Born 1893 in Paris, died 1918 in Mézy-sur-Seine; Lili Boulanger was a French composer from a family of musicians and the younger sister of Nadia Boulanger. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire and in 1913, with the cantata “Faust et Hélène”, became the first woman to win the Prix de Rome for composition. Despite grave illness she produced a concentrated body of work comprising vocal, choral and orchestral pieces such as “Psaume 130”, “Vieille prière bouddhique” and “D’un soir triste”. Her harmonically bold, richly coloured music points beyond French impressionism.
Lili Boulanger
Composer
