Boulanger, Lili : Cortège
Work Overview
Genre:Various works
Copyright:Public Domain
Commentary (2)
Author : Hirano, Takatoshi
Last Updated: May 19, 2015
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Author : Hirano, Takatoshi
- Composition: June 4-5, 1914, Villa Medici (Rome)
- Publication: Ricordi, Paris, 1919
- Dedication: Yvonne Astruc
A light piece in B major, similar to D'un jardin clair. It exists in two versions: for solo piano and for violin (or flute) and piano, both published by Ricordi in 1919. The duo version, alongside Nocturne (1911), another piece for violin (or flute) and piano, became one of Boulanger's most popular works. Yvonne Astruc (1889–1980) was a violinist who frequently performed at concerts hosted by the Boulanger family at their home. The premiere took place on December 17, 1915, at the Petit Palais in Paris, with Émile Mangeot on violin and the composer herself at the piano. It was re-performed on December 1, 1917, by Astruc and Nadia Boulanger.
The title 'Cortège' refers to a lively scene from a festival, and French composers often used this term for the titles of short pieces (Cécile Chaminade also wrote a piano piece titled Cortège in 1911). In performance, it is crucial to differentiate between legato and staccato. Care should be taken to ensure that the left-hand accompaniment figures are not played staccato. Furthermore, it is important to perceive the sixteenth-note accompaniment figures within the flow primarily established by quarter notes.
This commentary is a revised version of the text published in Lili Boulanger Piano Works (edited by Takatoshi Hirano, Kawai Publishing, 2015), adapted for the PTNA Piano Encyclopedia.
Author : Sato, Yuko
Last Updated: March 12, 2018
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Author : Sato, Yuko
It is said that Lili was a girl who sang constantly from the age of two and a half. Soon after, she sang songs at sight, and Fauré visited her home to accompany her singing. Her sister Nadia recounted that Lili sang lyrics as if she understood them, even though she should not have been able to at that age, and stated that the precocity of her sensibility stemmed from the sorrow of her father's death, which she experienced at the age of six. As was the case with her sister, their mother Raïssa was the one who gave her her first musical instruction. She taught by memorizing an entire textbook on harmony. In 1910, when Lili, at the age of 17, decided to become a composer, Nadia began preparing her with all her knowledge, just as their father had done for her, and two years later, Lili entered the Paris Conservatoire. Remarkably, she won the Prix de Rome the very next year. Regarding her exceptional talent, Jacques Chailley stated that even genius composers who died young had not managed to write works like her three Psaumes at the tender age of 24. Lili temporarily suspended her studies at the former Medici villa, a reward for the Prix de Rome, for medical treatment and recuperation, but during her stay in Rome, she completed important works in a short period and also interacted with local musicians. In 1915, as World War I approached the country, she proactively went with her sister to provide musical comfort to soldiers. After Lili's death, her sister Nadia put down her pen, feeling powerless compared to Lili's extraordinary talent, and dedicated herself to education. While it was a wise decision to understand where her talent could be best utilized, both sisters were equally distinguished in their talent and excellence. The family's bond, the depth of their affection, and their love for music and earnest pursuit of it spark interest in the roots of their lineage, but ultimately, tracing back their origins leads to ancient Greece, the source of all things. In Europe, old castles and buildings of royalty and nobility still remain. Standing there, one falls into the illusion of having time-traveled to a distant era. While strolling with her sister Nadia in the garden of an old Roman villa, the sisters encountered an old woman cutting grass. The old woman smiled at them and said, "May you have a good day today—" Nadia recounted the memory, stating that it was a wonderful moment when, by that old woman's single remark, they felt that they were blessed by God. The setting for Vieux Jardin and Clair Jardin is that very garden. One senses Lili's youthful freshness, striving to live brightly and positively, even while faintly feeling the creeping footsteps of war and the darkness of death due to illness. Even amidst the reverberations created by the cumulative accumulation of harmonic sounds, she continued to experiment, believing that the underlying structure remained unchanged, then as now. One perceives a spontaneous sublimity in Lili's music. Inheriting Impressionism, she further paid attention to the placement of sounds, and no rebellious spirit is felt there. Is the third piece, Cortège, a procession for a "Bacchanal"? It is a festival for Bacchus, the ancient Greek god of wine and harvest. It is a work where one feels wit and humor in the pentatonic melodic movement, conveying joy, and it is hard to believe that this was composed by someone undergoing recuperation who would die five years later. Was Lili perhaps feeling that she had fulfilled her sister Nadia's fervent wish! That she had repaid her kindness!...