Suite from Faust et Helene (score & parts) - OB/EH/PN

Suite from Faust et Helene
for oboe, English horn, and piano
by Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)- French composer

arranged by Stephen Key

This is the printed music.  To purchase the PDF download, click HERE.

ABOUT THE MUSIC

Lili Boulanger first competed in the internationally acclaimed Prix de Rome competition in 1912, but withdrew before the final round due to chronic illness. She was encouraged to apply again by her sister, Nadia Boulanger. So, at 19 years of age, she wrote Faust et Hélène for Soprano, Tenor, Bass and Large Orchestra over four weeks, in a villa with no piano, as required for the final round of the competition. With this work, she became the first woman to win. Lili Boulanger is often considered one of the great tragedies in classical music because her music was gaining much success and momentum, but she died when she was only 24.

In the Suite, many of the main themes are included from the first major sections of the original work. Generally speaking, the Oboe plays much of the material from the role of Faust, while the English Horn performs the roles of both Méphistophélès and Hélène. The Piano takes the role of the rather large orchestra employed by Boulanger. This arrangement concludes at the end of the major climactic love duet between Faust and Hélène and before the story takes a downward turn.

ABOUT THE ARRANGER

Stephen Key is an Oboist, Composer, Arranger, and Pedagogue in the Washington DC Metro area. A member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Professor Key began his studies on piano and voice with his mother when he was only three. He landed on studying the oboe in the public school band program in Ada, Ok. Like many young oboists, at 11 he didn’t want to play an instrument that everyone else was playing.

Mostly an oboist, Stephen is the Principal Oboe for the New Orchestra of Washington, and is currently adjunct Associate Professor of Oboe at Shenandoah Conservatory. In addition to concerto performances with NOW, Key arranged and performed Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin about which New York critic, Oberon’s Grove, said, “gorgeous performance… terrific, notable solos… rich, warm tone.”

As a soloist, he has performed with the New Orchestra of Washington, Washington Chamber Orchestra, Washington Master Chorale, University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, and Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. Orchestral work includes regularly performing with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, but he has also played with the National Symphony, Austin Symphony (TX), Richmond Symphony, Maryland Symphony, Roanoke Symphony and Opera, The Washington Chorus, Choral Arts Society of Washington, Virginia Opera, the Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio, and the New World Symphony. Also, he has recorded with Grammy Award-winning studio Sono Luminus, the Centaur Label, DF-Recording in Switzerland, and Albany Records.

Other professional highlights include being the Principal Oboist for the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival since 2023, and joining the performance faculty for the Chamber Music Conference of the East. As an arranger, much of his work has been for the New Orchestra of Washington.

While as a composer, Key seeks to increase chamber and solo repertoire for the oboe with multiple other combinations of instruments. Inasmuch, his works have been performed numerous times throughout the Washington DC region, from the Shenandoah Valley to New York City, and even in Europe.

Key studied at Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Texas at Austin. He has worked with Rebecca Henderson, James Caldwell, Rudolf Vrbsky, Carol Stephenson, James Moseley, Richard Killmer, Elaine Douvas, and Katherine Needleman.