Mel Bonis, a composer featured on this album, was an exception among women composers as she came from a family that was neither wealthy nor musical.
Composer Biography
Cécile Chaminade's father opposed her studying at the Conservatoire, so she received her musical education through private lessons.
Compositional Technique
Augusta Holmès, another composer on this album, celebrated her Celtic origins in her pieces Chanson and Gigue through melodic intervals and rhythms characteristic of Irish folk music.
Composer Biography
Lili Boulanger, sister of Nadia Boulanger, won the prestigious Prix de Rome composition competition in 1913, which led to a contract allowing her to focus solely on composing.
Composition History
Lili Boulanger's final works, including D'un matin de printemps, were written down by her sister Nadia Boulanger due to Lili's fragile health before her death in 1918.
Composer Biography
Mel Bonis's studies at the Paris Conservatoire were cut short when her parents opposed her love affair with a fellow student.
Composer Biography
Clémence de Grandval, a composer on this album, was considered a 'dilettante' due to the 'double handicap' of being both a woman and an aristocrat.
