About L'Histoire de Babar, le petit éléphant

A work for narrator and piano, composed between the summer of 1940 and 1945. The original source is the picture book of the same title, published in 1931 by the French children's book author Jean de Brunhoff.

In the summer of 1940, after being demobilized from the war, Poulenc stayed in Brive-la-Gaillarde, a town in the Limousin region of France. His paternal cousins' family lived there, and the composer's uncle and nieces, who had been in Paris, had also evacuated to the town. Poulenc, who was accustomed to composing at the piano, borrowed a piano from Marthe Bosredon, a local friend and amateur pianist, and, surrounded by 11 of his relatives' children, was sketching new works such as a cello sonata.

One day, one of the children listening to Poulenc's piano became bored with the music and brought Brunhoff's Babar the Elephant, asking him to play something that would fit the story. This became the impetus for the composition, and Poulenc began sketching the work. Although the composition was interrupted multiple times due to the war, it was premiered on radio on June 14, 1946, with the composer at the piano and singer Pierre Bernac as narrator. The concert premiere took place on February 8, 1949, at the R.B.A. Gallery in London, with narration by actor and BBC newscaster Bruce Belfrage and the composer at the piano. The work is dedicated to the 11 children of his relatives, Bosredon, and André Le Cœur. Additionally, there is an orchestral accompaniment version orchestrated by Jean Françaix.

The work progresses with the narration of the text corresponding to the illustrations in the original picture book, alternating with or accompanying the piano performance. For example, the scene where Babar takes a walk on his mother elephant's back features gentle music that seems to advance slowly, step by step. In the scene where the wealthy old lady who takes care of Babar performs her daily exercises, the same melody is repeated like a canon in the high register (for the old lady) and the low register (for Babar). Thus, each musical passage has a character that evokes the scene depicted in the illustrations. Furthermore, passages reminiscent of other Poulenc works are abundantly incorporated, making it a work that brings together the composer's musical characteristics.