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The story of Babar, the little elephant
T
he Cyprus Symphony Orchestra Foundation
continues to contribute to the musical educa-
tion of young children with the presentation of two
afternoon family concerts for children aged be-
tween three and a half and seven and a half years
old.
The concerts are organised in collaboration with
the Department of Primary Education of the Min-
istry of Education and Culture and are part of the
educational programme “The story of Babar, the
little elephant”.
Two afternoon concerts took place on 30
Janu-
ary at the Markideion Theatre in Paphos, and on
1 February at the Strovolos Municipal Theatre in
Nicosia.
“It is with great joy that the Cyprus Symphony Or-
chestra gives a family concert in Paphos for the first
time, achieving its purpose to musically educate as
many children as possible all over the island,” said
Antigoni Antoniou, Administrative Officer at the
Cyprus Symphony Orchestra Foundation.
Children had the opportunity to enjoy the story
of their beloved little elephant Babar, with the ac-
companiment of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra
and the music of Francis Poulenc orchestrated by
Jean Françaix. The programme took place under
the direction of conductor Alkis Baltas, with nar-
rator Petros Yiorkatzis. Children enjoyed singing
along to Babar’s song with the orchestra (lyrics by
Vicky Stylianou), and had the chance to learn the
musical instruments of the Symphony Orchestra
and practice their appreciation for music as well as
the appropriate audience attitude.
The Story behind the music
During World War II, while Francis Poulenc was
visiting some relatives in Bordeaux, his four-
year-old niece expressed displeasure with what
the composer was playing on the piano. With the
certainty of youth, she removed Poulenc’s hands
from the keyboard and said “Oh that is so ugly.
Play this,” placing one of Jean de Brunhoff’s Ba-
bar books on the music stand. Poulenc improvised
an accompaniment as he read the story. Word
must have spread through the neighbourhood, for
the composer soon found himself surrounded by
neighbourhood children; their names, in fact, ap-
pear in the dedication to the work inspired by the
occasion, L’ histoire de Babar, le petit elephant.
Poulenc’s work is a melodrama which combines
de Brunhoff’s narrative with evocative musical in-
terludes. The story follows the life of the anthropo-
morphic elephant Babar from his birth and youth
in the jungle to his life in Paris (where he learns
to drive a car) and to his marriage to Celeste, his
childhood sweetheart. In lending a musical ele-
ment to the story, Poulenc relies on a number of
pictorial devices as well as the kind of stylized
forms in which he excelled: a nocturne, a grand
march, a lullaby, a waltz, a schottische.
With the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra