Lili Boulanger | |
|---|---|
 Boulanger in 1913 | |
| Born | 21 August 1893 9th arrondissement of Paris, France |
| Died | 15 March 1918(1918-03-15) (aged 24) Mézy-sur-Seine, Yvelines, France |
| Alma mater | Conservatoire de Paris |
| Occupation | Composer |
| Style | Symbolism;Impressionism |
| Father | Ernest Boulanger |
| Relatives |
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Marie-JulietteBoulanger[1] (French:[maʁiʒyljɛtbulɑ̃ʒe]ⓘ; 21 August 1893 – 15 March 1918), professionally known asLili Boulanger (French:[lilibulɑ̃ʒe]), was a French composer and musician who was the first female winner of theGrand Prix de Rome composition prize.[2] Her older sister was the noted composer and composition teacherNadia Boulanger; their father was the composerErnest Boulanger.
Born in the9th arrondissement of Paris, Boulanger's prodigiousness was apparent at a very young age: at two, she was already singing melodies by ear and learnt how to readsheet music before thealphabet.[3] Her parents, both musicians, encouraged their daughter's musical education: her mother, Raissa Myshetskaya (Mischetzky) (1858–1935), was a Russian princess (born inSaint Petersburg) who married her vocal teacher at theConservatoire de Paris,Ernest Boulanger, who won the Prix de Rome in 1835. Ernest Boulanger was 77 years old when she was born and she became very attached to him. Her paternal grandfatherFrédéric Boulanger had been a noted cellist; her grandmother,Marie-Julie Halligner (hereponym), was a famousmezzo-soprano.
Boulanger often accompanied her ten-year-old sisterNadia to classes at the Paris Conservatoire, shortly thereafter auditing classes onmusic theory and studyingorgan withLouis Vierne. She also sang and playedpiano,violin,cello andharp. Her teachers includedMarcel Tournier andAlphonse Hasselmans for harp,Hélène Chaumont (mother ofMadeleine Chaumont) for piano andFernand Luquin for violin. However, Lili herself was barred from working on her musical studies due topneumonia lasting from the ages of six through sixteen. After much waiting, Boulanger embarked to studyharmony withGeorges Caussade and composition withPaul Vidal at the Conservatoire de Paris. Whilst she studied under numerous notedpedagogues at the institution, she was primarily backed by one devoted supporter—her sister Nadia.[4]
In 1912, Boulanger competed in thePrix de Rome, but during the performance of her cantataMaïa, she collapsed from illness. She would return the following year aged nineteen, and composed acantata:Faust et Hélène; consequently, she would become the first woman to win first prize. Its text was written by Eugène Adenis based onGoethe'sFaust (though his text has been subject to much scrutiny).[5]Faust et Hélène had many performances during her lifetime.[6] Consequently, she gained a contract with the music publisherRicordi.
Nadia Boulanger had given up entering the Prix de Rome after four unsuccessful attempts and focused her attention on her role as assistant inHenri Dallier's organ class at the Conservatoire, where Lili studied harmony, counterpoint and composition with Paul Vidal andGeorges Caussade under its directorGabriel Fauré—the latter of whom was impressed by her talents and frequently brought songs for her toread. Boulanger was greatly affected by the 1900 death of her father; many of her works touch on themes of grief, loss and longing. Her work was noted for its colourful harmony and instrumentation and skilful text-setting. Aspects of Fauré andClaude Debussy can be heard in her compositions; later composers, suchArthur Honegger, were influenced by her innovations.
According toCaroline Potter, "The two sisters were both influenced by Debussy, and it appears they had similar literary tastes to the elder composer. Both sisters set poems byMaurice Maeterlinck, who was the author of the playPelléas and Mélisande and also ofPrincesse Maleine; in February 1916, Maeterlinck authorised Lili to set the latter play as an opera. Allegedly, Lili had almost completed the opera before her death, though only the short score of act 1, scene 2, two versions of thelibretto, and a sketchbook have survived."[7]
Boulanger suffered from chronic illness: at two, she was infected withbronchial pneumonia, weakening her immune system; it would eventually lead to theintestinal tuberculosis that would kill her at 24.[8][a] Although fond of travelling (and having completed several works in Italy after winning the Prix de Rome) her failing health forced her to return home: there, she and her sister organised efforts to support French soldiers duringWorld War I. Her last years were musically productive: she laboured to complete various works. Her death left the operaLa princesse Maleine, on which she had spent most of her last years, unfinished.
She died inMézy-sur-Seine on 15 March 1918; afterwards, she was buried in a tomb at theMontmartre Cemetery. Nadia was buried alongside her in 1979; the sisters lie next to their parents.[9]
Raised in a time of musical transition, Boulanger's music fits easily into what was becoming defined as a post-Romantic style. Like Debussy, Boulanger associated herself more withSymbolism thanImpressionism, with her music featuring the sense of obscurity and indirection more common in Symbolism.[10] However, she also “explored the ‘Impressionists’ palette of nonfunctional seventh and ninth chords, parallel chords, and modal progressions”.[11] While much of Boulanger’s music reflects the feelings of solitude and alienation beginning to emerge during the twentieth century, it also reveals her own struggles withdepression and loneliness caused by her long-term illness.[11] She often set poetry conveying a profound sense of despondence and melancholy, for instance fromFrancis Jammes'Clairières dans le ciel: "Nothing more. I have nothing more, nothing to sustain me” and “I seem to feel a weeping within me, a heavy, silent sobbing, someone who is not there" (from the final song,Demain fera un an).
Les sirènes, for solosoprano and three-part choir, sets a text byCharles Grandmougin. Composed in 1911, it was premièred at one of her mother's exclusive musical gatherings. Auguste Mangeot, a critic from the Paris music journalLe Monde Musicale, reported that it was so well-received that it wasencored. A practice piece for thePrix de Rome,Les sirènes exhibits the firm grounding in academic technique taught at the Conservatoire de Paris.[12]
Grandmougin's poem deals withsirens, mythological creatures that sing to seduce sailors to steer closer; when they do, the sirens devour them. From the introduction through twenty-eight measures, apedal tone on F♯ combined with ascending C♯ octaves evoke the sirens'hypnosis.[12]
It is dedicated toJane Bathori.[13][14]
Boulanger composed three psalm settings:Psalms 24,129 and130.[15]
Psalm 24 is subtitledLa terre appartient à l'Eternel ("The earth doth belong to the Eternal"); it was composed in 1916, while she was resident in Rome. The work is dedicated toJules Griset, who was the director of Choral Guillot de Saint-Brice.[6] 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.[16] Boulanger's score uses brassfanfares andhomophonic 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.[17]
Psalm 129 was also composed in 1916 in Rome. This psalm is much longer than Psalm 24 and is scored for full orchestra.[18] The premiere performance was held at theSalle Pleyel in 1921, conducted byHenri Busser.[19]
Du fond de l'abîme (Psalm 130:De Profundis / "Out of the depths"), composed for voice and orchestra, is dedicated to the memory of her father, as noted at the top of the score.[20] The work, completed when Boulanger was aged only twenty-two, sounds mature and conveys a developed compositional style.[21] Boulanger's psalms convey herCatholic faith.[15] It has been suggested that the work was composed in reaction toWorld War I.[22] The work is for a large orchestra including asarrusophone.
Lili Boulanger finished thisPie Jesu (1918), scored for high voice, string quartet, harp and organ, towards the end of her life, but "the first of Lili Boulanger's sketches for thePie Jesu are to be found in a composition book she used between 1909 and 1913."[23] As noted by her sister, Nadia, she dictated the work to her.[24] Scholars such as biographer Léonie Rosenstiel[12] and Olivia Mattis[25] speculate that Boulanger intended to write a completeRequiem but did not live to complete it.
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.[26] Composed during 1914–1917, it was, as many of her works, not performed until after World War I, in 1921. This work is not based within Catholicism, as her psalms were. Rather, it sets the text of a Buddhist daily prayer.[27] James Briscoe notes that this work shows similarities toStravinsky but also anticipates the next generation of composers.[28]
Thissymphonic poem was the last work Boulanger was able to compose by her own hand, without help in writing.[29]
This instrumental work 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.[30]
| Title | Year | Instrumentation | Text by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sous bois | 1911 | Choir (SATB) and piano | Philippe Gille |
| Nocturne | 1911 | Violin and piano | N/A |
| Renouveau | 1911 | Vocal quartet (SATT) and piano/orchestra | Armand Silvestre |
| Les sirènes | 1911 | Soprano, chorus and piano | Charles Grandmougin |
| Reflets | 1911 | Voice and piano | Maurice Maeterlinck |
| Prélude | 1911 | Piano; inD-flat major | N/A |
| Attente | 1912 | Voice and piano/orchestra | Maurice Maeterlinck |
| Hymne au Soleil | 1912 | Contralto, chorus and piano | Casimir Delavigne |
| Le Retour | 1912 | Voice and piano | Georges Delaquys |
| Pour les funérailles d'un soldat | 1912 | Baritone, chorus and piano | Alfred de Musset |
| Soir sur la plaine | 1913 | Soprano, tenor and orchestra | Albert Samain |
| Faust et Hélène | 1913 | Mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, 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 | David |
| Psaume 129 | 1916 | Baritone and orchestra | Anonymous: BiblicalPsalm |
| Dans l'immense tristesse | 1916 | Voice and piano | Bertha Galeron de Calonne |
| Psaume 130 | 1917 | Two solo voices, chorus, organ and orchestra | David |
| Vieille prière bouddhique | 1917 | Tenor, chorus and orchestra | Anonymous: extract from theMetta Sutta |
| D'un matin de printemps | 1918 | Violin and piano | N/A |
| Pie Jesu | 1918 | Voice, string quartet, harp and organ | Anonymous: Tridentine Missal |
| D'un soir triste | 1918 | Orchestra | N/A |
In March 1939, Nadia Boulanger with the help of American friends created theLili Boulanger Memorial Fund. It has two objectives: to perpetuate Boulanger's music and memory and to financially support talented musicians. The Lili 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 propose a candidate for the prize. The Fund then awards the Prix Lili Boulanger to one of these candidates. TheUniversity of Massachusetts Boston curates the fund.[31] Previous winners have includedAlexei Haieff (1942),Noël Lee (1953),Wojciech Kilar (1960),Robert D. Levin (1966, 1971) andAndy Akiho (2015).[32]
In April 1965, theFriends of Lili Boulanger Association was created in Paris; this organization became theNadia and Lili Boulanger International Centre (CNLB) in 2009.[33]
Joy-Leilani Garbutt andLaura Colgate, twoWashington, DC, musicians, started theBoulanger Initiative in 2018 to support music composed by women, in honor of Lili and Nadia Boulanger.[34][35]
Theasteroid1181 Lilith was named in honour of Boulanger.
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