Complete Flute Works

The music of Lili Boulanger is stunning and here are all the pieces in one book. She is best known perhaps for D'un matin de printemps which is full of restless energy, and there is the beautiful Nocturne and dancing Cortège which are often paired together. Two other short vignettes make up the full collection. If you don't know any of these pieces then this a must buy purchase and it's very good value too.

Lili Boulanger lived for a relatively short time—she was born in 1893 and died in 1918. She had poor health for most of her life, but nevertheless succeeded in composing some remarkable works. This collection of four pieces brings together her music for flute (or violin) and piano, which can be performed separately or in groups.

The most well-known of these works is D’un matin de printemps, which was written towards the end of Boulanger’s life and demonstrates a mature and accomplished compositional style. The melody is lyrical and flowing, and there’s an appealing underlying elegance.

There are 3 other pieces presented here. Nocturne, written in 1911, is impressive in what it achieves in its short (two and a half minutes) duration. There’s a palpable tension which grows from a singing, and almost chant-like melody at the opening. This mounts through chromatic alterations and faster and increasingly urgent scalic passages, before giving way to a short but highly expressive middle register melody. The calm ending helps to give a sense of completion and balance to the overall narrative of the work. Cortège was written for violin, and appears here in a transcription which is more suitable for the flute. The title means procession, and this is depicted through a rhythmic regularity over which a characterful melody flows. The final piece in the collection is simply titled Pièce, and is a short work written in 1910 for any melody instrument and piano. The material is relatively simple, although chromatically twisting (don’t be put off by the key signature!), and largely focusses on the low register, making it also a useful vocalise for tone practice.

Boulanger’s work is distinctively French and full of charm. These pieces are ideal for intermediate players and provide opportunities to develop lyrical and expressive playing. They are short gems, which would make an excellent addition to a recital programme and deserve to be an integral part of our repertoire.