Download From a Spring Morning Lili Boulanger Born in Paris, August 21

From a Spring Morning
Lili Boulanger
Born in Paris, August 21, 1893
Died in Mézy-sur-Seine, March 15, 1918
Marie-Juliette Olga (“Lili”) Boulanger came from a musical family. Her father was a composer
(he won the Prix de Rome in 1835) and singing teacher at the Paris Conservatory; her
mother had been one of his pupils. But it was her older sister, Nadia, who perhaps made the
biggest name for herself, as a teacher (her students included Virgil Thomson, Aaron
Copland, Elliott Carter, and Philip Glass), conductor, and composer. In 1939 she conducted
The Philadelphia Orchestra in one of her sister’s works, Memorial for a Soldier.
Lili was a child prodigy. Her talent became apparent at the age of two and her parents
encouraged her musical studies. Already at a young age she developed bronchial
pneumonia, which compromised her immune system; she spent the rest of her short life in
sickly health. In need of continuous care, Lili was unable to enjoy a full musical education at
the Conservatory but had to rely on private composition and instrumental studies there,
which included music theory and organ. She was also accomplished as a singer, and played
piano, violin, cello, and harp. In 1909 Lili decided to compete for the Prix de Rome, after her
sister had given up on trying to win the prize, and concentrated her studies on composition.
She entered the competition unsuccessfully in 1912, but the following year won for her
cantata Faust and Helen, becoming the first woman to ever win the prize for music. In
addition to the fame brought by this award, she received a contract with the publishing house
Ricordi.
While the majority of Lili’s more than 50 works are for voice, she also wrote chamber pieces
and was trying to finish her five-act opera Princess Maleine at the time of her death. From a
Spring Morning was composed originally for violin (or flute) and piano and then arranged for
piano trio and orchestra—she completed the orchestral arrangement in January 1918. It was
one of the final works written in her own hand, although her sister filled in the dynamic
markings.
—Darrin T. Britting
From a Spring Morning was composed from 1917 to 1918.
These are the first Philadelphia Orchestra performances of the piece.
The score calls for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass
clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones,
tuba, percussion (small snare drum or castanets, suspended cymbal, triangle), harp,
celesta, and strings.
Performance time is approximately six minutes.