D'un matin de printemps Trio Helios

• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921): Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 18:
• 1 Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 18: I. Allegro vivace 07:31
• 2 Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 18: II. Andante 08:44
• 3 Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 18: III. Scherzo. Presto 03:44
• 4 Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 18: IV. Allegro 09:03
• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937): Piano Trio, M. 67:
• 5 Piano Trio, M. 67: I. Modéré 09:11
• 6 Piano Trio, M. 67: II. Pantoum. Assez vif 04:31
• 7 Piano Trio, M. 67: III. Passacaille. Très large 07:10
• 8 Piano Trio, M. 67: IV. Final. Animé 05:37
• Lili Boulanger (1893 - 1918):
• 9 D'un soir triste 10:40
• 10 D'un matin de printemps 04:49
• Total Runtime 01:11:00

Info for D'un matin de printemps

Saint-Saëns spearheaded the revival of chamber music in France, paving the way for Fauré, Debussy and Ravel. His Trio op.18, admired right from the start, was a special favourite of the famous Trio Cortot-Thibaud-Casals. Captivated by its qualities of balance and melodic clarity, Ravel took the work as his model fifty years later in composing his masterpiece, which remained almost unequalled in the twentieth century. Shortly before her death at twenty-four put an end to a meteoric career, Lili Boulanger left two intimate and daring pieces that bear witness to an authentic harmonic genius.

Born on 21st August 1893 in Paris, Lili Boulanger was considered at a young age as a musical child prodigy. This was perhaps not too surprising for the Boulanger family, with her mother and grandmother being singers, her elder sister Nadia being a composer and educator, and her father, Ernest, also working as a composer. It became apparent as early as two years old, that Lili had perfect pitch, therefore her parents supported her musical studies.

Boulanger was very close to her father, who passed away when she was six years old. It is suggested that many of her works touch on themes of grief, as she was greatly affected by his passing. Music was therefore a central part of the Boulanger household, and Lili Boulanger thrived in this sort of setting.

After battling poor health from the age of two (which stayed with her the rest of her life), the young aspiring composer attended music classes with her sister at the Paris Music Academy when she was well enough. From there, Boulanger began taking classes in music theory and she also began studying organ performance with Louis Vierne.

Boulanger also became proficient at playing the piano, violin, cello, harp, as well as being a good singer, and she subsequently was educated by the likes of Marcel Tournier and Alphonse Hasselmans. She became so absorbed in music, having lessons 7 days a week, that she rapidly improved and gained entry into the prestigious Paris Conservatoire in 1912, to study composition.

In 1912, Boulanger competed for the prestigious Prix de Rome prize, but halfway through her performance she collapsed. A year later she entered again and won the composition prize for her cantata Faust et Hélène, making her the first woman composer to win this prize. Winning the Prix de Rome gained Boulanger a five year international scholarship, which put her at the centre of the French music scene at the time.

Boulanger became a student under her sister Nadia Boulanger, and French composer Gabriel Fauré. Soon after winning the composition prize, Boulanger was offered a contract with publishing company, Ricordi, which gave her a fixed salary, as well as the publication safety so she could distribute her works abroad.

Boulanger’s life and work were consistently troubled by her chronic illness, which began as bronchial pneumonia, and formed into crohn’s disease – which ended her life in March 1918. Although she enjoyed travelling, Boulanger was often forced to cut trips short. For example, soon after going to Rome in 1914 to compose, she returned home to help her sister support French soldiers after WWI had broken out. In 1916, she was told she had two years to live, and in this time Lili was incredibly creative, as she rushed to complete the works she had already started. Compositions such as Pie Jesu (1918), Vieille prière bouddhique (1917) and D’un matin de printemps (1918) were completed by the time she passed, however her opera La Princesse Maleine remained uncompleted.

Trio Helios:
Camille Fonteneau, violin
Raphaël Jouan, cello
Alexis Gournel, piano

No biography found.

Booklet for D'un matin de printemps