Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Kiran (class of 2024) and features music for narrator and piano inspired by Babar the Elephant. Thanks, Kiran!
L’Histoire de Babar le petit éléphant (The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant) by Francis Poulenc
As a music library employee, one of our tasks is to ensure that each piece of media and literature is in the correct spot so that patrons can access materials with ease. A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a score for L’Histoire de Babar, Le Petit Éléphant. I recognized the character almost immediately, as I grew up reading the book series and later watching the early 2000s television series in my 2nd grade French class.
Babar originated in France during the 1930s and became a hit in the United States soon after. The story follows a young elephant who is introduced to western society after fleeing hunters. He returns to the elephant realm with modernized ideas and becomes their king shortly after. Babar is accompanied by many friends during his adventures.
This particular score is a piano piece with the narration of Babar’s first story, written in French. It came out long before any TV media was produced, but influenced Babar’s theme song in subsequent years. Babar has certainly influenced a generation through its media presence but has also become a story of the past. You can check out niche items like L’Histoire de Babar, Le Petit Éléphant and other unique materials at the music library (translations may or may not be included).
