Bidspirit auction | POULENC FRANCIS: (1899-1963)

POULENC FRANCIS: (1899-1963) - POULENC FRANCIS: (1899-1963) French Composer and Pianist, a member of Les Six. An excellent A.L.S., referring to the inminent completion of one of his most important early works, Les Biches (1924), signed ` Francis Poulenc ´, two pages, 4to, Nazelles, 14th April, n.y., [1923], to Jose Maria Sert, in French. Poulenc apologizes to his correspondent for his absence from the celebrated Beaumont festivities and explains the reasons, saying ` C´est de mon lit où je suis cloué depuis 10 jours par une abominable jaunisse que je vous envoie ces quelques mot. Le docteur ne me permet que le lait et me défend de mettre le pied par terre avant 8 jours. Dans ces conditions vous comprendrez qu´il m´est totalement impossible d´écrire le numéro pour la fête Beaumont...´ (Translation: ” It is from my bed, where I have been confined for 10 days by a terrible case of jaundice, that I send you these few words. The doctor has only allowed me milk and has forbidden me to put my foot on the floor for 8 days. Under these circumstances, you will understand that it is completely impossible for me to write the issue for the Beaumont festival...”) Further Poulenc very interestingly entrusts Sert with a message for his wife, the legendary patron and muse Misia Sert, referring to his one-act ballet Les Biches, and explaining why he has not yet performed the ballet for Misia, despite already dedicating the ballet to her. Poulenc states ` Soyez assez gentil pour être auprès de votre femme l´interprète d´une commission que j´aurais voulu lui faire moi-même avant mon départ de Paris mais que j´ai du différer jusqu´à aujourd´hui, n´ayant jamais eu l´occasion de la voir seule. Dites-lui donc, je vous prie, que si je ne lui ai pas joué mon Ballet – qui lui est déjà dédié – c’est que ” Les Biches ” n’étant pas tout à fait terminées, et considérant votre femme comme une des rares personnes connaissant et aimant vraiment la musique, rien ne m’aurait plus intimidé que de lui soumettre une œuvre incomplète.´ (Translation: ” Please be so kind as to convey to your wife a request I had intended to make for her myself before leaving Paris, but which I had to postpone until now, having never had the opportunity to see her alone. Please tell her that if I haven't performed my ballet for her—which is already dedicated to her—it's because ”Les Biches” wasn't quite finished, and considering your wife to be one of the few people who truly know and love music, nothing would have intimidated me more than submitting an incomplete work to her.”) Before concluding, once again, Poulenc shows his reverence for Misia Sert, one of the most influential cultural arbiters of the era, saying ` La dernière barre de mesure posée, je me ferai une joie d´aller lui jouer..´ (Translation: ” With the last bar line in place, I'll be delighted to go and play it for him...”) VG Jose Maria Sert (1874-1945) Spanish painter and muralist with international success. Misia Sert (1872-1950) born Maria Zofia Olga Zenajda Godebska, was known primarily as a patron of contemporary artists and musicians during the decades she hosted salons in her home in Paris. Born in the Russian Empire, with French and Polish descent, she became a professional pianist and gave her first public concert in 1892. She was a patron and friend of numerous artists, for whom she regularly posed, appearing on magazine covers and posters. Her salons were frequented by contemporary writers and musicians played their newest works. In addition, Sert made creative and financial contributions to Sergei Diaghilev, impresario of the Ballets Russes, and to other composers. Les Biches (1924) is a one-act ballet by Francis Poulenc, choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska and premiered by the Ballets Russes on 6th January 1924 at the Salle Garnier in Monte-Carlo. Nijinska danced the central role of the Hostess. The ballet was seen in Paris and London within a year of its premiere. Nijinska directed revivals of the ballet for several companies in the four decades after its creation. Les Biches, with recreations of Marie Laurencin´s original costumes and scenery, remains in the repertoire of the Paris Opera Ballet and the London Royal Ballet. By 1923, Poulenc was emerging as a central figure of Les Six, forging a fresh, elegant and distinctly French musical language. Les Biches, commissioned for the Ballets Russes, would soon establish him internationally. This letter places us inside the final phase of composition, when the work still existed in a private, unfinished state.