Boulanger

THREADS OF ETERNITY brings together two distinguished composers, Lili Boulanger and Unsuk Chin, each exhibiting fierce artistry and pushing the possibilities of orchestral sound. Boulanger’s D’un matin de Printemps and D’un soir triste express the contrasting emotions of joy and sadness in life, while Psaume CXXIX and Vieille prière bouddhique are reflections of a spiritual and ethereal world. Inspired by Beethoven, Chin’s subito con forza evokes striking energy with its brief quotes and innovative reconfigurations from Beethoven’s music, providing a perfect contrast and supplement to Boulanger’s lyricism. These works are given a resounding performance by the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra, an advanced and cutting-edge university ensemble advocating for underrepresented music and interdisciplinary collaborations.

We know Gabriel Fauré the composer well but little the pedagogue. This recording aims to highlight the influence of the composer in France and even in Europe when, in 1896, he became professor at the Paris conservatory taking over from Massenet. The program of this disc wishes to bring together one of the work of his last périod and compositions by his illustrious students: Ravel, Boulanger et Enesco.

After the immense success of her Bach-Abel album (ALPHA783), Lucile Boulanger celebrates the French viol through the centuries: 'This transchronological dialogue traces the history of a dynasty of composers in a subjective, even emotional way', from the seventeenth century (Marin Marais, Sainte-Colombe, Nicolas Hotman) to the twenty-first, with contemporary works by Philippe Hersant, Claire-Melanie Sinnhuber and Gerard Pesson, some of which were specifically written for Lucile Boulanger: 'There is no longer any need to prove that my instrument is an integral part of our musical landscape. The viol is alive and well. For several decades now, it has inspired new compositions; its vocabulary is constantly expanding', concludes the violist.

Lola Descours (First Prize winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition, bassoon solo at the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra) tells us a musical story of Nadia Boulanger. Dubbed “The Queen of Music” by Leonard Bernstein and “The One Who Hears Everything” by Igor Stravinsky, Nadia Boulanger revolutionised music education. Her unique pedagogy, blending discipline and encouragement of personal expression, shaped generations of composers, leaving an indelible mark on the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.

For this second recording as a duo, Lucile Boulanger and Arnaud de Pasquale propose a journey to 18th-century Germany, in the marvelous setting of the Sans Souci palace where Frederick II of Prussia had established his court.

Tenor Cyrille Dubois and pianist Tristan Raës bring together Nadia and Lili Boulanger's finest works as they release their new record. The precocious early talent that is reflected in these mélodies echoes to their singular path. Nourished from Debussy and Fauré, these pieces also show a remarkable boldness and unusual nature that would probably have given birth to the most striking works of the twentieth century, if Lili's life hadn't been taken away aged 24, leading her sister Nadia to stop composing.

In her debut recording for harmonia mundi, Lucile Boulanger explores the facets of Antoine Forqueray’s career as a virtuoso instrumentalist: adept in a wide range of Italian repertoire and skilled at transcribing works originally intended for the violin, he could try it on for size, as it were, before settling on a different medium.

On "Clairières", Grammy Award-nominated tenor Nicholas Phan and pianist Myra Huang pay homage to Lili and Nadia Boulanger, two exceptional composers of the 20th century who have often been overlooked in favour of their male counterparts. At the heart of the album is Lili's song cycle "Clairières dans le ciel". Alongside are a selection of songs set to poetry by the sisters' contemporaries Verlaine, Maeterlinck, Jammes and Samain.

An emblematic figure of her time, Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) taught and inspired several generations of musicians, from Igor Stravinsky to Quincy Jones

Conductor Nicolò Umberto Foron and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester announce their upcoming album on our partner label CAvi Music, on which they perform both Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and Lili Boulanger’s D’un soir triste.