The first piece of correspondence kept by either Boulanger or Stravinsky appears in Boulanger's archives and is a single calling card, dated December 19, 1929, sent to her by Stravinsky to wish her season's greetings. This small gesture suggests that Stravinsky and Boulanger had been in contact, however superficially, in the years preceding Soulima Stravinsky's studies with Boulanger. One wonders if Raïssa Boulanger, who had previously corresponded with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, may have in some way aided or encouraged the connection between her daughter and Stravinsky. The first steady trickle of documents begins nine months after this greeting card, with Stravinsky's request that Boulanger oversee his son's musical education. During the course of his first year of study, Soulima became romantically involved with one of Boulanger's American students, Diantha Walker (May 9, 1930). Soulima's affection for Walker grew increasingly intense, and a year later Boulanger found herself trying to smooth matters over with his mother (April 8, 1931). Though sympathetic to the couple, Boulanger yielded to the wishes of Catherine Stravinsky, who clearly articulates her vision for her son and for married life in general in this first chapter.

Upon growing closer with the family, Boulanger found herself invited to attend the world premiere of Stravinsky's mature neoclassical work, the Symphony of Psalms. The concert took place in Brussels, Belgium, under the baton of Ernst Ansermet on December 13, 1930. Following this concert and through her role as teacher to Soulima, Boulanger gained increased access to the music of Igor Stravinsky. She attended rehearsals for the symphony in Paris as well as the work's Parisian premiere on February 24. She also began teaching courses on the symphony at the École normale de musique, promoting the Symphony of Psalms as a true modernist masterpiece.

Likely dating from a few months after the composition's premiere is the first piece of correspondence of Boulanger's present in Stravinsky's archives. Rather than a prose letter, the document is instead a list of inconsistencies Boulanger documented between Stravinsky's recording of the symphony and his piano/vocal score, prepared by Soulima.