In 1913, when Lili Boulanger won the prestigious Prix de Rome at just 19 years old, becoming the first woman to wind the prize for music, it made international headlines. Though her physical condition severely restricted her ability to compose, she nevertheless created a small but distinctive catalogue of music. Composed between 1917 and 1918 shortly before she died at the age of 24, D’un matin de printemps [One Spring Morning] has become Boulanger’s one of her most frequently performed works.

The piece exists in a number of versions for different instrumentations, including trio, duo, and orchestra. The trio version was the first to be written and premiered at the Société Nationale de Musique on February 8, 1919 one year after her death. At the request of her sister, the great pedagogue Nadia Boulanger, only the duo version for violin or flute and piano was published during this era (Éditions Durand, 1922). Decades later, in 1975, Nadia had copies of the trio version made, tracing the originals of both the full scores and the instrumental parts.

D’un matin de printemps is intrinsically linked to its companion piece, D’un soir triste [On a Melancholy Evening]. Both composed during 1917–1918, the two works share melodic material and stand, alas, as the final pieces Lili Boulanger wrote with her own hand. The original manuscripts, filled with tiny notes, betray the increasing severity of her illness; eventually, her sister had to step in and fill in the rest of the notation.

True to its title, the work simmers with the energy of spring. The piece opens with light yet propulsive eighth notes underneath melodic lines that pass between the violin and cello. A contrasting middle section, marked Mystérieux (mysterious), nods to D’un soir triste by briefly featuring a common theme shared between the two pieces. From there, the music embarks on a progression of growth, ultimately bringing the work to a brilliant, climactic end.