata Le Bal masqué

« Monsieur,
Excusez moi mais je n’ai ni le temps, ni le goût de parler du Bal masqué – à toutes fins utiles, je vous signale l’excellent texte d’Henri Hell qui figure sur la pochette du disque Vega.
Veuillez agréer, Monsieur, je vous prie mes sentiments distingués.
Francis Poulenc »

Created in 1932, Le Bal masqué marks Poulenc’s admiration for the poet Max Jacob (1876-1944), whom he discovered through the Cornet à dés, in 1917. Although Poulenc composed nearly fifty songs on various poems throughout his career, including those of Ronsard, Banville, Moréas and Apollinaire, his adaptation of Max Jacob’s poetry in 1932 with Le Bal masqué remains amongst the composer’s most celebrated pieces.
Poulenc is referring here to the album Max Jacob, Francis Poulenc – Le Bal Masqué – Cantate Profane, recorded in 1956 by Studio Vega. It was Henri Hell (1916-1991), a specialist and biographer of the musician, who wrote the liner notes.