Obscure Music Monday: Boulanger's Psalm 24 "La terre appartient à l'Éternel"

Marie-Juliette Olga "Lili" Boulanger (Aug. 21, 1893 - March 15, 1918) was a French composer, and the younger sister of the famed composition teacher/composer Nadia Boulanger. Born in Paris, Lili Boulanger was a child prodigy; at the age of two, it was discovered that she had perfect pitch. Her parents, both musicians, encouraged her musical education, and she accompanied her sister Nadia to classes at the Paris Conservatory, studying music theory and organ. Her sister Nadia was one of her teachers, and later on studied with Paul Vidal, George Caussade, and Gabriel Faure, who was particularly impressed by her abilities. Lili would go on to win the Prix de Rome at the age of 19; she was the first woman to ever win the composition prize. Tragically, she died only five years later.

Boulanger was a devoted Catholic, and wrote a few different Psalm-based works, including Psalm 24, "La terre apartient à l'Éternel." ("The earth is the Lord's.") She wrote this piece in 1916, when she lived in Rome, and she dedicated it to Monsieur Jules Griset, who was a choir director. Written for choir, organ, brass ensemble (four horns, three trumpets, four trumpets, one tuba), timpani and two harps, the piece starts out with a bold fanfare, and that theme is heard throughout. Of course, there are brilliant chord progressions as to be expected with Boulanger's writing, but perhaps not as much in terms of ethereal lines. It's still an incredibly compelling work, and one that conveys her Catholic faith.