Souvenirs

A previously unreleased piece by Francis Poulenc, published with permission from the Bibliotheque Historique de la Ville de Paris and Benoit 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 Theatre de la Michodiere; Francis Poulenc was asked to compose new stage music. The entire unpublished score lay undiscovered until Berengere de l'Epine, a librarian at the Biblioteque Historique de la Ville de Paris, announced the existence of a manuscript in the Association de la Regie Theatrale 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.