Texte remanié de: Thèse de doctorat--Littératures françaises et comparées, arts du spectacle, musicologie--Montpellier 3, 2006. Titre de soutenance : Lili Boulanger, l'oeuvre intime. / Bibliogr. p. 205-209. Notes bibliogr. Discogr. p. 211-216. Webliogr. p. 209-210. Lexique.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of North Texas, 2001. / Accompanied by 4 recitals, recorded Nov. 4, 1999, Mar. 5, 2000, Mar. 12, 2001, and Oct. 12, 2001. Includes bibliographical references (p. 68-71).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Nina Athanassoglou-Kallmyer, Dept. of Art History. Includes bibliographical references.

Psaume 130, Du fond de l'Abime, by Lili Boulanger, poses a series of problems for conductors. Its large orchestral requirement and thirty-minute performance length severely limit the possibility of programming the work. Having thoroughly studied the composer's other works, I have determined that balance problems in the orchestration need adjustment. Errors exist in the current published edition and warrant correction.For these reasons combined with the assertion, later discussed in this document, that Lili Boulanger may have been asked to make a more practical version of Psaume 130, Du fond de l'Abime in order to promote sales of her music, an orchestral reduction is a viable solution. In addition, she died before the premier of the work and may have re-orchestrated certain passages upon hearing it.The methodology for this process of editing and rescoring includes:1) comparison of the manuscript with the published edition, 2) analysis, which includes tonal, motivic, and structural aspects of the work, 3) analysis of Boulanger's orchestral technique, and 4) an interview with conductor Mark Stringer.I will demonstrate that Lili Boulanger's Psaume 130, Du fond de l'Abime can be arranged for reduced forces while preserving its essential elements. This version will be more accessible for professional, college, community and church choirs, and orchestras.

Lili Boulanger was an important composer of early twentieth century French music. Her compositional style represents a development and mastery of musical techniques of the great composers of her time including Fauré, Debussy and Wagner combined with her own creative expression. The result is a compelling musical language that was uniquely her own. She held an important place among her contemporaries in Paris and her accomplishments were considered newsworthy during her lifetime (1893- 1918). She obtained a much sought-after publishing contract with Ricordi. Her more famous sister, Nadia Boulanger, felt that Lili was the better composer of the two, and her peers and music professors clearly felt that both her musical and personal qualities were extraordinary. Evidence of her intelligence, creativity, and artistic growth can be seen in her music. As the first woman to win the Prix de Rome (July 5, 1913), Lili Boulanger, unlike Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn, or Alma Mahler, was acknowledged and acclaimed during her lifetime for her skill as a composer. Yet, nearly a century later the music of this talented French composer is not as well known as it deserves to be. In an effort to discover the reasons for this relative anonymity, this document will examine Lili Boulanger's life including her family and childhood influences, musical training, preparation for the Prix de Rome and the influence of Claude Debussy and other composers. This document will discuss her mature compositional style, specifically as it is reflected in her song cycle, Clairières dans le ciel. The text will be examined in conjunction with the literary movement of symbolism in 20th century France and the symbolist poet, Francis Jammes, with special attention to the composer's personal identification with the poetry. Considerations of the musical setting of the cycle will include the melodic style as it relates to the text, the harmonic idiom and its relation to the poetry, rhythmic and metrical devices used, formal devices and the relationship of the piano accompaniment and the voice. Performance considerations for this cycle include the recommended transpositions if performed by soprano rather than the tenor voice for which it was originally composed and the level of difficulty from an interpretative as well as technical standpoint.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of North Texas, 2004. / Accompanied by recitals, recorded Nov. 2001, Apr. 2002, Sept.-Nov. 2002, and Mar. 2004. Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-171).

In this dissertation, I systematize transformations among chords, referential collections, and their constituent subsets, as exemplified in analyses of music by Gabriel Fauré, Claude Debussy, and Lili Boulanger. I characterize the effect of these transformations by supplanting notions of consonance and dissonance with a physics metaphor—the dichotomy and interdependence of centripetal and centrifugal force—to emphasize transformational processes over synchronic constructs, particularly notions of distance. Drawing from intercardinal voice-leading principles of transformational theory and graphical models of neo-Riemannian theory, I demystify harmonic/tonal practices salient in early twentieth-century French music, connect such practices with those of preceding tonal/evolutionary stages, and posit the effect of these practices in a way that reflects their intrinsically diachronic, centrifugal nature. I ultimately offer what I call “Collection Space”—a parsimonious intercardinal voice-leading space for maximally and nearly even sets—as a representative transformational space of French scalar tonality, analogized with the pan-triadic and Tristan-genus systems. My findings yield a revitalized approach to analyzing works by Debussy and Fauré as well as provide a rigorous analytical account of Lili Boulanger’s music hitherto unexplored. / Music Theory

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.

An examination of the influences on twentieth-century wind music would be incomplete without the consideration of composer, organist, pianist, conductor, teacher, and critic Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979). Students from the United States began studying with Boulanger between World War I and World War II, and continued to travel to study with her for over fifty years. The respect awarded this legendary French woman was gained as a result of her effectiveness as a teacher, her influence on the development of each student's unique compositional style, and her guidance of an emerging American musical style. The correlation between the teacher's lessons and the compositional output of her students must be explored. Boulanger did not compose specifically for winds, and she did not encourage her students to compose for the wind symphony. However, this document will outline the influence that this powerful pedagogue exerted over the creation of repertoire by her students by providing insight into the pedagogical style and philosophical foundations of Boulanger as reflected in the literature and by the writings, comments, and compositions of three successful students who composed literature for the wind symphony: Aaron Copland (1900-1990), Leslie Bassett (b. 1923), and Donald Grantham (b. 1947). Three significant works for winds will be considered including Copland's Emblems, Bassett's Lullaby for Kirsten, and Grantham's Variations on an American Cavalry Song.

In the summer of 1906, Marion Bauer (1882-1955) boarded a ship to Paris to meet with Raoul Pugno, a French pianist and composer. Juliette Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) was also close with Pugno around the same time. Living with the Pugno family in Gargenville during the summer, Bauer was able to travel to Paris, where she met several important musicians of the time and also nineteen-year-old Boulanger. Pugno, who worked closely with Boulanger, asked her to teach counterpoint and harmony to Bauer. Boulanger agreed and reportedly asked Bauer for English lessons in payment. Both women went on to become important music pedagogues, teaching hundreds of students. Their meeting allowed Bauer and Boulanger to share their ideas on teaching and music with each other. As time passed, the relationship between the two women fade from collective memory, but Boulanger's teaching principles of harmony, hearing, la grande ligne, and music history and literature live on through her students and fellow teachers and composers. Bauer's writings demonstrate similarities to these four key principles. Using Kimberly Francis and Emily Green's understanding of Pierre Bourdieu's theory of cultural production and an analysis of Boulanger's pedagogical principles, I believe that Boulanger's early accumulation of cultural capital and experience was shared with Bauer, assisting Bauer in her future role as American music pedagogue.