Born on August 21, 1893, Lili Boulanger was surrounded by musicians. Her father Ernest was a composer, her mother Raïssa Mischetzky was a performer, her older sister Nadia mentored many famous composers—including Aaron Copland and Astor Piazzolla—and one of their closest friends was Gabriel Fauré. Unfortunately, as a child, Boulanger was struck with bronchial pneumonia, leaving her with chronic intestinal tuberculosis (or possibly Crohn’s disease) that eventually led to her death. Far from a victim of circumstance, Boulanger became determined to win the coveted Prix de Rome in composition, studying privately as the result of her condition instead of enrolling full-time at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1912, when she was 19, she won on her second try—the first woman to earn the distinction. 

Boulanger composed Psalm 24, La terre appartient à l'Eternel (“The earth is the Lord’s”) while living in Rome about four years after she won the Prix de Rome. Scored for choir, organ, brass, timpani, and two harps, the brief work effectively contrasts fanfare-like passages and homophonic or unison-like passages for the chorus. While Boulanger’s other two psalm settings are more sorrowful, Psalm 24 is more celebratory, focusing on the glory and majesty of God. 

© 2024 Jennifer More