Lili Boulanger
Lili Boulanger (Marie-Juliette Olga Lili Boulanger, 21 August 1893 – 15 March 1918) was a French composer, the younger sister of the noted composer and composition teacher Nadia Boulanger.
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[edit] Early years
A Parisian-born child prodigy, who was good at piano. Boulanger's talent was apparent even at the age of two, spotted by her parents, both of whom were musicians themselves, and they encouraged their daughter's musical education. Her father was 77 years old when Lili was born and she became very attached to him. Her mother, Raissa Myshetskaya (Mischetzky), was a Russian princess, who married her Paris Conservatoire teacher, Ernest Boulanger; grandfather Frédéric Boulanger had been a noted cellist, and grandmother Juliette a singer. Boulanger accompanied the ten-year-old 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. Amongst her teachers were Marcel Tournier and Alphonse Hasselmans.
In 1912 she competed in the Prix de Rome but during her performance she collapsed from illness.
[edit] Career
In 1913, at the age of 19, she won the Prix de Rome for her Faust et Hélène, becoming the first woman composer to win the prize. 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 1899 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 one composer influenced by her innovative work. Jazz pianist Herbie Hancock has said she is one of his favorite composers.
[edit] 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 (now called Crohn's Disease) that cut her life short at the early age of 24. 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 previously left unfinished. Boulanger died in Mézy-sur-Seine and was buried in Paris, in a tomb located in the Cimetière de Montmartre, leaving unfinished the opera La princesse Maleine on which she spent most of the last years of her life. In 1979 her sister Nadia Boulanger was laid to rest in the same tomb. The definitive biography is The Life and Works of Lili Boulanger (ISBN 0-8386-1796-4) by the American musicologist Léonie Rosenstiel.
Wellesley College created an international foundation and award in her name (LBMF) to annually honor an outstanding young composer or performer. Awarded the prize were composers such as Harold Shapero and instrumentalists such as Robert D. Levin, Noël Lee and Sebastien Koch.
The asteroid 1181 Lilith was named in her honor.
[edit] Selected works
- 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)
- Les Sirènes, soprano, female choir and piano (1911)
- 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)
- Vieille prière bouddhique
- Pie Jesu
[edit] References
- Annegret Fauser:"Lili Boulanger". Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy, accessed 9 Apr 05. (subscription access)
- BBC Radio Composer of the Week archive
