Lili Boulanger

Lili Boulanger

Marie-Juliette Olga ("Lili") Boulanger (French: [bu.lɑ̃.ʒe]; 21 August 1893 – 15 March 1918) was a French composer, and the first female winner of the Prix de Rome composition prize. Her older sister was the noted composer and composition teacher Nadia Boulanger.

Biography

Early years

As a Parisian-born child prodigy, Boulanger's talent was apparent at the age of two, when Gabriel Fauré, a friend of the family and later one of Boulanger's teachers, discovered she had perfect pitch. Her parents, both of whom were musicians, encouraged their daughter's musical education. Her mother, Raissa Myshetskaya (Mischetzky), was a Russian princess who married her Paris Conservatoire teacher, Ernest Boulanger (who won the Prix de Rome in 1835). Her father was 77 years old when Lili was born and she became very attached to him. Her grandfather Frédéric Boulanger had been a noted cellist and her grandmother Juliette a singer.

Boulanger accompanied her ten-year-old sister Nadia to classes at the Paris Conservatoire before she was five, shortly thereafter sitting in on classes on music theory and studying organ with Louis Vierne. She also sang and played piano, violin, cello and harp. Her teachers included Marcel Tournier and Alphonse Hasselmans.

Career

In 1912, Boulanger competed in the Prix de Rome but during her performance she collapsed from illness. She returned in 1913 at the age of 19 to win the composition prize for her cantata Faust et Hélène, becoming the first woman to win the prize. The text was written by Eugene Adenis based on Goethe's Faust.[1] The cantata had many performances during Lili's lifetime.[2] Because of the prize, she gained a contract with the publisher Ricordi.

Her sister Nadia had given up entering after four unsuccessful attempts and had focused her efforts upon her sister Lili, first a student of Nadia and then of Paul Vidal, Georges Caussade and Gabriel Fauré—the last of whom was greatly impressed by the young woman's talents and frequently brought songs for her to read. Lili was greatly affected by the 1900 death of her father; many of her works touch on themes of grief and loss. Her work was noted for its colorful harmony and instrumentation and skillful text setting. Aspects of Fauré and Claude Debussy can be seen in her compositions, and Arthur Honegger was influenced by her innovative work.

Illness and premature death

Her life and work were troubled by chronic illness, beginning with a case of bronchial pneumonia at age two that weakened her immune system, leading to the "intestinal tuberculosis" that cut her life short at the early age of 24.[3] (Crohn's disease, which was first identified in 1932[4], is another possible cause of death, but that diagnosis was not available during her lifetime.) Although she loved to travel, completing several works in Italy after winning the Prix de Rome, her failing health forced her to return home, where she and Nadia organized efforts to support French soldiers during World War I. Her last years were also a productive time musically as she labored to complete works. Her death left unfinished the opera La princesse Maleine on which she had spent most of the last years of her life.

Boulanger died in Mézy-sur-Seine and was buried in Paris, in a tomb located in the Cimetière de Montmartre, near the entrance to the cemetery in the southwest corner of section 33 close to the intersection of Avenue Saint-Charles and Chemin Billaud. In 1979, her sister Nadia Boulanger was laid to rest in the same tomb. Her parents also rest in this tomb.[5]

Works

Les sirènes

A demonstration of the ostinato in Les sirènes

Les sirènes (1911) is written for solo soprano and three part choir. The topic, mermaids, uses a text by Charles Grandmougin. This work was first premiered at one of her mother's exclusive musical gatherings. Auguste Mangeot a critic from the Paris music journal Le Monde Musicale, reported that everyone liked the piece so well it had to be repeated. Boulanger used this piece as a preparation for the Prix de Rome competition, and from it one can see her firm grounding in the classical technique taught at the Conservatoire. She uses this technique as a starting point and employs many devices popular at that time to create a personal and clear statement.[6]

The poetry of this selection deals with the mythological siren, a creature that sings to seduce sailors to steer closer; when they do, the sirens devour the men. Boulanger depicts this scene as vividly as she possibly can. She uses a pedal tone on F♯ combined with ascending C♯ octaves at the beginning to portray the mesmerizing effect of the sirens. She uses this effect for twenty-eight measures, in effect, lulling listeners into a trance-like sleep.[6]

The work is dedicated to Madame Jane Engel Bathori.[7] Bathori, a soprano, was known for her concert organisation, and supported many new artists and composers.[8]

Psalms

Boulanger composed three psalm settings: Psalms 24, 129 and 130.[9]

Psalm 24

She composed Psalm 24, entitled La terre appartient à l’Eternel ("The earth is the Lord's"), in 1916 while she was resident in Rome. The work is dedicated to Monsieur Jules Griset, who was the director of Choral Guillot de Saint-Brice.[2] Durand published the work in 1924. The work is scored for choir (consisting of soprano, alto, tenor and bass), accompanied by organ and brass ensemble (consisting of 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 4 trombones, 1 tuba), timpani and 2 harps.[10] Boulanger's score uses brass fanfares and homophonic choral passages: the contrast of sections contrast to the style of her 1912 Prix de Rome winning cantata, Faust et Hélène, as heard in Yan Pascal Tortelier's recording.[11]

Psalm 129

Psalm 129 was also composed in 1916 in Rome. This psalm is much longer than Psalm 24 and is composed for full orchestra.[12] The premiere performance was held at the Salle Pleyel in 1921, conducted by Henri Busser.[13]

Psalm 130

Du fond de l'abîme (Psalm 130: De Profundis/"Out of the depths"), is composed for voice and orchestra, and dedicated to the memory of her father, as noted at the top of the score.[14] Boulanger's psalms convey her Catholic faith.[15] She completed this work when she was only twenty-two, yet it sounds mature and conveys her developed compositional style.[16] Ristow writes that Boulanger composed Du fond de l'abîme in reaction to World War I.[17]

Pie Jesu

Lili Boulanger finished this Pie Jesu (1918) towards the end of her life, but "the first of Lili Boulanger's sketches for the Pie Jesu are to be found in a composition book she used between 1909 and 1913."[18] As noted by her sister, Nadia, she dictated the work to her.[19] Scholars such as biographer Léonie Rosenstiel[6] and Olivia Mattis[20] speculate that Boulanger intended to write a complete Requiem Mass but did not live to complete it. Scored for high voice, string quartet, harp and organ, Boulanger's setting is sparse.[21] Pie Jesu is the only surviving Boulanger text setting that uses an explicitly Christian text (i.e. coming from either the New Testament or the Christian liturgy, as opposed to her Psalm settings, whose texts come from the Jewish Old Testament).[22]

Vieille prière bouddhique

This work, "Old Buddhist Prayer", is written for tenor and chorus (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), accompanied by a large orchestra consisting of: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets (B♭), bass clarinet (B♭), 2 bassoons, sarrusophone + 4 horns (F), 3 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba + tympani, cymbals, bass drum + celesta + 2 harps, strings.[23] Composed during 1914–1917, as many of her works, it was not performed until after World War I, in 1921. This work is not based within Catholicism, as her psalms were. Rather, it sets a Buddhist daily prayer.[24] James Briscoe notes that this work shows similarities to Stravinsky but also to the next generation.[25]

D'un soir triste

This instrumental work was the last Boulanger was able to compose by her own hand, without help in writing.[26]

D'un matin de printemps

This symphonic poem is one of the last pieces Lili Boulanger completed. Different arrangements were produced including a version for violin, for flute, and for piano, another for piano trio, and another for orchestra. Although she finished both these instrumental works, her sister Nadia reportedly edited the works to add dynamics and performance directions.[27]

Legacy

In March 1939, her sister Nadia, assisted by American friends, created the Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund. The fund has two objectives: to perpetuate Lili Boulanger's music and memory and financially support talented musicians. The Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund does not accept applications for its annual competition but a list of candidates is produced by a group of nominators selected each year by the Board of Trustees. Each nominator can then nominate one candidate each for the prize. The Fund then awards the Prix Lili Boulanger to one of these candidates. The University of Massachusetts Boston curates the fund.[28] Previous winners have included Alexei Haieff (1942), Noël Lee (1953), Wojciech Kilar (1960), Robert D. Levin (1966, 1971) and Andy Akiho (2015).[29]

In April 1965, the Friends of Lili Boulanger Association was created in Paris'. This organization became the Nadia and Lili Boulanger International Centre (CNLB) in 2009.[30]

The asteroid 1181 Lilith was named in her honor.

The two definitive biographies are The Life and Works of Lili Boulanger ( ISBN 0-8386-1796-4) by the American musicologist Léonie Rosenstiel and À la recherche de Lili Boulanger by French musicologist and tenor Jérôme Spycket.

Selected works

Lili Boulanger, source: Library of Congress.
  • Clairières dans le ciel - I & II (1915)
  • Faust et Hélène, cantata for mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, and orchestra (1913)
  • D'un matin de printemps, orchestra (1917–18)
  • D'un soir triste, orchestra (1917–18)
  • Hymne au Soleil
  • Les Sirènes, soprano, female choir and piano (1911)
  • Nocturne pour violon et piano (1911)
  • Pie Jesu (1917- 1918)
  • Psaume 24, tenor, choir, organ, and orchestra (1916)
  • Psaume 129
  • Psaume 130 (Du fond de l'abîme) - alto, tenor, choir, organ, and orchestra (1910–17)
  • Trois morceaux pour piano - 1. D'un Vieux Jardin (Of an Old Garden), 2. D'un Jardin Clair (Of a Bright Garden), 3. Cortège (1914)
  • Vieille prière bouddhique - tenor, choir, and orchestra (1914-1917)

List of Works

    List of Works by Year
    Title Year Instrumentation Lyricist
    Nocturne 1911 Violin and Piano N/A
    Renouveau 1911 Vocal Quartet (SATT) and Piano/Orchestra Armand Silvestre
    Les Sirènes 1911 Mezzo-Soprano, Chorus, and Piano Charles Grandmougin
    Reflets 1911 Voice and Piano Maurice Maeterlinck
    Attente 1912 Voice and Piano/Orchestra Maurice Maeterlinck
    Hymne au Soliel 1912 Contralto, Chorus, and Piano Casimir Delavigne
    Le Retour 1912 Voice and Piano Georges Delaquys
    Pour les Funérailles 1912 Baritone, Chorus, and Piano Alfred de Musset
    Soir sur la Plaine 1913 Soprano, Tenor, and Orchestra Albert Samain
    Faust et Hélène 1913 Tenor, Baritone, Mezzo-Soprano, Chorus,

    and Orchestra

    		 Eugène Adenis
    D'un Jardin Clair 1914 Piano N/A
    D'un Vieux Jardin 1914 Piano N/A
    Cortège 1914 Violin and Piano N/A
    Clairières dans le Ciel 1914 Voice and Piano Francis Jammes
    Psaume 24 1916 Chorus, Organ, and Orchestra N/A
    Psaume 129 1916 Baritone and Orchestra N/A
    Dans l'immense Tristesse 1916 Voice and Piano B. Galeron de Calone
    Psaume 130 1917 Voice, Chorus, Organ, and Orchestra N/A
    Vieille Prière bouddhique 1917 Tenor, Chorus and, Orchestra
    D'un Matin de Printempts 1918 Violin and Piano N/A
    Pie Jesu 1918 Voice, String Quartet, Harp, and Organ

      References

      1. ↑ Rosentiel, Leonie (1978). The Life and Work of Lili Boulanger. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 258. ISBN 9780838617960.
      2. 1 2 Potter, Caroline (2006). Nadia and Lili Boulanger. Farnham: Ashgate. p. 94. ISBN 978-0754604723.
      3. ↑ "Composer of the Week". radionz.org. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
      4. ↑ Crohn's disease#History
      5. ↑ Article on the website of Philippe Landru
      6. 1 2 3 Rosenstiel, Léonie. 1978. The Life and Works of Lili Boulanger. Associated UPs.
      7. ↑ (1893-1918), Lili Boulanger (1911-01-01). "Les sirènes - Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) - Work - Resources from the BnF". data.bnf.fr. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
      8. ↑ Kelly, Barbara (2013). Music and Ultra-modernism in France: A Fragile Consensus, 1913-1939. Boydell Press. pp. 50–53. ISBN 978-1843838104.
      9. ↑ Fauser and Orledge., Annegret and Robert (12 March 2016). "Boulanger, Lili". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
      10. ↑ "Lili Boulanger, Psalm 24". repertoire-explorer.musikmph.de. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
      11. ↑ Lili Boulanger, ‘Faust et Hélène, D’un matin de printemps, D’un soir triste, Psaume 130, Psaume 24’, [CD], cond. Yan Pascal Tortelier, BBC Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus (1999) Chandos CHAN9745.
      12. ↑ "Boulanger, Lili, Musical score". Repertoire Explorer. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
      13. ↑ "Lili Boulanger, Psalm 129". repertoire-explorer.musikmph.de. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
      14. ↑ "Boulanger, Lili, Musical score". Repertoire Explorer. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
      15. ↑ Fauser and Orledge, Annegret and Robert (12 March 2016). "Boulanger, Lili". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
      16. ↑ Lili Boulanger: Psalm 130 (Du fond de l'abîme), Psalms 24 & 129, Vieille Priere bouddhique; Igor Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms; London Symphony Orchestra, The Monteverdi Choir, Sally Bruce-Payne (mezzo soprano), Julian Podger (baritone), cond. John Eliot Gardiner; Deutsche Grammophon CD B000068PHA (2002).
      17. ↑ Ristow, Gregory Carylton. 2011. “Contextualizing Lili Boulanger's Psalm 130: Du fond de l'abîme: Music, War and Politics with a re-orchestration for performance in halls without organ.” DMA diss., University of Rochester.
      18. ↑ Léonie Rosenstiel, The Life and Works of Lili Boulanger (Cranbury, NJ: Associated UPs 1978), 200.
      19. ↑ "BOULANGER, Lili and Nadia: In Memoriam Lili Boulanger". www.naxos.com. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
      20. ↑ Mattis, Olivia, 1993. “Lili Boulanger - Polytoniste.” In Lili Boulanger-Tage 1993. Bremen zum 100. Geburtstag der Komponisten : Konzerte und Veranstaltungen, edited by Kathrin Mosler, 48-51. Callas/Zeichen und Spuren.
      21. ↑ "Boulanger, Lili, Musical score". Repertoire Explorer. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
      22. ↑ Gregory Carylton Ristow, ““Contextualizing Lili Boulanger's Psalm 130: Du fond de l'abîme: Music, War and Politics with a re-orchestration for performance in halls without organ” (DMA diss., University of Rochester, 2011), 55.
      23. ↑ "Vieille prière bouddhique (Boulanger, Lili) - IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library: Free Public Domain Sheet Music". imslp.org. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
      24. ↑ "Vieille Prière Bouddhique". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
      25. ↑ Briscoe, James (2004). New Historical Anthology of Music by Women, Volume 1. Indiana University Press. p. 278. ISBN 978-0253216830.
      26. ↑ orchestrationonline. "Lili Boulanger in Her Own Right". Orchestration Online. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
      27. ↑ "D'un matin de printemps". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
      28. ↑ The Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund on the Umass website
      29. ↑ List of past winners on the Umass website
      30. ↑ The Centre international Nadia et Lili Boulanger website
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