Paris Day Trips: Lyon (Part Work)

Matt's visit three weeks ago wasn't just about galavanting around Paris - he came to get some research done as well. So early in the morning on his second day in town, we embarked on a research expedition to Lyon, a two-hour train ride from Paris.

Lyon is the second city of France, known for its rich history (it was the capital of Gaul under the Romans), its beauty (thanks in part to the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône rivers), and its gastronomy. But all that could wait until after we got some work done at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon, or Lyon Conservatory (second only in prestige to the CNSM de Paris).


The Conservatoire is located in a former convent, built in the 17th century, that was appropriated during the Revolution and became a veterinary school. We spent all our time in the reading room, which was well-appointed, quiet, and provided easy access both to internet-enabled computers and listening stations, two things the BN's music library needs to work on.

Matt and I had come to the Lyon Conservatory's library because it houses a nearly-complete collection of scores formerly owned by Nadia Boulanger, a composer, concert pianist/organist, conductor, and famous composition teacher. We were interested in determining whether Boulanger had annotated scores of works by the composers we're studying (Matt is working on Mahler), either for conducting or teaching. It turns out that she only rarely wrote in her scores, and frequently only to indicate mistakes in the editions. But in a few cases, it looked like she had done some analysis (perhaps with a student), and we noticed other interesting characteristics of certain scores.

For instance, in this score of a Beethoven piano concerto, Boulanger wrote in instrument names, probably to help her cue various performers while she was conducting. Notice also the heavy wear on the corners of the pages - this is something she played through or conducted a great number of times. Finally, we realized that some of the scores (like this one) had been bound after purchase, which might indicate that the score was in worse shape, or that someone wanted to protect it. Believe it or not, all of these details can prove useful to a musicologist . . . but ultimately Matt and I didn't find too much that was useful among all the scores we studied in Lyon. Still, we had to look, just to make sure.

Not at all discouraged by our findings (or lack thereof), we took a little time to enjoy the city's gastronomic offerings and lovely old city. To be continued tomorrow . . .