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Reflections on a life

Donald Macloed explores Mel Bonis's preoccupations, musical and otherwise, in later life. Bonis turned to writing music for her own pleasure and for her friends and family

Donald Macloed explores Mel Bonis's preoccupations, musical and otherwise, in later life. After the Great War Bonis turned to writing music for her own pleasure, for her friends and family and for God.

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.

The arrival of her illegitimate daughter Madeleine had already brought much anxiety and guilt to the religiously minded Bonis. She kept the child a secret from her family. Then one of her sons expressed his wish to marry Madeleine, completely unaware that they were related.

Finale, Op 187
Tatjana Ruhland, flute
Florian Wieck, piano

Miocheries, Op 126, No 13, La toute petite s’endort
Bertrand Chamayou, piano

Regina coeli, Op 45
Calliope Women’s Chorus
Régine Theodoresco, director

Piano quartet No 2 in D major, Op 124
Mozart Piano Quartet

Cantique de Jean Racine, Op 144
Gérard Chave, tenor
Schola Saint-Saveur, vocal ensemble
Claire Le Fur, harp
Chantal de Zeeuw, organ
Jean-François Sénart, conductor

Le songe de Cléopatre, Op 180
Bucharest Symphony Orchestra
Bênoit Fromanger, conductor

Produced by Johannah Smith for ѿý Audio Cardiff

59 minutes

Last on

Fri 4 Apr 2025 16:00

Music Played

  • Mel Bonis

    Finale, Op 187

    Performer: Tatjana Ruhland. Performer: Florian Wieck.
    • HAENSSLER : HAEN-93204.
    • äԲ.
    • 18.
  • Mel Bonis

    La toute petite s'endort (from Miocheries, Op 126)

    Performer: Bertrand Chamayou.
    • Erato : 9029524243.
    • Erato.
    • 7.
  • Mel Bonis

    Regina coeli, Op 45

    Choir: Calliope Female Chorus. Conductor: Régine Théodoresco.
    • Calliope : 9374.
    • Calliope.
    • 12.
  • Mel Bonis

    Piano Quartet No 2 in D major, Op 124

    Ensemble: Mozart Piano Quartet.
    • MDG 6431424.
    • MDG.
    • 7.
  • Mel Bonis

    Cantique de Jean Racine, Op 144

    Performer: Claire Le Fur. Performer: Chantal de Zeeuw. Singer: Gérard Chave. Ensemble: Schola Saint-Sauveur. Conductor: Jean‐François Sénart.
    • HYB2301.
    • Hybrid Music.
    • 14.
  • Mel Bonis

    Le songe de Cleopatre, Op 180

    Orchestra: Bucharest Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Benoît Fromanger.
    • CL 1287.
    • Le Chant de Linos.
    • 5.

Broadcasts

  • Fri 27 Jan 2023 12:00
  • Fri 4 Apr 2025 16:00

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