Selected Songs of Nadia Boulanger: Formal Analysis and Adaptation for Brass Chamber Music

Abstract

Worth can be a difficult thing to understand and define, even under the best of circumstances. Nadia Boulanger is known to have told her teacher, Gabriel Fauré, that “if there is one thing of which I am certain, it is that my music is worthless.” As a teacher, Boulanger empowered her students to listen for the internal logic present in the pieces of art that she considered valuable. This document will apply Nadia Boulanger’s teachings to her compositions to demonstrate that her music does have worth. To that end, these analyses will compile data to discern the internal logic in her pieces. As a performer, Nadia Boulanger coupled her analytical beliefs to her performance practice; her concerts were shaped by and carefully crafted to present her analyses. Her formal classes included an informal ticket to hear her commentaries in action. Therefore, in addition to analytical validation, the author intends to demonstrate the value of Nadia Boulanger’s music through the arrangement and performance of her compositions as brass chamber music. as brass chamber music.