Mel Bonis (1858 – 1937)

Mel Bonis's name may not be a familiar one these days, but she
produced somewhere in the region of three hundred compositions.
There's no doubt that she was sensitive to gender discrimination.
It's why she chose to publish her music under the name of Mel
rather than her birth name Mélanie.


She was born in 1858 to parents of modest means. Her father
worked for the watch company Breguet, still in business today,
and her mother worked in the haberdashery trade. Neither of them
held any particular interest in music, so it was down to young
Mélanie to teach herself the play the family's piano. Her talent
was recognised by a visiting friend who facilitated a meeting
with one of the leading lights of the day, César Franck, an
esteemed professor of organ at Paris's prestigious Conservatoire.
Mélanie enrolled and showed great promise as a student, winning
several end of year prizes. Her studies came to an abrupt end
when her parents refused to give their consent to her marriage to
a fellow student there, a poet, critic and singer, Amédée
Hettich. Her life took a sharp turn two years later when, at the
instigation of her parents, she married a twice widowed man of
comfortable means. Thereafter her life as a composer had to take
a back seat to the demands of raising five step-children and
three of her own children with her husband, Albert Domange. Even
so, she managed to continue to compose, producing music for her
own instrument, the piano, and in almost every other genre as
well.


Étiolles, Op 2 Ophélie, Op 165 Piano Quartet No 1 in B flat
major, Op 69 - II. Intermezzo. Allegretto tranquillo Impromptu
pour piano, Op 1 5 pièces pour piano No 1: Gai Printemps, Op 11
No 2: Romance sans paroles, Op 29 No 3: Menuet, Op 14 No 4:
Églogue, Op 12 No 5: Papillons, Op 28 Cello sonata in F major, Op
67 – III. Très lent Fantaisie, Op 72 "Septuor" Près de ruisseau,
Op 9 Pensées d’automne, Op 19 Piano Quartet No 1, Op 69 – I.
Moderato and IV. Final. Allegro ma non troppo Villanelle, Op 4
Dès l’aube, Op 18 Marionnettes, Op 42 Sonata for Flute and Piano
Suite Orientale, Op 48 No 2 Valses-caprice, Op 87 Elève toi mon
âme L’Oiseau Bleu, Op 74 Cello sonata in F major, Op 67 – I.
Moderato quasi andante Suite en forme de valses, Op 35 to 39 La
chanson de Rouet, Op 24 Carillon mystique, Op 31 Les Gitanos, Op
15 No 2 Suite en Trio, Op 59 Salomé, Op 100 Mazurka-ballet, Op
181 Trois melodies, Op 91 Soir et Matin, Op 76 Scènes de la Forêt
La Cathédrale Blessée, Op 107 Sonate pour violon et piano, Opus
112 – IV. Finale Finale, Op 187 Miocheries, Op 126, No 13, La
toute petite s’endort Regina coeli, Op 45 Piano quartet No 2 in D
major, Op 124 Cantique de Jean Racine, Op 144 Le songe de
Cléopatre, Op 180


Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Johannah Smith


For full track listings, including artist and recording details,
and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after
broadcast) head to the series page for Mel Bonis (1858 – 1937)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001h57j


And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve
featured on Composer of the Week here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z