Soldiers' Chorus

THE UNITED STATES ARMY FIELD BAND SOLDIERS’ CHORUS The Legacy of NADIA BOULANGER Washington, D.C. “The Musical Ambassadors of the Army” The Soldiers’ Chorus, founded in 1957, is the vocal complement of The United States Army Field Band of Washington, DC. The 29-member mixed choral ensemble travels throughout the nation and abroad, perform- ing as a separate component and in joint concerts with the Concert Band of the “Mu- sical Ambassadors of the Army.” The chorus has performed in all fifty states, Canada, Mexico, India, the Far East, and throughout Europe, entertaining audiences of all ages. The musical backgrounds of Soldiers’ Chorus personnel range from opera and musical theatre to music education and vocal coaching; this diversity pro- vides unique programming flexibility. In addition to presenting selections from the vast choral repertoire, Soldiers’ Chorus performances often include the music of Broadway, opera, barbershop quartet, and Americana. This versatility has earned the Soldiers’ Chorus an international reputation for presenting musical excellence and inspiring patriotism. Critics have acclaimed recent appearances with the Boston Pops, the Cincinnati Pops, and the Detroit, Dallas, and National symphony orchestras. Other notable performances include four world fairs, American Choral Directors Association conferences, music educator conventions, Kennedy Center Honors Programs, the 750th anniversary of Berlin, and the rededication of the Statue of Liberty. Cover photo: Nadia Boulanger, class of 1926, Fontainebleau Palace The Legacy of Nadia Boulanger About This Recording The United States Army Field Band proudly presents the third in a series of Soldiers’ Chorus recordings honoring the lives and music of individuals who have made significant contributions to the choral repertoire and to music education. Designed primarily as educational resources, these recordings are carefully researched to authenticate standard performance practices and, when possible, to reflect the original intent of the composers. The biographical information, detailed program notes, and historical photographs are included to provide music educators and their students with insight into the compositions that they hear and perform. Nadia Boulanger (1887–1979) distinguished herself as a master teacher during her decades at Conservatoire americain de Fontainebleau near Paris. The American composers featured on this recording all studied with Mademoiselle Boulanger. Each inherited a portion of her musical legacy while creating for themselves an individual stamp of compositional personality. Her work as music critic, lecturer, conductor, and concert organist left a broad wake of influence in the musical world as well. It is with great honor that the Musical Ambassadors of the Army offer this tribute to the legacy of Nadia Boulanger. This compact disc was recorded April 2006 at Devers Hall, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, using multi-track equipment. The Legacy of Nadia Boulanger Mademoiselle Nadia Boulanger demonstrated her tireless dedication to the art of music in her roles as critic, lecturer, composer, performer, and conductor. Yet her most influential role came as pedagogue to many of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century. “Mademoiselle,” as students deferentially called her throughout her career, inherited her musical talents from her father, Ernest. He was an ac- complished pianist, winner of the Prix de Rome at age nineteen, and voice teacher at the Paris Conservatoire. As a small child, she studied with him, and eventu- ally studied with Gabriel Fauré and Charles-Marie Widor at the Conservatoire. Ernest’s Russian wife, Raissa, was a watchful taskmaster whose imposing will pressed young Nadia to the utmost of her abilities. She attempted to win the Prix de Rome three years in a row and finally achieved the Second Prize in composition in 1908.1 Nadia’s younger sister, Lili, Nadia Boulanger, age 17 proved an exceptional musician when in 1913, at age nineteen, she became the first woman to capture the First Prize in the Prix de Rome. Ernest Boulanger’s death in 1900 left the three women with financially bleak prospects. Contributions from friends, Nadia’s earnings as a piano teacher and organist, and monies from recitals defrayed living expenses for the family. Mademoiselle became both the breadwinner for the family and Lili’s musical guardian. Lili composed prolifically in her few years, while Nadia’s deep interest and support of her sister led her to compose less and promote her sibling more. Lili died in 1918, weakened Nadia and Lili at Prix de Rome, 1913 by a lifetime of chronic illness. Raissa died in 1935 after suffering for years with Parkinson’s disease. Mlle. Boulanger dutifully memorialized both loved ones annually for the rest of her life. In addition to her musical career, Mlle. Boulanger assumed the role of philanthropist during World War I with the French and American Com- mittee. Through collecting money and supplies, the organization supported musicians serving in combat and, in some cases, their families. Inspired by this organization, Walter Damrosch, music director of the New York Sym- phony Orchestra, created the “American Friends of Musicians in France.” Throughout and following the war, Damrosch’s assistance and influence aided France and its musical community. Perhaps most significantly, he established a school for military musicians at Chaumont, under the direction of Fran- cis Casadesus. This institution segued into the Conservatoire americain de Fontainebleau. Nadia Boulanger’s collegial connection with Damrosch led to her employment as teacher of harmony.2 The school opened on June 26, 1921. Every summer, students from all walks of life and musical disciplines attended a three-month intensive course at the American Conservatory. The school soon welcomed up-and-coming American composers such as Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson, and Roy Harris. Mlle. Boulanger’s reputation as teacher burgeoned with the glowing recommendations of each class of students. Soon, the American Conservatory became the sacred destination of aspiring composers on their musical pilgrim- ages. In addition to her work at Fontainebleau, Mlle. Boulanger conducted her legendary classes in musical analysis from her apartment on Rue Ballu in Paris, on Wednesdays beginning in 1921. There, students intimately learned craftsmanship through score study, performance, and Mlle. Boulanger’s unique musical philosophy. Personally, Nadia Boulanger cast a tall shadow. Devoutly Catholic, she often proselytized to those outside the faith. Mademoiselle herself never married, preferring to devote her life entirely to music and the rearing of her musical children. David Conte reflects, “She was a bride of music, devoted to the craft as a nun or priest is devoted to their calling.”3 Mlle. Boulanger’s influence was soon broadened on American soil by way of a two-month concert and lecture tour in 1924 sponsored by Walter Damrosch. She returned to the states again in 1939 with more professional engagements lasting almost four months. During her visit she made history as the first woman to conduct the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. World War II exiled Mlle. Boulanger to the United States in 1940; at that time, she accepted teaching positions at the Longy School and Peabody Conservatory and continued her work as lecturer, concert organist and conductor, and private teacher. Mlle. Boulanger returned to Paris in 1946 after the war’s end. Her home- coming was sweetened by the news of her appointment as a full professor of piano accompaniment at the Paris Conservatoire, to which she had aspired for twenty-three years. For the next thirty-three years, Mademoiselle would continue teaching, lecturing and con- ducting. She also became the director of the Conservatoire americain in 1953 after Casadesus retired. Nadia at the organ, 1925 Mademoiselle retired from the school in 1957. Many honors followed in the succeeding years. Nadia Boulanger became a Fellow of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in Washington D.C. and was awarded Yale’s prestigious Howland Medal. Her international legacy became further cemented with the filming of several documentaries about her teaching. In the 1960s she taught master classes at The Menuhin School and The Royal College of Music. In 1977 Mlle. Boulanger was granted France’s highest civilian honor, Grand Of- ficier of the Légion d’honneur.4 Nadia Boulanger presided over the musical and personal development of her most promising students. “As a teacher, my whole life is based on under- standing others…. I must try to make him express himself and prepare him to do that which he is best fitted.’’5 Mlle. Boulanger held this mission as a sacred trust for her entire career. Musically, she demanded the utmost of discipline. Her insistence on absolute mastery of sight-singing, score memo- rization, and piano proficiency struck trepidation in many pupils. “The soundest advice for composers is to make a list of the music you love, learn it by heart and when compos- ing, never seek to avoid the obvious.” Mlle. Boulanger espoused the idea that with deep knowledge of the master composers, a developing composer could discover their own voice. “True personality is revealed through deep knowledge of the personality of others.”6 Nadia Boulanger died October 22, 1979, in her Paris Nadia Boulanger, 1968 apartment, an appropriate coda to so many significant interludes of her life and career. Her American Legacy David Conte (b. 1955) David Conte, currently a Professor of Composition at the San Francisco Conservatory and Conductor of the Con- servatory Chorus, became one of the last students of Nadia Boulanger, beginning in 1975 on a Fulbright Scholarship. “I never worked harder than when I studied with her. She was not only an extraordinary musician but also a moral and spiritual person and utterly inspiring.” From her, Conte learned about craftsmanship, particularly through the skill Photo: StevePhoto: Savage of memorizing works of the master composers. “Boulanger emphasized the ability to know works by heart and to play them on the piano,” Conte says.

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