choral journal, part ii

9
18 Choral Journal June/July 2010 New Solutions for Lili Boulanger’s Psaume 130, Du fond de l’abîme, Part 2 Lili Boulanger the day she won the Prix de Rome. Photo courtesy of Nadia and Lili Boulanger international Fondation’s archives. John Perkins, DMA, Choral Conducting Assistant Professor of Music Visual and Performing Arts American University of Sharjah P .O. Box 26666, Sharjah, UAE [email protected]

Upload: butler

Post on 19-Jan-2023

1 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

18 Choral Journal • June/July 2010

New Solutions for Lili Boulanger’s Psaume 130, Du fond de l’abîme, Part 2

Lili Boulanger the day she won the Prix de Rome. Photo courtesy of Nadia and Lili Boulanger international Fondation’s archives.

John Perkins, DMA, Choral ConductingAssistant Professor of MusicVisual and Performing ArtsAmerican University of SharjahP.O. Box 26666, Sharjah, [email protected]

Choral Journal • June/July 2010 19

Compositional similarities in text setting and melodic

construction occur between the Pie Jesu from the fourth

movement of Fauré’s Requiem and Boulanger’s setting of Pie

Jesu for soprano solo, harp, organ, and string quartet. In light

of Boulanger’s compositional interest in Fauré’s Requiem,

these similarities led musicologist Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs

to a larger hypothesis that, combined together, Pour les

fune’railles d’un soldat; Psaume 24; Psaume 129; Vielle Prière

bouddhique and Psaume 130, written between 1912 and

1917, resemble a non-liturgical requiem, likely inß uenced

by Fauré’s requiem setting. Cohrs makes a convincing case,

comparing and analyzing the text, key relations, and histori-

cal data.7 Furthermore, in her book, Nadia and Lili Boulanger,

musicologist Caroline Potter’s description of a page from

one of Boulanger’s sketchbooks further suggests that Bou-

langer started a requiem setting in Latin (possibly where

the Pie Jesu originated) and that she plausibly abandoned

it for a non-liturgical setting:

The most interesting of these sketches (of the canon

in measures 342 through 353) suggests that the work

[Psaume 130] was originally going to be a Requiem.

Although only one word of the Requiem text is

present—“Dona” (eis requiem or nobis pacem)— the

dedication of Du fond de l’abîme to the composer’s

late father makes the possibility that it was conceived

as a Requiem plausible. Instead, the sketch Þ ts the

words of ‘Car en Iahvé est la miséricorde’ [sic]…as

Boulanger sketches rhythmic notation above the

stave which Þ ts these words. A few pages later,

sketches for a Kyrie further reinforce the notion that

this work was originally intended to be a Requiem.8

Cohrs’s detailed hypothesis combined with Potter’s

discovery of Latin text in the sketchbook suggest that

the unusual twenty-Þ ve to twenty-nine minute length of

Psaume 130 may be the result of a larger scheme within a

non-liturgical requiem.

Intersections of Text, Form, and Tonality

Lili’s sister, Nadia, provides one of the few primary

sources of information about Lili’s approach to composi-

tion. Nadia spoke mysteriously about Lili’s music: “[Lili]

sealed her work in silence. She did not want to lay bare

her thoughts because only the music counted.”9 Yet, we

may be able to ascertain, indirectly, Lili’s musical approach

through Nadia’s thoughts about composition and analysis:

“[N]othing happens without reason, it is simply that the

reasons sometimes remain unintelligible to us, because

we do not see very far, [and] because we do not take

Part I, “A Historical and Pragmatic Approach to

Lili Boulanger’s Psaume 130, Du fond de l’abîme,”

published in the May 2010 issue of the Choral

Journal, addresses issues regarding historical oversight of

Lili Boulanger and logistical challenges in bringing Psaume

130 to performance. This article provides solutions to some

pragmatic score and performance challenges, and presents

the discussion with a new presentation of Psaume 130’s

analysis.1

This author approached the analysis under the assump-

tion that Boulanger composed not only an aesthetically

pleasing score, but also a purposeful compositional struc-

ture. These assumptions proved to be true. Boulanger

purposefully interrelates text, form, and tonality in order to

convey structural continuity. In this article, the brief analysis

is meant to (1) provide new research, which may help

clarify previous research, and (2) help guide the conduc-

tor through the macro-analysis, or large ideas, from which

further detail may emerge.

In its present form, the score presents logistical chal-

lenges for many conductors.2 The process toward a slightly

reduced orchestral version of the score, previously pro-

posed, is discussed in order to lead conductors to their

own successful modiÞ cations of the work. Within such a

modiÞ ed score, the conductor may afford more program-

matic possibilities for Boulanger’s Psaume 130. To begin, a

preliminary approach to the analysis, which offers a contex-

tual discussion of the work’s size and scope, is addressed.

Inß uences on the Size and Scope of Psaume 130

In the liner notes to conductor Mark Stringer’s Timpani

label recording,3 musicologist Harry Halbreich4 suggests

that an earlier inspiration for Boulanger’s Psaume 130 was

Florent Schmitt’s (1870-1958) Psaume 47.5 Rosenstiel’s

biography conÞ rms Boulanger’s fascination and exposure

to Schmitt’s work: “[Boulanger] was extremely excited by

the premier [of Schmitt’s Psaume 47] in 1904…Lili followed

every rehearsal with rapt attention.”6 Except for Schmitt’s

choice of percussion (triangle, crash cymbals, and glocken-

spiel), the scores resemble each other in instrumentation.

Even an extended soprano solo appears in the middle of

Schmitt’s work, as it does in Psaume 130. The overall, and

likely initial, inß uence of Schmitt’s Psaume 47 on Boulanger

is evident, resulting in similar characteristics between the

two works: form, instrumentation, and choice of psalmodic

text.

Moreover, Fauré’s inß uence on Psaume 130 is clear.

20 Choral Journal • June/July 2010

New Solutions for Psaume 130, Du fond de l' abîme

the trouble to look; but they surely exist.”10 Psaume 130 seems to unfold structurally within its own parameters. Cohrs, describes this unfolding as “organic.”11 Supporting this approach with another Boulanger composi-tion, musicologist, Bonnie Jo Dopp, in her article Numerology and Cryptography in the Music of Lili Boulanger: The Hidden Program in Clairières dans le ciel, demonstrates an organic structure based on the number thir-teen.12 These accounts and analyses suggest a uniÞ ed and logical structure to Boulanger’s compositional approach, and, more speciÞ -cally, Psaume 130.

There is little detailed analysis of Psaume 130 available for researchers. Boulanger’s main biographer, Léonie Rosenstiel, offers a general narrative about the piece, discuss-ing text, tonality, orchestration, and general

form.13 Cohrs adds a more detailed narrative in his analysis by labeling certain motives in the “organically” composed work and discussing Psaume 130 in the context of a possible non-liturgical requiem.14 Musicolo-gist Caroline Potter offers similar information but includes enlightening examples from Boulanger’s sketchbook.15 These narratives, however, lack a clear presentation about the analysis of Psaume 130 ’s formal structure.

Boulanger begins the work with a low, distorted orchestration that reß ects the depths or the abyss mentioned in the Þ rst line of text: “Du fond de l’abime” [Out of the depths]. As with the murky orchestration and dense polyphony, the work’s architec-ture is non-standard and seems asymmetri-cal; however, Boulanger’s concept of organic structure becomes clear after comparing

her intersection of text and tonality with the large sections of Psaume 130.

Boulanger does not present the 130th psalm,16 also known in the Latin liturgy as De Profundis, in exact sequential order. She re-orders stanzas Þ ve through seven and omits stanza six (“My soul longs for Yahweh”). In the middle of stanza seven, Boulanger inserts her own text “J’espère en toi, j’espère en ta parole” [I hope in you, I hope in your word] and “Je crie vers toi” [I cry to you]. Boulanger also adds Adonaï to the psalm’s existing name for God, Yahweh. She further inserts the exclamation “Ah”—a common trait in many of her choral works—toward the ends of large phrases.17 These and other examples demonstrate Boulanger’s penchant within Psaume 130 to insert portions of text from other stanzas. This style of inserting texts

311 Main St., Exeter, Ontario 116 - 255 West 1st St., North Vancouver B.C.

519 235-2000 • 1-800-265-7024 604 983-2470 • 1-866-983-2470

www.musictours-festivals.com

email: [email protected]

Est. 1980

reg. #2392471

Canada welcomes Adult and Youth Choirs to join us in celebration of the music & artistic influence of J.S. Bach

Concerts•Workshops•Masterclasses Gerald FaganArtistic Director

July 11-17, 2011Exeter, Ontario

www.bachmusicfestival.com

Choral Journal • June/July 2010 21

Table 1 Presentation of Text and Large Sections

Section I (“Thesis,” measures 1 through 59 – orchestral statement, “penitence”)

Section II (Measures 59 through 134 – Þ rst choral statement, “penitence”)

“Du fond de l’abîme je t’invoque, Iahvé. Adonaï, ecoute ma prière! (Je crie vers toi.) Que tes oreilles soient attentives aux accents de ma prière!

Section III (“Development,” measures 134 through 189 – tempo and thematic variation, “penitence”)

“Si tu prends garde aux péchés, qui donc pourra tenir, Iahvé?

Section IV (“Contrast,” measures 190 through 379 – mezzo-soprano solo, “hope”)

“mais la clémence est en toi, aÞ n qu’on le révère. Mon âme espère en Iahvé; j’espère, je compte sur sa parole plus que les guetteurs de la nuit n’aspirent au matin. La clemence est en Iahvé. (J’espère en toi, j’espère en ta parole.) Car en Iahvé est la miséricorde et l’abondance de la délivrance.

Section V (“Conclusion and Juxtaposition of Sections I and IV,” measures 379 through 430 – overlap of “penitence” and “hope”)

“C’est lui qui délivrera Israël De toutes ses iniquités. Israël espère en la clémence de Iahvé.

From the depths of the abyss I call on you,Yahweh.Adonai, hear my prayer!(I cry to you.)May your ears be attentiveto the voice of my supplication!”

If you take into account your sins, Yahweh,who would be able to stand fast?”

But with you there is mercy, and so you areworshipped.My spirit hopes in Yahweh;I hope in and I count on his wordmore than the watchmen of the nightlong for the morning.There is mercy in Yahweh.(I hope in you, I hope in your word.)There is mercy in Yahweh,and abundant deliverance.”

It is he who will deliver IsraelFrom all its iniquities.

Israel, trust in the mercy of Yahweh.”20

from other stanzas, similarly found in Berlioz’s Requiem, emphasizes the meaning of the text by re-ordering it for musical and dramatic purposes. Additionally, Boulanger accentuates the meaning from the opening lines of the psalm with a re-ordered text setting. Her local approach of re-ordering and recycling text does not alter her broad and successive presentation of the stanzas.

For the purpose of this study, the work is organized into Þ ve sections. Table 1 contains an outline of the Þ ve sections of Psaume 130, and the general order of the text (using Gordan Paine’s translation18) within each section19 (Table 1).

Section I is an orchestral ritornello and presents the essential motivic elements of the piece. Section II contains the Þ rst choral statements of the work. In Section III, Boulanger develops the themes from Sections I and II through fragmentation, augmentation, transformation, and modulation. In Section IV, due to the change of text, Boulanger introduces new modes, new textures and a mezzo-soprano soloist. Section V is a summary of Sections I– III and Section IV, and affects of both hope and penitence are overlapped. Here, Boulanger accordingly overlaps previous motives relating to these affects.

Within this overall presentation of text, Boulanger forms a musical presentation in Þ ve sections that coalesces with the two affects of penitence and hope. In sections I through III (189 measures), the text reß ects a penitential mood. To coun-terbalance, Section IV, also 189 measures, contrasts with a hopeful mood. Section V contains the last, short stanza, which Boulanger identiÞ es as a summary of the previous affects in the psalm (“It is he who will deliver Israel from all its iniquities. Israel, trust in the mercy of Yahweh”). Therefore, through musical means, she seems to present a psychological coexistence of penitential and hopeful affects (Figure 1).

Cohrs divides the work into thirteen sections.21 A brief mention of Boulanger’s

New Solutions for Psaume 130, Du fond de l' abîme

22 Choral Journal • June/July 2010

Þ xation with the number thirteen exists in Rosenstiel’s biography, and is discussed at length in the aforementioned Dopp article.22

Dopp demonstrates Boulanger’s interest in the number thirteen with her analysis of the song cycle Clairières dans le ciel. Cohrs, without explaining his methodology as Dopp has, charts thirteen sections in Psaume 130.(Most subsections occur toward the end of the work.) Potentially, the analysis in this article and Cohrs’s may coexist; however, the evidence—an exact 189-measure balance of sections I-III and IV, which is closely linked to the text—suggests that a broader analysis better portrays Boulanger’s compositional plan.

Boulanger further conjoins text and form with her choice of harmonic language. Cohrs 23

and Potter24 deÞ ne the work in terms of modes. They concur that the Phrygian mode

is the predominant mode in the work. (The extended mezzo-soprano solo is one of these moments.) They are correct in terms of melody (horizontally); after analyzing the total pitch content in numerous pas-sages (vertically and horizontally), however, it seems clear that Boulanger frequently em-ploys octatonic sets as the harmonic and the melodic fabric of Psaume 130. For example, musical content in Figure 2 is built on an octatonic scale, which included the following pitches (and their enharmonic equivalents): F, G

♭, A

♭ A

♮, B, C, D and E

♭.

Boulanger includes three types of smaller, scalar pitch collections in Psaume 130. She employs chromatic collections to intensify the mood and whole-tone collections to relax the tension. She frequently uses the octatonic scale, which serves as the median between the chromatic and whole-tone

collections and comprises equal parts of alternating major and minor seconds. In ad-dition to a cohesive structure between her overall form and text setting, Boulanger uses the octatonic scale to reß ect another layer of structural balance in Psaume 130: penitence (minor seconds) balanced with hope (major seconds). The way in which Boulanger allows these two affects to coexist in Section V25

(therefore balancing the form of the piece), suggests a similar coexistence of major and minor seconds within the octatonic scale.26

From this uniÞ ed, or “organic,” approach, deeper layers of structure, beyond the scope of this article, appear in Psaume 130.27

A New Edition

When preparing a new edition that reduces the orchestration, Boulanger’s compositional style greatly inß uences the process.28 In the original edition, Boulanger doubles instruments to create distinctive sounds. The English horn is often paired with other woodwind instruments, and the bass clarinet is often paired with the bassoon. In the new edition, because of the frequency of these doublings the “third” parts of the triple wind complement (piccolo, English horn, bass clarinet and contrabassoon) were maintained. These instruments also substitute for some of the eliminated brass instruments. Boulanger rarely uses the en-tire triple wind complement. Dropping the second part—second ß ute, second oboe, second clarinet and second bassoon—of the triple wind complement, loses little of the original orchestral color; in most cases, only the dynamic and size of the ensemble is lessened.

In the Durand edition, the horns either function as an independent group or sup-port the brass section. In a few cases, they double the woodwinds. In a reduced version, therefore, the horns may easily double in place of the removed brass parts. In several instances, they substitute for trombones in order to maintain the brass color. This sub-stitution only occurs when horns have a har-monic, rather than melodic, function. When horns are unavailable, bassoons substitute well for trombones.

Regarding orchestral reduction, decisions based upon Boulanger’s compositional ap-proach must be balanced with practical considerations. Priorities with regard to

Choral Conductors Workshopwith Rod Eichenberger

Workshop Locations

Alexandria, Virginia Cannon Beach, Oregon

July 19 – 23, 2010 August 2 – 6, 2010

For more information, contact:

George Fox University

Performing Arts Department

503-554-2620 [email protected]

or visit choralconductorsworkshop.com

A five-day professional

development workshop

for choral conductors

at all levels

Choral Journal • June/July 2010 23

New Solutions for Psaume 130, Du fond de l' abîme

24 Choral Journal • June/July 2010

compositional considerations include main-taining orchestral colors and balance. Substi-tutions in the reduced edition are a practical consideration. The following general rules, in order of priority, should be applied to a reduction:

(1) Important motives are given aural priority.

(2) Boulanger’s orchestral style is retained as much as possible.

(3) Balance is achieved with careful rein-forcement based on Stringer’s insight. For example, the clarinet is used to reinforce a motive in the string sec-tion.29

(4) When re-voicing chords, families of like

instruments should be kept together as much as possible.

(5) If #4 is not possible, the instrument from an adjacent family should be se-lectively placed in the middle (rather than on the outside of a chord, where it would be more noticeable). For instance, in a four-part trombone chord, in which case, adding the bass clarinet was the only solution, the bass clarinet substituted for the third trombone in a portion of the bass clarinet’s range that could be easily blended. When a choral part needed to be reinforced—particularly in a low register—higher voice parts were added to the lower line.

Such a proposed edition would result in the

following instrumentation:

• 2 ß utes (the second player doubling piccolo)

• 2 oboes (the second player doubling English horn)

• 1 clarinet• 1 bass clarinet• 2 bassoons (the second player dou-

bling contrabassoon)• 2 horns• 2 trumpets• 2 trombones• 1 tuba• timpani• bass drum• tam-tam• celesta• organ• harp and strings

S H A W N E E P R E S S P R E S E N T S

Conductor, Educator, Speaker, Leader, Singer, Motivator, Writer, Guide, Friend, Parent & Funny Guy

THE MUSIC WITHIN Discovering the Joy – AGAIN! One Man’s Story, Everyone’s Journey 35027237 DVD $34.99

Visit www.halleonard.com/timseelig for a complete overview of choral resources by Tim Seelig.

TIM SEELIG’S QUICK FIXESPrescriptions for Every ChoralChallenge!35023658 Book $12.95

THE PERFECT CHORAL WORKBOOKEverything You Need to Organize Your Choral Program35022833 CD-ROM $34.95

THE PERFECT BLENDSeriously Fun Vocal Warm Ups35022829 Book $24.95

THE PERFECT REHEARSALEverything You Wanted to Know About Rehearsals!35022835 Book $24.99

ORDER TODAY! Please see any choral music retailer for these

and other fine Shawnee publications.

from Dr. Timothy Seelig

Choral Journal • June/July 2010 25

Table 2

Beethoven – Fantasia, Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra, op. 80 (Choral Fantasy), 19’

Mass, op. 86, C major, 43’

Brahms – Alto Rhapsody, op. 53, 13’

F.J. Haydn – Mass, no. 9, in C major, “Missa in tempore belli/Paukenmesse

[Mass in a Time of War],” 45’

Mass, no. 12, B♭ major, Theresienmesse, 43’

Mass, no. 13, B♭ major, Schöpfungmesse, [Creation Mass], 46’

Mass, no. 14, B♭ major, Harmoniemesse, 48’

Fauré – Pavane, op. 50 (optional chorus), 7’

Finzi – In terra pax; Christmas Scene (large chorus, reduced orchestra version), 15’

Honegger – Le roi David [King David], 74’

Mendelssohn – Psalm 115, op. 31, Nicht unsern Namen, Herr [Not unto us, O Lord], 12’

Mozart – Mass, K. 167, C major (Trinity), 31’

Schubert – Mass(es) nos. 2, 3, and 4, 22–30’

Table 3

Beethoven – Christus am Ölberg (Christ on the Mount of Olives), 52’

Brahms – Nänie, op. 82, 14’

Rinaldo, op. 50, 45’

Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny), op. 54, 18’

Bruckner – Mass No. 1, D minor, 49’

Mass No. 3, F minor (Great), 60’

Missa solemnis, B-ß at major, 31’

Cherubini – Requiem, C minor, 47’

Solemn Mass, G major, 50’

Corigliano – Fern Hill (full orchestra), 18’

F.J. Haydn – Die sieben letzten Worte, (The Seven Last Words), 60’

Mass, no. 11 in D minor, “Missa in angustiis (Nelsonmesse),” 42’

Stabat Mater, 80’ [Barenreiter edition includes larger wind compliment]

Te Deum, for the Empress Maria Therese, 12’

Fauré – Requiem, op. 48, 39’

Finzi – In terra pax; Christmas Scene (large chorus version), 15’

Frank – Psalm 150, 5’

Rédemption, 75’

Handel – Israel in Egypt, 100’

Joshua, 105’

Judas Maccabaeus, 100’

Hindemith – When Lilacs Last in the Door-Yard Bloom’d, 65’

Mendelssohn – Christus, op. 97, 21’

Die erste Walpurgisnacht, op. 60, 35’

Lauda Sion, op. 73, 28’

Lobgesang, op. 52 (“Hymn of Praise” from Symphony no. 2), 27’/67’

Psalm 42, op. 42, “Wie de Hirsch schreit” [As Pants the Heart], 27’

Psalm 95, op. 46, “Kommt, last uns anbeten” [O Come Let Us Sing], 27’

Psalm 114, op. 51, “Da Israel aus Ägypten zog” [When Israel Came Out of Egypt], 15’

Mozart – Mass(es), K. 257, 258, 262, 317, and 337 (all with same the orchestration), 17-30’

Mass, K. 427 (alternately Davidde penitente,

derived from the mass with different text), 47’

Rossini – Stabat Mater, 61’

Schubert – Deutsche Messe, D. 872, 2nd version, 22’

Mass no. 1, 5 and 6, 43-58’

Stabat Mater, D. 383, F minor, 37’27

New Programming Options

for the Choral Conductor

A more accurate edition, and with a rebalanced and reduced orchestration, alleviates budget is-sues and increases the possibility of performing Psaume 130 with a larger variety of choral/orchestral works. Shown in table 2 are works that have the same orchestration as Psaume 130 or slightly fewer wind/brass instruments.30

The works in Table 3 share a similar orchestration to Psaume 130 but require one to three more wind players.

Conclusions

Current analyses of Psaume 130 do not present the work as a balanced structure. This author, however, believes that such a plan exists. The main goal of the analysis above provides a point of departure for conductors as they prepare to perform the work. Furthermore, since Boulanger composed with such a well-conceived structure and purpose, and if she had heard the premier, she may have considered some or all of the suggested practi-cal revisions.

The new programming options, presented above for a slightly re-duced orchestration, may include Psaume 130 with a much larger gamut of choral/orchestral works. Whether Boulanger intended such a conÞ guration of her choral/orchestral works, conductors, us-ing the Durand edition of Psaume 130, may further consider Cohrs’s non-liturgical requiem format for a program, and additionally include Schmidt’s Psaume 47, as an inß uence on Boulanger’s Psaume 130, in this context.

The current edition of Lili Boulanger’s Psaume 130 incurred some light editing by her sister Nadia before the 1925 publication by Durand.32 In all likelihood, due to Nadia’s dedicated reverence for her sister’s works, she did not

26 Choral Journal • June/July 2010

New Solutions for Psaume 130, Du fone de l' abîme

attempt any major revisions or reductions to the score. On one hand, many musicians might agree with Nadia, that no one should consider the editing of another composer’s work; on the other hand, given that (1) the composer never heard the premier of the work, (2) other conductors have made changes in order to secure an orchestrically balanced performance, and (3) the staging of the work incurs difÞ cult programming choices and a large budget, a new version of the work enables more frequent perfor-mances of Psaume 130.

NOTES

1 Lili Boulanger, Psaume 130 (Du fond de l’abîme),

full score. (Paris: Durand, 1925). 2 John Perkins, “A Historical and Pragmatic

Approach to Lili Boulanger’s Psaume 130, Du

fond de l’abîme.” Choral Journal (May, 2010). 3 Mark Stringer, Lili Boulanger, Choral and Orchestral

Works, Sonia de Beaufort, soprano, Martial

Defontaine, tenor, Vincent le Texier, baritone,

Choeur Symphonique de Namûr, Orchestre

Philharmonique du Luxembourg, cond. Mark

Stringer, Timpani 1 C1046, compact disc. 4 Harry Halbreich (1999), “The Wind Bloweth

Where it L isteth,” in Li l i Boulanger

Orchestral and Choral Works [CD booklet].

Luxembourg: Timpani Records. 5 Florent Schmitt, Psaume XLVII pour Orchestre,

Orgue, Choeurs et Solo (Paris: Salabert, 1922).

6 Léonie Rosenstiel, The Life and Works of Lili Bou-

langer (Cranbury, New Jersey: Associated

University Presses, 1978), 43. 7 Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs. “Die fünf grossen

Chorwerke Lili Boulangers,” in Lili-Boulanger-

Tage, 1993, Bremen: Zum 100. Geburtstag

der Komponistin: Konzerte und Veranstaltungen

(Zeichen und Spüren, 1993) 19 vol. 22:

93–113. 8 Caroline Potter. Nadia and Lili Boulanger

(Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2006), 101–02. 9 Bruno Monsaingeon, Mademoiselle: Conversations

with Nadia Boulanger (Manchester, England:

Carcanet Press, 1985), 80–81.10 Alan Kindall, The Tender Tyrant: Nadia Boulanger, a

Life Devoted to Music (Wilton, Conn.: Lyceum,

1976), 113.11 Cohrs, 106.12 Bonnie Jo Dopp, “Numerology and Crypto-

graphy in the Music of Lili Boulanger: The

Hidden Program in ‘Clairières dans le ciel.’”

The Musical Quarterly 78, no. 3 (Fall 1994):

556–83.13 Rosenstiel, 191–97.14 Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs. “Zur vegetativen

Einheit der fünf letzten grossen Chorwerke

Lili Boulangers,” in Lili-Boulanger-Tage,

1993, Bremen: Zum 100. Geburtstag der

Komponistin: Konzerte und Veranstaltungen

(Zeichen und Spüren, 1993) 19 vol. 22: 106.15 Potter, 97–102.16 The psalm is numbered 129 in the Vulgate and

regarded as one of the seven Penitential

Psalms.17 This trend, existing in many of Lili’s compositions,

was also an early twentieth century trend,

exhibited in the works of Debussy and Fauré.18 Gordon Paine. Translations and Annotations of

Choral Repertoire, Volume III: French and Italian

Texts (Covallis, OR: Earthsongs, 2007), 14.19 Due to Boulanger’s tendency to excerpt text

from other sections, the actual word-for-word

order of the text does not appear below.20 The text, not including analysis, above this note is

quoted from Paine, 13. The quotation marks

refer to Paine.21 Cohrs. “Die fünf grossen Chorwerke Lili

Boulangers,” 103–05.22 Dopp, 556– 83, cited in Rosenstiel, Léonie, The

Life and Works of Lili Boulanger (Madison, N.J:

Farleight Dickinson University Press, 1978).23 Cohrs. “Zur vegetativen Einheit der fünf letzten

grossen Chorwerke Lili Boulangers,” 106–08. 24 Potter, 101–02.25 Boulanger’s choices of text, leading to the form

and harmony, were likely autobiographical.26 A detailed analysis of the work can be found

in the dissertation of John Douglas Perkins

titled “An Analysis and Orchestral Reduction

of Psaume 130, Du fond de l’abîme, by Lili

Boulanger.” 27 John Perkins, “An Analysis and Orchestral

Reduction of Psaume 130, Du fond de

l’abîme, by Lili Boulanger” (DMA document,

University of Arizona, 2009).28 A reduced version containing these solutions is

found in Appendix E of Perkins’ document.29 John Perkins, “A Historical and Pragmatic

Approach to Lili Boulanger’s Psaume 130, Du

fond de l’abîme.” Choral Journal (May, 2010).30 There are plenty of Bach cantatas with less

orchestral complement than Psaume 130, but

they are not listed since these works would

likely be a strange programming choice. The

interesting exception is Bach’s setting of

Psalm 130, Cantata 131 (Aus der Tiefen rufe

ich, Herr zu dir).31 David Daniels, Orchestral Music, a Handbook,

Fourth Edition (Oxford, UK: Scarecrow Press,

Inc., 2005).32 This author found that, upon examining the

original manuscript, Nadia had added some

expression and articulation marks to the

score which were reß ected in the published

version. This is likely due to the fact that

besides the work’s premier, by Markevitch,

Nadia owned the score and likely conducted

from it in performances.

800-300-8841 212-580-0760 www.concept-tours.com [email protected]

Connect to the Worldin the

Great VenuesWe do the detailed preparation overseas

More than just another tour in a new placeSpecial collaborations, Socialize with peersWork with your budget to give good value

Concept ToursA bridge to the world