This is a fascinating album containing the works of sisters Lili and Nadia Boulanger. Admittedly, the beauty of the cycle Clairières dans le ciel composed by the former is somewhat well-known thanks to a few previous recordings, but her teacher sister’s music has stayed rather in the dark. It is thanks to the curiosity and initiative of American tenor Nicholas Phan, who has Indonesian, Chinese and Greek origins, that this project saw the light of day, along with some help from pianist Myra Huang.
Nadia Boulanger’s six melodies are delicate in their harmonies, in the elegiac qualities of her Cantique or in the particularly refined embellishments of Heures ternes. Fauré’s influence is clear in the music of these two sisters (in fact, one of his melodies punctuates this superb recording), with Nadia Boulanger’s melodies also appearing to be similar to Duparc’s lyricism. Having dedicated her life to promoting her sister’s powerful and original music, one gets the impression she may have forgotten herself along the way.
The sincere and at times evanescent interpretation by Nicholas Phan does these two composers justice, whose strong personalities 21st-century listeners are eagerly rediscovering. © François Hudry/Qobuz