Les voix retirées - Liederabend mit Werken von Rita Strohl (1865-1941) und Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)

In the organizer's words:

Julie Comparini, alto

Joelle (Yonit) Kosovske, piano

The French composer Rita Strohl was a successful young talent. In 1912, however, she deliberately withdrew from the Paris music scene to the small town of Bièvres in order to found an experimental theater there. Her withdrawal from the Parisian scene meant artistic independence, but also the loss of public attention. She fell into almost complete oblivion.

Lili Boulanger , on the other hand, did not voluntarily withdraw from social life. Suffering from chronic pneumonia and Crohn's disease since her early childhood, she had to live largely in isolation. Nevertheless, in 1913 she was the first woman to win the premier grand prix of the prestigious Prix de Rome composition competition. She died at the age of just 24.

Then as now, withdrawing from one's familiar professional and cultural environment was often associated with a loss of recognition and support. This was especially true for women, who were rarely recognized as serious composers anyway. And yet both composers created worlds of sound of great breadth and radiance from their seclusion.

Rita Strohl and Lili Boulanger probably never met during their lifetimes. The artistic dialog that never took place in reality is suggested here in the intimate form of a song recital.

Rita Strohl

Dix Poésies mises en musique (1901)

Three songs for voice and piano (1895-1897)

Lili Boulanger

Quatre Chants (1910-1916)

Price information:

The concerts in the monastery churches of St. Marien and St. Martini can be performed on a donation basis. The entrance fee for the Villa Ichon is €20, reduced €15.