Nadia. Music of Nadia Boulanger and her students. WindSync. Delos (DE3618). Total time 45:27.
DIGITAL REVIEW — It’s no secret that Nadia Boulanger (1887–1979) was one of the most sought-after composition teachers in history. Not so well understood is the fact that she was effective with an amazingly wide range of students — both male and female, and from greatly differing backgrounds. Nadia, a new recording by the ensemble WindSync on the Delos label, explores the pedagogue’s impressive legacy, including a world premiere by a composer who deserves to be better known.
Houston-based WindSync, founded in 2012, consists of flutist Garrett Hudson, oboist Noah Kay, clarinetist Graeme Steele Johnson, hornist Anni Hochhalter, and bassoonist Kara LaMoure. Appropriately, the album begins with some short works by Boulanger herself, all of them arranged for winds by LaMoure.
Although the Prelude in F minor, written for organ in 1911, relies on repetitive patterns like an etude, WindSync instills its phrases with calm, steady purpose, giving it musical shape. Next up is Boulanger’s Three Pieces, also originally for organ but more widely known for the composer’s rewrite for cello and piano.
The first piece, marked Moderato, features Hochhalter’s smoothly melodic horn, textured by quick back-and-forth by the other instruments. The dense meandering of the second movement, “Sans vitesse et à l’aise,” at first struck me as a nod to Aaron Copland (a Boulanger student), until I remembered that it should be the other way around. The final movement, “Vite et nerveusement rythmé,” could have used a little more nervousness from the players.
Two of Boulanger’s most famous classical-music students are represented on this compilation. Philip Glass studied with her for two years, starting in 1964. LaMoure’s wind arrangement of Glass’ Etude No. 17 for solo piano maintains a mesmerizing pulse while never becoming robotic. The Glass is followed by a piece that was already scored for their ensemble, Elliott Carter’s two-movement Woodwind Quintet, composed in 1948 and dedicated to Boulanger. It’s a wondrously balanced work, taking advantage of the various timbres of the instruments. Oboist Kay and clarinetist Johnson stand out for their clarity and expressiveness in the technically tricky first movement.
Not all of Boulanger’s students are such household names today. Many listeners will be unfamiliar with American composer Marion Bauer (1882–1955), although she was an important musical influence during her lifetime, founding the American Music Guild, the American Music Center, and the American Composers Alliance. Bauer met Boulanger in 1906, long before Copland, Carter, or Glass became her pupil. In fact, she was the first American to study with Boulanger in Paris; she went on to become an important teacher herself, as a faculty member at New York University and a guest lecturer at Juilliard.
Here, WindSync offers the world-premiere recording of Bauer’s Woodwind Quintet, Op. 48. The work, premiered by the New Art Wind Quintet in 1953, opens with a movement marked Allegro commodo. The ensemble gives the impression of a gentle, settled weight commodo, indeed. Bauer crafted this movement in a satisfyingly natural blend of tiny phrases and long sentences. The Allegro gioviale second movement is buoyant and delicate, like birds chattering in early spring. Halfway through the movement, the instruments pair off, enriching the sound.
Bauer’s choice to label the third movement Andante pastorale is a bit surprising, despite the prominence of Hudson’s graceful flute line. The music is more somber and mysterious than what one normally associates with the pastoral style. On the other hand, the concluding Allegro giocoso movement is aptly named, its vibrant counterpoint delivered with playful skill by the five musicians. This work shows Bauer to be a composer worth learning more about. Happily, she left behind dozens of compositions — orchestral and chamber works, pieces for choir, and solo songs.
Besides Bauer, WindSync provides another reminder that Boulanger did not only teach the white men so often associated with her. Nor did she only teach classical musicians. Nadia closes with an arrangement by jazz saxophonist Owen Broder of Quincy Jones’ tune “The Midnight Sun Will Never Set.” Jones often related some advice Boulanger gave him when he studied with her in the late 1950s: “Quincy, there are only 12 notes. And until God gives us 13, I want you to know what everybody did with those 12.” She made sure he listened to “Bach, Beethoven, Bo Diddley, everybody…”
All of whom could surely have learned a thing or two from the great Nadia Boulanger.
