Adèle Hugo: Mélodies sur des poèmes de Victor Hugo

Featuring

Jean-François Verdier
Karine Deshayes
Sandrine Piau
Isabelle Druet
Anaïde Apelian
Laurianne Corneille

Axelle Fanyo
Thomas Saulet
Anaïs Constans
Laurent Naouri
Sophie Paul-Magnien
Orchestre Victor-Hugo Franche-Comté
Chœur de l'Opéra de Dijon
Adèle Hugo

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Recording & Production

The Orchestre Victor Hugo commissioned Richard Dubugnon to orchestrate Adèle Hugo's scores, with support from Victor Hugo's direct descendants.

Composition History

Adèle Hugo's musical manuscripts, including songs set to her father Victor Hugo's poetry, were only recently discovered.

Composer Biography

Adèle Hugo, daughter of Victor Hugo, was committed to mental institutions at age 42 and spent the second half of her life there, dying in 1915.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Adèle Hugo's musical style is described as singular and nostalgic, blending elements of Charles Gounod, Georges Bizet, and Fromental Halévy.

Composition History

Composer Richard Dubugnon spent five years sorting, archiving, and restoring Adèle Hugo's manuscripts, resulting in fourteen pieces for voice and piano and five songs without words.

Composer Biography

Adèle Hugo studied composition by correspondence with Adolphe Samuel, a composer and harmony professor at the Brussels Conservatoire, and consulted Ambroise Thomas, who was prominent in Parisian opera.

Compositional Technique

Some of Adèle Hugo's songs, like "Priez pour les morts" and "l'Hymne des transportés," clearly have an orchestral dimension, with piano parts characteristic of orchestral strings.