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