PROGRAM NOTES

years of Beach’s marriage to Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach, her publisher issued 14 separate pieces. The origin of The Canticle of the Sun is interesting. In 1924, she went to the MacDowell Colony. Here, she came across the text of St. Francis of Assissi’s Canticle of the Sun. In a 1943 interview published in The Etude, she told this story.

“I took it up and read it over – and the only way I can describe what happened is that it jumped at me and struck me, most forcibly! As if from dictation, I jotted down the notes of my Canticle. In less than five days the entire work was done.”

The first performance of the work with organ accompaniment took place on December 8, 1928, at St. Bartholomew’s in New York. The Toledo Choral Society, performing with the Chicago Symphony, gave the premiere of The Canticle with Orchestra on May 13, 1930.

“The Canticle of the Sun by Mrs. H.H.A. Beach proved the sensation of the evening. This biblical hymn of praise and jubilation, set in a glorious musical expression of majestic melody… literally brought the audience to its feet in a desire to honor the composer.”

Vieille Priére Bouddhique LILI BOULANGER

Marie-Juliette Olga “Lili” Boulanger 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 would accompany her sister Nadia to classes at the Paris Conservatory, studying music theory and organ. Her sister Nadia was one of her teachers, and later 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 at the young age of 24.

Vieille Prière Bouddhique, written for orchestra, choir, and tenor soloist, was one of Boulanger’s last works. Drafted in 1914 and finished in 1917, the text of this work is from a Buddhist daily prayer for the universe, calling all people to attain peace and joy. Like much of her writing, this work is rich and luscious, and shows what an incredibly mature composer she was. Several melodies throughout are centered on the whole tone scale, giving it a sublimely hypnotic feel.