Started in Rome in 1914 and completed in Arcachon in 1917, Vieille prière bouddhique sets a French translation of an old Buddhist prayer. Lili Boulanger’s friend Suzanne Karpelès, who was reading Oriental Studies at the Sorbonne, introduced the composer to the text and was also responsible for the translation from Pali, the Buddhist sacred language. Its subtitle ‘Prière quotidienne pour tout l’univers’ (Daily prayer for the whole universe) is an apt introduction to the flavour of the work. The theme of universal fellowship is conveyed through choral writing that is simple, direct and often in octaves, with everyone singing the same line. Modal touches, for instance in the main melody, move the musical language away from something specifically Western classical in style to something less time- and place-bound.
The most obviously ‘exotic’ element of Vieille prière bouddhique is the long flute solo that is both an elaboration of previously heard choral material and an evocation of an imagined alien culture in its incantatory style and rhythmic flexibility. The work was premiered on 9 June 1921 under the misleading title ‘Prière hindoue’ at Paris’s Salle Pleyel, conducted by Henri Busser; the performers on this occasion included Lili’s sister Nadia Boulanger at the piano.
Lili Boulanger loved word games, ciphers and musical puns, and at the start of her 1912 diary she noted fragments of a private language, some of which is based on musical notes. One cipher represents the name ‘Lili’: do–sol–do–sol (C–G–C–G), a set of four notes which is prominent in Vieille prière bouddhique. This suggests that this choral piece is not only a universal prayer, but also an intensely personal work.
Programme note © Caroline Potter