For wealthy bourgeois wives, hosting a salon with writers, poets, and musicians was an essential marker of social status.
Composer Biography
Jules Massenet, despite his varied success in opera, was the most prolific composer of mélodies, writing over 260 of them.
Compositional Technique
Hector Berlioz introduced the term "mélodie" into French song with his 1830 collection Mélodies irlandaises, a title directly calqued from Irish Melodies.
Performer Biography
Pianist Maciej Pikulski has performed in 300 concert halls across five continents and has recorded 15 CDs and DVDs.
Composer's Artistic Vision
A new generation of French composers born around 1840, including Saint-Saëns, Bizet, Chabrier, Massenet, and Chausson, sought sensuality in their music rather than the monumental passions of Romanticism.
Historical Context
The French mélodie, or art song, originated in the culture of the salon, which became a bourgeois rather than aristocratic phenomenon during the Third Republic (established in 1870).
Performer Biography
Thomas Hampson, an American baritone, has sung over 80 opera roles in major houses worldwide and has a discography of more than 170 albums.
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Vocal Recital: Cole, Vinson - Hahn, R. / Bizet, G. / Massenet, J. (In Love With Love)
Vocal Recital: Cuenod, Hugues - Satie, E. / Menasce, J. De / Chabrier, E. / Honegger, A. / Roussel, A. / Poulenc, F.
