Le Bestiare ou le Cortege d'Orphee for Voice and Seven Instruments, FP 15a: Medium Voice, Chamber Accompaniment, Conductor Score & Parts

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) composed the short song cycle Le Bestiaire ou Cortège d'Orphée in 1919 for voice with accompaniment by a septet of flute, clarinet, bassoon, and string quartet, though the piano arrangement he later created is more regularly used today. The poems are by Guillaume Apollinaire, a specialist in medieval bestiaries, who composed 30 short poems about semi-mythical animals, with accompanying woodcuts by Raoul Dufy. Orpheus, the bard of Greek mythology, is included in four of the 30 poems. Poulenc set six of the poems to music: I. Le Dromadaire; II. Le Chèvre du Thibet; III. La Sauterelle; IV. Le Dauphin; V. L'Écrevisse; VI. La Carpe. Both the chamber accompaniment and the piano accompaniment versions are available from the publisher.