Georges Boulanger

Avant de mourir op. 17

In newspaper advertisements of hotels and music halls it said: It plays Boulanger - Georges Boulanger (1893-1958) was one of the most famous violinist and band leader of his time. He worked in Romania, Russia, Dresden, Berlin, London and Brazil and appeared in the cinema of the 1930s / 40s alongside many actresses. He left behind about 250 compositions, all inspired by Balkan folklore and Viennese pop music. Avant de mourir, written in 1926 and known in the English-speaking world as My Prayer, is one of his greatest hits. He was recorded on record by Glenn Miller, Jimmy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, Bert Kaempfert, Gene Krupa, Dean Martin, Roy Orbison and Engelbert Humperdinck. With their version of 1956 The Platters landed at # 1 on the charts. Even as film music, the yearning piece was often used.