I'd seen the tidbit that the Hark The Herald Angels Sing tune for was written as a cantata celebrating Gutenberg, and then I looked up the lyrics (which I see I failed to link to last time, and it messed up all the html) and was like oh, that's why nobody sings the original words. (I was, y'know, hoping for some stuff about how great the printing press is, and not just "Gutenberg was a Great Man. And German.")
What drama! I wondered what happened to Marianne, so I looked her up and she married another composer who I'd never heard of (Alphonse Duvernoy, who also went on to become a professor at the Conservatoire). I hope they were happier than the Faurés!
I like Louise's piano quartets, it's sad we don't have more! But also if you are into Belle Epoque music you should check out the work of another woman composer, Mel Bonis, who was born into a non-musical family and taught herself music. Her parents were persuaded to let her attend the Conservatoire, where she was a star student. But after she fell in love with a classmate, her parents withdrew her from the Conservatoire and forced her to marry an older businessman who did not appreciate music and had five children from a previous marriage. This kept her away from music for a decade, but eventually she reconnected with her old flame and started composing. Here's her Scènes de la Forêt.
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Date: 2025-09-24 01:33 am (UTC)I'd seen the tidbit that the Hark The Herald Angels Sing tune for was written as a cantata celebrating Gutenberg, and then I looked up the lyrics (which I see I failed to link to last time, and it messed up all the html) and was like oh, that's why nobody sings the original words. (I was, y'know, hoping for some stuff about how great the printing press is, and not just "Gutenberg was a Great Man. And German.")
What drama! I wondered what happened to Marianne, so I looked her up and she married another composer who I'd never heard of (Alphonse Duvernoy, who also went on to become a professor at the Conservatoire). I hope they were happier than the Faurés!
I like Louise's piano quartets, it's sad we don't have more! But also if you are into Belle Epoque music you should check out the work of another woman composer, Mel Bonis, who was born into a non-musical family and taught herself music. Her parents were persuaded to let her attend the Conservatoire, where she was a star student. But after she fell in love with a classmate, her parents withdrew her from the Conservatoire and forced her to marry an older businessman who did not appreciate music and had five children from a previous marriage. This kept her away from music for a decade, but eventually she reconnected with her old flame and started composing. Here's her Scènes de la Forêt.