Petites pièces

These are three short pieces that Nadia Boulanger may have intended to include in a collection. Their simplicity suggests they might have been meant as a kind of Album pour la jeunesse, after the model of Robert Schumann’s, but no evidence confirms this. Moreover, none of these pieces has a title that might fire the imagination of young pianists.

Piece No. 1 takes the form of a scherzo, with a central trio and a da capo repeat of the first part. That first part presents, at a fairly brisk tempo, a motif marked by repeated notes that give it a playful, insistent, slightly humorous character, tempered by a minor tonality (D Phrygian, with the E-flat) and by a rising and falling scale motif that adds a certain casual charm. The left hand rests on an ostinato accompaniment alternating tonic and dominant chords, but sprinkled with altered degrees that pleasingly refresh the color, somewhat “alla Prokofiev.” The trio, at a slightly slower tempo, has an archaic flavor, evoking with a modal touch a dance of olden times.

Piece No. 2 presents a beautiful, Russian-inspired melodic theme supported by a syncopated accompaniment over a tonic pedal. It is a pity that this promising composition never progressed beyond the sketch stage.

Piece No. 3, intended for somewhat more advanced pianists, is built on an ostinato figure in octaves placed high on the keyboard, perhaps evoking the transparency of a luminous sky. The right hand proceeds in small juxtaposed touches of color, broken by a brief shimmer, all of which helps create a diaphanous, mysterious atmosphere. Toward the end of the piece, both hands move down into the low register, briefly bringing greater intensity. This lovely piece, suffused with impressionistic sonorities, makes us regret that Nadia Boulanger did not further exploit her gifts as a landscape painter.

© Leduc 2018

The order of the pieces was chosen by the publisher. Only the manuscript of the third piece presents a finished composition; the other two lack tempo and dynamic markings.

© Anthony Girard