Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) is the first female composer to win the Prix de Rome in France. She had an early death due to Crohn¡¦s Disease at the age of twenty-four. During her brief and difficult life, she completed more than thirty musical pieces, one third of which were choral works. The 1913 Prix de Rome award is a clear line of demarcation of Lili's choral compositions. The early secular choral works, composed for the preparation of the first round of Prix de Rome(1911 to 1913), are much less known; her four well-known grand sacred choral works¡Ð¡§Psaume 24¡¨, ¡§Psaume 129¡¨, ¡§Psaume 130¡¨ and ¡§Vieille prière bouddhique¡¨¡Ðwere written between 1913 and 1918. Regrettably, the early secular works have been overwhelmed by the four splendor sacred works in the past century. Nine of the early works survive, and they were: ¡§Sous bois¡¨, ¡§Renouveau¡¨, ¡§Les sirènes¡¨, ¡§Soleils de septembre¡¨, ¡§Pentant la tempête¡¨, ¡§La source¡¨, ¡§Hymne au soleil¡¨, ¡§Pour les funérailles d¡¦un soldat¡¨ and ¡§Soir sur la plaine¡¨. The lyrics are from nineteen-century French poems; the music has such extreme intensity, dramatic power, demanding vocal techniques, as well as challenging piano skills. This thesis consists of five parts: an introduction, a basic review of Lili Boulanger¡¦s life and works, the analysis of the nine secular choral works, the interpretation of the works and a conclusion. There are also three appendices attached. Appendix 1 offers the translation and a pronunciation guide of the nine works. Appendix 2 is the program of the conducting recital. Appendix 3 is the program of the lecture recital.

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Whereas conditions have existed for many centuries which served to exclude or marginalize female participation in music, many women have written compositions of musical worth sufficient to justify their contemporary performance. Although most women composers wrote works more fitting for the "salon" than for the concert hall at the turn of the century, Boulanger and Mahler are representative of the few women composers whose complex approach to art song fell within the mainstream of the genre. Many of their accompaniments attain a level of technical difficulty not previously found in women composers' writing. They offer an interesting comparison between nationalities and styles in that they both favored Symbolist texts. However, each represents a different side of the coin in her musical interpretation of Symbolism: Boulanger, Impressionism, and Mahler, Expressionism. In addition, even though their styles involve opposite musical expressions, they both show a strong influence of Wagner in their writing. This study includes background on turn-of-the-century music and musicians encompassing the role of art song among women composers. Symbolism is addressed as it applies to the poets selected by the composers, followed by information regarding the specific musical representation of Symbolist texts in the composers' art songs. The chapter of analysis serves as a means to guide musical decisions in the actual performance of the works. The conclusion briefly discusses performance practice issues and the possibility of a turn-of-the-century feminine aesthetic.

Since most historical composers of Western art music were European Christians (or resided in areas that were primarily populated by Christians), a vast majority of the sacred choral-orchestral repertoire is based on major figures and themes from the most prominent denominations, including Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism. As a corollary this is also the case for analytical, pedagogical, and exegetical literature related to the topic. However, in the late nineteenth century some composers began to look to other faith traditions for inspiration, which resulted in compositions based on texts that are less-familiar to Western audience members and performers. Despite the fact that many of these pieces are innovative and well-written, few, if any, have entered the standard repertoire. Because of this they are under-represented in both performance and extant music literature. The purpose of this study is to examine three compositions from this marginalized category in order to produce a guide that provides salient information on the religious/cultural background and musical aspects of each work. This guide will serve as a resource for conductors to facilitate an understanding of and connection with the text, allow informed programming decisions, and promote approaches that are appropriate and respectful to the religious source material. The pieces selected for investigation are Gustav Holst's Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26: First Group, Lili Boulanger's Vielle Prière Bouddhique (Old Buddhist Prayer), and Robert Cundick's The Redeemer.