David Stewart:

>But to the main question I wanted to ask: Boulanger.  Had never heard of
>him (or her?) before tonight.  It was suggested (by me) that this person
>was an impressionist.  Is this right? I find it hard to tell for sure
>because of the very emotional nature of the text (Psalm 130 or 24 whichever
>is longest).  The harmony however seemed to have a Debussyan colour to it
>(more so in the shorter of the two).  I thought I might have heard the
>influence of Durufle in it.  Seemed a very powerful piece though.  Anyway,
>I would just like to know a bit about him, if somebody does.

This has to be Lili Boulanger.  She lived--regrettably very briefly--during
Debussy's later years and wrote music such as you describe.  (I don't know
the Psalm.) Her sister Nadia, who considered herself less talented than
Lili, gave up composing in order to become one of the most influential
composition teachers of the 20th Century--particularly of neoclassical
American composers.

Jim Tobin