Bonis Salomé

Day 163

 Bonis Salomé

Leo Hussain

Mel Bonis is another of the seemingly inexhaustible supply of female French 19th century composers brought back into prominence by Bru Zane and other CD labels. It really has given us a fresh light on musical life in France. 

Mel Bonis (1858-1937) achieved some early successes. Saint Saens is supposed to have said’ I never imagined that a woman could write such music’ on hearing her piano quartet but she later faded away into obscurity, though she never stopped composing. Her personal life was rather tragic including the birth of an illegitimate child who was given up for adoption.

This piece is the third in a series of music portraits of mythical women - the other two are Cleopatra and Ophelia. It is very much Salomé with an acute accent on the final ‘e’ - and belongs squarely in that French tradition of exoticism and mystery when looking Eastwards. Indeed at times it seems that you couldn’t be considered a ‘proper’ late 19th century French composer unless you had made your contribution to the genre.  I thought it was a really good piece - full of interesting harmony and with considerable rhythmic freedom. The orchestration was distinctive and certainly looked forward to the world of the Firebird. All in all I thought that it was one of the best pieces I have come across in this little survey of French symphonic poems. My only criticism was that it was too short - something I’ve not said very often so far in this blog. It ended rather abruptly and I would have been happy to have heard more.  The Dance of the Seven Veils from Strauss’s Salome seems very tawdry and overextended in comparison!