Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) grew up in a musical environment where prominent musicians such as Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Ravel, Florent Schmitt, and Charles Koechlin were frequent guests. She was not yet five when she accompanied her older sister, Nadia, to the conservatory. Soon she was taking lessons in music theory and solfège. From 1909 to 1913, she officially attended the Paris Conservatory. In 1913, Lili Boulanger became the first woman to win the Prix de Rome.
Lili Boulanger had been chronically ill since a bout of pneumonia at the age of two had weakened her immune system. Because of her weak constitution, she was partly educated at home. But her sister Nadia always took good care of Lili; the two sisters lived together in a shared apartment in Paris. Nadia Boulanger, who went on to a distinguished career as a music educator and conductor, lived in the same apartment until her death.
Lili Boulanger's major works include three settings of psalms for chorus and orchestra, as well as "Vieille prière bouddhique," an ancient Buddhist prayer. Psalm 130: Du fond de l'abîme is a work for alto, tenor, mixed chorus and orchestra composed in 1910 and revised in 1917.
This psalm seems to have been chosen for its dark atmosphere, from which hope gradually emerges. This spiritual theme, the search for light in the prevailing darkness, is expressed in a particularly dramatic way.
This is one of the composer's longest scores and one of her richest in terms of musical writing. "There is an obsession with the Phrygian mode and B flat minor, but the work also makes use of other modal scales, including the octotonic scale...the augmented seconds of Hebrew minor, the tonal scale, chromaticism, and the bold use of enharmony, all of which lead to frequent overshooting of tonality."
Although it is rarely performed, this is a great orchestral work. It is difficult to perform because of the number of instrumentalists and singers required. Boulanger uses the organ and choir to represent her Catholic faith. The piece also makes use of the sarrusophone, which was used at the time for outdoor military band concerts. Her mastery as a composer is evident in the combination of dense harmonies articulated by juxtaposed horizontal lines. Beautiful melodies rich in chromaticism are contrasted with melodies reminiscent of early Gregorian chants.
Text:
Du fond de l'abîme je t'invoque,
Iahvé Adonaï.
Ecoute ma prière!
Que tes oreilles soient attentives
Aux accents de ma prière!
Si tu prends garde aux péchés,
Qui donc pourra tenir, Iahvé?
La clémence est en Iahvé
Afin qu'on le révère.
Mon âme espère en Iahvé,
J'espère, je compte sur sa parole
Plus que les guetteurs de la nuit
N'aspirent au matin.
Israël espère en Iahvé,
Car en Iahvé est la miséricorde.
Et l'abondance de la délivrance.
C'est lui qui délivrera Israel,
De toutes ses iniquités
En Iahvé est la clémence.
Ah! Iahvé Adonaï.
Lili Boulanger's D'un soir triste / D'un matin de printemps for piano trio has been included in the "Best Chamber Music by Women Composers" series on this blog.
Listen to: Radio Filharmonisch Orkest and Groot Omroepkoor conducted by James Gaffigan; Judit Kutasi [mezzosoprano]; Fabio Trümpy [tenor]
Choral Masterworks