~~~~~Composer Biography~~~~~ Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) was a French composer whose life was cut short at the age of 24 due to chronic health problems associated with Crohn's Disease. She is most commonly known for being the first woman to win the Prix de Rome (a prestigious composition competition), an extremely impressive achievement considering the rampant sexism in the French music scene at the time. Initially, she wrote in an impressionistic style inspired by Debussy and Fauré (one of her composition teachers), but towards the end of her life, her music became much darker and more individualistic. Boulanger's life is well-documented, but it is surprisingly hard to find comprehensive information on it. We recommend reading the blog post linked in the description (Program note source 2) for a summary of her life up to and including winning the Prix de Rome in 1913, which she did when she was just 19 years old. If you want more details on her later life and works, the relevant sections from the dissertation linked in the description (Program note source 3) are quite extensive (it is quite theory-heavy though). Note: Lili Boulanger is sometimes confused with her sister Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979), who was also a talented composer in her own right. However, Nadia Boulanger stopped composing after her sister's death and instead dedicated her life to teaching other composers. Notable students of Nadia Boulanger include the American composers Aaron Copland and Elliot Carter. ~~~~~Program Notes~~~~~ Lili Boulanger is best-known for her late choral/orchestral works, particularly Vieille prière bouddhique (1914-17), Pie Jesu (1918, based on sketches from 1909-13), and the 3 Psalm settings: Psalm 24 (1916), Psalm 129 (1910-16), and Psalm 130 (1914-17). All of these works feature colorful orchestration and a dark harmonic language, which combine to create some of the most transcendent pieces in all of classical music. D'un Matin de Printemps, or 'Of a spring morning' in English, is another one of Boulanger's later works, although it isn't as grand in scope. It was first conceived for violin/flute and piano in early 1917 (as featured in this video), but Boulanger also reimagined the work for piano trio and orchestra later in 1917. From the title alone, one might expect a piece similar to Grieg's 'Morning Mood' from Peer Gynt, but what we get instead is a much icier soundscape. While the violin part is lively, the continued use of seconds, whole-tone chords, and octatonic chords in the piano part help to give the piece a certain bleakness. Boulanger is not just trying to invoke any ordinary spring morning here, but rather a spring morning during World War I, which had been going on for nearly three years by the time this piece was written. We would usually say more about the work, but in this case, we think the rest of the piece speaks for itself. It is also interesting to consider this work as a sort of prelude to its companion piece D'un Soir Triste (1918), or 'Of a sad evening.' Both pieces have a home key of E minor and both use E-G-E-D-E as the main motif, but the latter (see description for a link to a performance of it) is more substantial, brooding, and outwardly bleak. Unfortunately, the score for that work is still under copyright as it was not published until the late 20th-century, so we couldn't feature it in this video. *Note: These program notes are the result of many hours of reading, listening, writing, and editing. Please do not reproduce them without crediting us. Sources (see description for links): 1. Boulanger: D'un matin de printemps (Of a spring morning) - San Francisco Symphony 2. Lili Boulanger and the Prix de Rome - untune the sky 3. Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) and World War I France: Mobilizing Motherhood and the Good Suffering
Thanks for writing this, it was an intriguing read! Also, I'd recommend you to pin these sort of comments, so it's always on top of the comment section.
Well that’s hyperbole as among her biggest fans: her appreciation and acclaim are doing well, but yes-there were some (unorganized) sexism, ageism, even anti-thin people sentiments she had to deal with in her time, plus her music is some half of it religious and almost all of it complex by popular standards. Some of that is indeed still faced in relative reluctance by less informed academics as far as I can tell. Long live the good princess of early 19s Classical! Modern women could be the same, in theory.-You never step into the same river twice!
beautiful work @opus43, thanks for that. btw the full score (piano+violin) is no more available in the link that you've posted, can you upload another one?
Thank you for your comment! Here is a direct link to the score. The piano and violin score starts on page 9. s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/f/f4/IMSLP19124-PMLP45120-Boulanger_-_D'un_matin_de_printemps_(flute_or_violin_and_piano).pdf
~~~~~Composer Biography~~~~~
Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) was a French composer whose life was cut short at the age of 24 due to chronic health problems associated with Crohn's Disease. She is most commonly known for being the first woman to win the Prix de Rome (a prestigious composition competition), an extremely impressive achievement considering the rampant sexism in the French music scene at the time. Initially, she wrote in an impressionistic style inspired by Debussy and Fauré (one of her composition teachers), but towards the end of her life, her music became much darker and more individualistic. Boulanger's life is well-documented, but it is surprisingly hard to find comprehensive information on it. We recommend reading the blog post linked in the description (Program note source 2) for a summary of her life up to and including winning the Prix de Rome in 1913, which she did when she was just 19 years old. If you want more details on her later life and works, the relevant sections from the dissertation linked in the description (Program note source 3) are quite extensive (it is quite theory-heavy though).
Note: Lili Boulanger is sometimes confused with her sister Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979), who was also a talented composer in her own right. However, Nadia Boulanger stopped composing after her sister's death and instead dedicated her life to teaching other composers. Notable students of Nadia Boulanger include the American composers Aaron Copland and Elliot Carter.
~~~~~Program Notes~~~~~
Lili Boulanger is best-known for her late choral/orchestral works, particularly Vieille prière bouddhique (1914-17), Pie Jesu (1918, based on sketches from 1909-13), and the 3 Psalm settings: Psalm 24 (1916), Psalm 129 (1910-16), and Psalm 130 (1914-17). All of these works feature colorful orchestration and a dark harmonic language, which combine to create some of the most transcendent pieces in all of classical music.
D'un Matin de Printemps, or 'Of a spring morning' in English, is another one of Boulanger's later works, although it isn't as grand in scope. It was first conceived for violin/flute and piano in early 1917 (as featured in this video), but Boulanger also reimagined the work for piano trio and orchestra later in 1917. From the title alone, one might expect a piece similar to Grieg's 'Morning Mood' from Peer Gynt, but what we get instead is a much icier soundscape. While the violin part is lively, the continued use of seconds, whole-tone chords, and octatonic chords in the piano part help to give the piece a certain bleakness. Boulanger is not just trying to invoke any ordinary spring morning here, but rather a spring morning during World War I, which had been going on for nearly three years by the time this piece was written. We would usually say more about the work, but in this case, we think the rest of the piece speaks for itself.
It is also interesting to consider this work as a sort of prelude to its companion piece D'un Soir Triste (1918), or 'Of a sad evening.' Both pieces have a home key of E minor and both use E-G-E-D-E as the main motif, but the latter (see description for a link to a performance of it) is more substantial, brooding, and outwardly bleak. Unfortunately, the score for that work is still under copyright as it was not published until the late 20th-century, so we couldn't feature it in this video.
*Note: These program notes are the result of many hours of reading, listening, writing, and editing. Please do not reproduce them without crediting us.
Sources (see description for links):
1. Boulanger: D'un matin de printemps (Of a spring morning) - San Francisco Symphony
2. Lili Boulanger and the Prix de Rome - untune the sky
3. Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) and World War I France: Mobilizing Motherhood and the Good Suffering
Thanks for writing this, it was an intriguing read!
Also, I'd recommend you to pin these sort of comments, so it's always on top of the comment section.
@@wholemilky Thank you for the suggestion and for your support of our channel! This comment is pinned now.
L. Boulangers unique compositional style is seriously pleasing to the ear. It's truly a shame that she died so young - Truly a misfortunate soul.
Surprenant je ne sais pas premier fois, je vous remercie d'avance pour votre aide ssss précieuse merci beaucoup gratitude gros bisous Olivier
Absolutely criminal she isn’t played more
Well that’s hyperbole as among her biggest fans: her appreciation and acclaim are doing well, but yes-there were some (unorganized) sexism, ageism, even anti-thin people sentiments she had to deal with in her time, plus her music is some half of it religious and almost all of it complex by popular standards. Some of that is indeed still faced in relative reluctance by less informed academics as far as I can tell.
Long live the good princess of early 19s Classical!
Modern women could be the same, in theory.-You never step into the same river twice!
gonna do this for my grade eight it takes one to another world
Masterpiece thank you Lili 💕
This is great
A masterpiece! Such an incredible composer. Thank you Lili Boulanger! 🙏❤️ Many thanks @opus43 for uploading this video with its score!
Thank you for stopping by and supporting our channel!
Beautiful
gracias!!! muy hermoso.
¡Muchas gracias por su comentario!
@@opus-43 gracias a usted por compartir!!!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
1:38 for reference
beautiful work @opus43, thanks for that.
btw the full score (piano+violin) is no more available in the link that you've posted, can you upload another one?
Thank you for your comment! Here is a direct link to the score. The piano and violin score starts on page 9. s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/f/f4/IMSLP19124-PMLP45120-Boulanger_-_D'un_matin_de_printemps_(flute_or_violin_and_piano).pdf