French composer. A talented woman who was the first female recipient of the Prix de Rome, yet she died at the young age of 25. The most detailed and currently only published biography of Lili Boulanger is Jérôme Spycket's À la recherche de Lili Boulanger (Paris, Fayard, 2004). The following article primarily relies on this biography to describe Lili Boulanger's life.

1. Origin

 Lili had an older sister, Nadia, who was six years her senior. Both became musicians, which was related to the Boulanger family being a lineage of professional musicians spanning two generations. Her grandfather, Frédéric Boulanger (1777–?), was a musician born in Dresden who entered the Paris Conservatoire as a cello student during the revolutionary period and won a first prize. During the Bourbon Restoration, he was appointed professor of declamation at the Paris Conservatoire in 1816 and held this position until 1820. Her grandmother, Marie-Julienne Halligner (1786–1850), was a singer who won a first prize at the Paris Conservatoire in 1809 and was a talented vocalist who debuted at the Opéra-Comique. Their son, Ernest Boulanger (1815–1900), who would become Lili's “father” (the reason for the quotation marks will be explained later), was a composer who also studied at the Paris Conservatoire and won the Grand Prix at the Prix de Rome competition in 1835, a gateway for composers organized by the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Like his father, he also became a professor of vocal music at the Paris Conservatoire in 1871. During Lili's lifetime, Ernest received the Légion d'honneur in 1870 and was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1881. In short, he was an elite among elites in the music world. Her mother, Raïssa Mychetsky (1858–1935), was said to be a woman of Russian aristocratic descent and was one of Ernest's students. When Ernest Boulanger married her in 1877 at the age of 62, Raïssa was only 18. Their first child was born in 1885 and named Ernestine Juliette (called Nina by the family), but she died at one year and six months old (the cause is uncertain). At the time of the first child's birth, her father Ernest was already 69 years old. Four years later, in 1887, Nadia was born on September 16, Ernest's birthday, and on August 21, 1893, when her father was 78, Olga-Marie-Juliette, or Lili Boulanger, was born. Below Lili, Léa Boulanger was born in 1898 but died at five months old.

 The fact that the elderly father had children one after another, seven years after Ernest and Raïssa's marriage, naturally led to various speculations. Jérôme Spycket also supports the hypothesis that these children were not Ernest's biological offspring. According to him, Nadia's biological father was Richard, the architect son of Ernest's friend William Bouwens (who was also the godfather of Nina and Léa), and Lili's biological father was Raoul Pugno (1852–1914), a pianist and professor of harmony at the Paris Conservatoire, who was at the height of his fame and very close to the Boulanger family. Although there is no decisive evidence to confirm the facts and the truth remains unknown, Nadia and Lili, born to Raïssa, were legally raised as the legitimate children of the couple and received their parents' affection.

2. Student Years

 Although Lili was born into a musical family, in her early childhood, alongside her musical talent, signs of the illness that would later claim her life began to appear. Due to an inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease), Lili had low immunity and suffered throughout her life from poor health, including coughs and fevers from bronchial issues, and abdominal pain.  While receiving instruction in mathematics from Bouwens and French from Mademoiselle Nègre at home, Lili also devoted herself to reading, which she enjoyed. For a composer, mathematical abstract thinking is important for writing notes, and literary education is indispensable for writing songs and cantatas. The high-quality and intensive general education she received at home helped her remarkable memory flourish and aided her rapid intellectual maturation in composition (though later, while Lili was staying at the Villa Medici, Saint-Saëns encouraged a deeper literary understanding of French). Meanwhile, her sister Nadia had already begun giving lessons in piano, harmony, and accompaniment at home, and Lili naturally found herself in a musical environment, sight-reading and improvising on piano and organ. Nadia attended Charles-Marie Widor's (1844–1937) composition class at the Paris Conservatoire, and Lili would have been able to audit lessons alongside her sister. Her first attempts at composition date back to 1904. An 8-bar passage dedicated to Paul Vidal (1863–1931), a friend of her father and professor of accompaniment at the Conservatoire (1904), Pièce pour piano dedicated to Nadia (1905), and Valse in E-flat major (1906) are her early teenage attempts.

 Serious composition study began in 1910 under the young Paris Conservatoire professor, Georges Caussade (1873–1936). Initially, Lili went to Caussade's home, but eventually, instruction took place at her own home under her mother's supervision. Her talent immediately captivated Caussade, and a close teacher-student relationship was formed. Nadia later recalled, “What I had acquired with great difficulty, she discovered almost intuitively.”*1

3. Prix de Rome Competition

 In 1912, after showing a fugue to Théodore Dubois (1837–1924), former director of the Conservatoire, Lili was immediately encouraged to enter the Prix de Rome competition. The memory of her father Ernest, a Prix de Rome laureate, the presence of her sister who had attempted the Prix de Rome in 1908 but only won second place in the Grand Prix, and the deep affection of Professor Caussade, whose lessons had already exceeded 100, stimulated her ambition. That year, she advanced to the final round of the competition but failed to complete her composition due to a fever and was eliminated. Even though it was May, the examination, conducted in isolation in a private room in Compiègne, far from Paris, was a great burden for the ailing Lili. However, Lili continued her collaborative journey with Caussade, attending Vidal's class at the Conservatoire to prepare for the following year's examination.

 Thirteen candidates applied for the 1913 competition. She passed the preliminary round of fugue writing in second place among five qualifiers. The prescribed text for the cantata to be composed in the final round was Eugène Adenis's dramatic poem Faust et Hélène, based on Goethe's play. Her work, as she was about to turn 20, was praised by the Académie des Beaux-Arts as “intelligence discernible in the subject, precision of declamation. Sensitivity and passion. Poetic inspiration. Intelligent and colorful orchestration. A remarkable cantata”*2, and she became the first woman to win the Grand Prix de Rome. At this time, Claude Delvincourt (1888–1954), also a student of Caussade and Vidal, also won the Grand Prix. Lili's Faust et Hélène was premiered in November of the same year at the Théâtre du Châtelet, conducted by Gabriel Pierné (1863–1937), with the Orchestre Colonne and three soloists. Lili, who became an overnight sensation due to her youth and talent, was invited by President and Madame Poincaré to lunch at the Élysée Palace in November.

4. Stay in Rome

 Alongside her brilliant success, in January 1914, Pugno, who had been like family to the Boulanger sisters, died suddenly in Moscow. Lili had to prepare for her trip to Italy while still carrying this grief. This was because Prix de Rome laureates traditionally studied in Rome, dedicating four years to composition at the Villa Medici residency. Lili arrived at the Villa Medici with her mother. Her position as the first female Grand Prix laureate prompted a change in the rules of this residency. Originally, the residency rules did not permit outsiders, but until the strict Albert Besnard became director in 1913, the rules were largely disregarded, and many outsiders stayed there. Besnard, who was tightening the rules, viewed the presence of Lili's accompanying mother as problematic and reported it to the Académie des Beaux-Arts. After two meetings, the Academy informed the director of Lili's medical condition and issued a directive to permit her stay with her accompanying mother.

 During her stay in Rome, Lili became close with students from Paris and frequented the salons of wealthy Italians. Meanwhile, she also progressed with her assigned compositions, working on pieces such as the song cycle Clairières dans le ciel based on poems by Francis Jammes (1868–1938). However, her studies were forced to be interrupted by the outbreak of World War I. Boulanger's stay at the Villa Medici ended after approximately three and a half months. However, this award enabled her to secure an annual contract with the Italian publisher Ricordi, guaranteeing the publication of her works and a monthly income.

5. Progression of Illness and Engagement

 Upon returning to Paris, Lili completed Clairières dans le ciel while living a life without Pugno, alongside her family. However, Pugno's death, the interruption of her studies abroad, and the shock of the war's outbreak began to affect not only Lili's delicate mind but also her body. In early 1915, she began to experience headaches, loss of appetite, and fever, followed by various symptoms resembling colitis and appendicitis, leading Lili to spend her days bedridden. Nevertheless, she diligently worked on her compositions and was also busy preparing for the performance of a cantata she would conduct herself at the Palais du Trocadéro at the end of March.  On April 4, Lili became engaged to a close acquaintance. Her fiancé was Jean, two years her junior—and according to Spycket, one of the sons of William Bouwens, Nadia's biological father. They intended to marry as soon as Jean turned 21 (the age of majority at the time) on October 8, 1916. From April, Lili began to write down the number of days separating “now” from this date in her notebook: “544, 543, 542”... However, Jean later joined the military air corps and would not be able to stay by Lili's side in her final years.

6. Founding of the Franco-American Committee of the Conservatoire National de Musique et de Déclamation

 When her condition improved in early summer, Lili, together with her sister and with the cooperation of Whitney Warren (1864–1943), an architect and the Académie des Beaux-Arts' correspondent in France for the United States, called upon influential Parisian musicians to establish the Franco-American Committee of the Conservatoire National de Musique et de Déclamation. This committee aimed to assist composition students and graduates who had been conscripted, fought on the battlefield, or became prisoners of war during World War I. With Warren as chairman, Saint-Saëns, Fauré, Dubois, Paladilhe, Charpentier, Widor, and Vidal were listed as honorary members beneath him. At that time, due to this Great War, which caused many deaths through the use of aerial bombers, tanks, and chemical weapons, news of fatalities became frequent among artists as well. One of the sons of Albert Besnard, director of the Villa Medici, also lost his life in 1915. The following year, Delvincourt, who had shared the Grand Prix de Rome, was also wounded but survived. Orchestra personnel were also scarce, and Lili's cantata Pour les funérailles d'un soldat, composed in 1913, was performed jointly by the Orchestre Colonne and the Orchestre Lamoureux. This work, which quotes the Gregorian chant Dies Irae, was conducted by Pierné. By 1916, many of Paris's leading composers, primarily the committee members' disciples, supported this committee (however, pianist Alfred Cortot was dissatisfied with the Boulanger sisters taking the lead. When Lili was to travel to Rome again with Nadia as her companion, Blair Fairchild [1877–1933], an American composer and diplomat who was Vidal's student, would strive to resolve the friction with Cortot).

7. Return to Rome

 In February 1916, Lili traveled to Rome with Nadia, via Nice and Genoa. During this time, Nadia left her Paris Conservatoire classes to an assistant. In Nice, Lili received good news. Maeterlinck had requested her to compose music for his work titled La Princesse Maleine. She was genuinely delighted by the offer from the renowned author. Upon revisiting the Villa Medici, she immediately began conceptualizing and composing La Princesse Maleine, and at the same time, she also progressed with Psalm 130, 'De Profundis', for chorus and orchestra. Around this time, fierce clashes between German and French forces began in Verdun, a city in eastern France. The Battle of Verdun, which would result in over 700,000 casualties for both nations, saddened Lili. While composing Psalm 130, she wrote in her notebook about her thoughts for those who would not return. In March, Lili's health deteriorated, and she began to spend much of her time in bed. From this month until June, a low-grade fever and elevated pulse became constant. Composers Vincenzo Tommagini (1878–1950) and the Casellas visited her, and get-well postcards began to arrive from Maurice Ravel (1875–1937), but she did not discuss her compositions with them, silently continuing to compose while relying on Nadia for both material and emotional support.

8. Return Home and Final Days

 On June 13, 1916, Nadia and Lili left Rome, returning to Paris on the 25th via Milan and Nice. Lili continued to work on La Princesse Maleine, receiving Maeterlinck's kind consideration. She did not cease her creative work, completing the song Dans l'immense tristesse for alto and piano during the summer. The song cycle Clairières dans le ciel was completed, but due to “two-thirds of the employees being conscripted into the army” at Ricordi, proofreading could not be done even by December.

 Lili recuperated at a villa in Gargenville, northwest of Paris, but dark shadows threatening her mind and body crept in not only from within her but also from the Great War and from close relatives. On September 3, the five-year-old daughter of Renée Pugno, Raoul Pugno's daughter, and her husband Georges Delaquys, with whom Lili was close, died of a high fever. Perhaps influenced by mental stress, Lili's condition became critical in the latter half of October. By November, she gradually recovered, and was able to sign publishing contracts with Ricordi for the songs Reflets and Clairières dans le ciel, based on Maeterlinck's poems.

 In January 1917, Lili traveled—presumably accompanied by her mother—to Arcachon, near Bordeaux. Her mother stayed for a while, then returned to Paris, leaving an attendant behind, but from Paris, photo cards with dedications and words of encouragement arrived from Vincent d'Indy, Saint-Saëns, Debussy, Roger-Ducasse, and Maeterlinck, cheering Lili up. Lili concentrated on composing here, encouraged by her friends and mentors, and while continuing to work on La Princesse Maleine, she completed Psalm 130 and the hymn for orchestra and chorus, Vieille prière bouddhique – Prière quotidienne pour tout l'univers. The seaside air had a positive effect on her health, but when she returned to Paris in early June, the cycles of abdominal pain gradually shortened, and the pain became more intense. Consequently, surgery was decided upon and performed on the 30th of the following month. After the surgery, Lili stayed at her secondary residence in Gargenville, where she enjoyed piano duets and recovered enough to walk nearby, but in November, her “enteritis” worsened again.

 Lili's priority in her final years was to complete La Princesse Maleine. She desperately wanted to finish this major work by the end of the year. It is certain that she put her last strength into this work, but nothing is known about its progress in January of the following year. The only evidence supporting the existence of this opera are sketches of the first few scenes of Act I. There is even a theory that this work was completed but then disappeared, but biographer Spycket considers that unlikely. Rather, he suggests it's not inconceivable that Lili herself destroyed it, or that Nadia destroyed a work “unworthy” of her sister's talent.

 On January 31, Lili transferred seven works, including choral pieces, chamber music, and piano works, to Ricordi. From this very day until mid-March, German planes sporadically attacked Paris, dropping bombs. One of them landed two hundred meters from Lili's residence on Rue de Ballu, causing her to evacuate to a house in Mézy-sur-Seine (it is considered a mystery why there was a suitable house for evacuation in this area).

 No letters from Lili remain from her last two months. Unable to write, Lili likely completed Pie Jesu for soprano, organ, string quartet, and harp, a quiet swan song using polytonality, dictated by her sister Nadia.

 March 15, Nadia called a priest to administer the last rites to Lili. In the afternoon, Lili passed away, attended by Nadia and her friend Miki Piré. Nadia called Jean Jules Amable Roger-Ducasse (1873–1954), who had cared for Lili the most, and with his help, returned home to Rue de Ballu with the coffin. The funeral was held at the Église de la Trinité in Paris, and after a eulogy by Théodore Dubois, Lili was buried in Montmartre Cemetery, where her “father” Ernest rested.

9. Piano Works

 Although piano works were not Lili Boulanger's primary genre of composition, eight such works remain. Among these, the early works Pièce pour piano (1905) and Valse in E-flat major (1906) are not published, as access is restricted by the Nadia and Lili Boulanger International Centre, which manages Lili Boulanger's copyrights. The subsequent piano works are two Préludes in D-flat major and B major, completed in March 1911. These early works were first published in Lili Boulanger Piano Works (2015, Kawai Publishing), edited by Takatoshi Hirano. The four piano works published during Lili's lifetime are Dans un vieux jardin, D'un jardin clair, Cortège, and Thème et variations. These were written between May and June 1914 and published posthumously by Ricordi in 1919. Cortège also has a version for violin or flute and piano. Among these works, Thème et variations is the largest in scale and technically the most advanced. In Takatoshi Hirano's edition, many interesting discrepancies between the autograph manuscript and the Ricordi edition are pointed out. In addition, the following works for piano solo or instrumental pieces including piano, believed to have been destroyed or lost, exist from 1909 to 1915:

• Cinq Études (1909)
• Trois Études (1911)
• Deux Études (piano four hands, 1912)
• Sonate pour violon et piano (1912–16)
• Pièce pour violoncelle et piano (1914)
• Pièce pour hautbois et piano (1914)

Footnotes

*1-Jérôme Spycket, À la recherche de Lili Boulanger, essai biographique, Paris, Fayard, 2004, p. 126.

*2-Ibid., p. 182.

References

- Jérôme Spycket,À la recherche de Lili Boulanger, essai biographique, Paris, Fayard, 2004, p. 126. -Ibid., p. 182. - Annegret Fauser, Boulanger, (Marie-Juliette Olga) Lili, in New Grove Online, accessed December 2015. - Takatoshi Hirano, Lili Boulanger Piano Works, Tokyo, Kawai Publishing, 2015.