companies around the world. Musical interpretations As the 1912 version didn't provide a return to the opening scene at the end, Ashton's musical arranger John Lanchbery constructed a closing reconciliation scene from earlier music and a passage from Messager's operetta Véronique, as well as revising the orchestration in favour of a richer sound. John Lanchbery recorded his version of the ballet music for EMI in 1984 with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. In 1991 the Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera released a recording of Messager's short score. La Fontaine's fable also served as the inspiration for Charles Aznavour's song "Les Deux Pigeons", which was featured in a segment of the film 3 Fables of Love (1962). The song is a sad one, since in this case the pigeon has not returned home. In common with the fable of La Fontaine, a parallel is drawn between the parting of male friends (Un pigeon regrettait son frère) and a broken heterosexual relationship. A later song by Gérard Manset really only features the fable's opening line, Deux pigeons s'aimaient d'amour tendre, and was issued on his album La Vallée de la Paix (1994). It contemplates the impossibility of happiness since love is always threatened by the fall of winter. Settings of La Fontaine's fable include one by Charles Gounod (1883) which omits the story and only includes the 19-line final sentiment. The German composer Stefan Wolpe set a translation by Heinrich von Kleist: "Die Beiden Tauben" features as the third song for baritone and piano in his Drei Lieder von Heinrich von Kleist (op.3, 1925). References La Fontaine's Fables Fictional Columbidae Literary duos