A Tale of Two Composers
Donald Macleod and Anastasia Belina explore the lives and music of Augusta Holmès and Henri Duparc with Duparc's L'invitation au voyage and a symphony by Holmès.
Donald Macleod and Anastasia Belina explore the lives and music of Augusta Holmès and Henri Duparc, beginning with their early years, and including Duparc's L'invitation au voyage and a symphony by Holmès, which was specially recorded by the Â鶹ԼÅÄ National Orchestra of Wales.
Imagine creating a grand spectacle that demands 1,200 performers, along with the most lavish sets and costumes. You might think that the figure behind such an extraordinary achievement would have staked a claim on immortality, yet despite achieving considerable fame in her own lifetime, this is not the fate that befell Augusta Holmès. Over the passage of time her name has disappeared into obscurity, whilst that of her direct contemporary, Henri Duparc has grown and prospered. These days he’s regarded as one of the leading figures of French song, yet it’s still the case that relatively little is known about his life.
In Duparc’s case his is a reputation built on the slenderest of musical means, some seventeen mélodies. By contrast, Holmès’s Ode triomphale, which was written to mark the centenary of France’s 1789 revolution, is the largest of a generous collection of large-scale orchestral works, to which you can also add four operas, the last of which was mounted at the Paris Opera in 1895, as well as considerable catalogue of songs.
To shed light on Holmès's music, several of her works have been recorded by the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Performing Groups, as part of the Forgotten Women Composers project, which was developed by the Â鶹ԼÅÄ in association with the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Helping Donald Macleod uncover more about the little-known Augusta Holmès and Henri Duparc, is Anastasia Belina, a music historian with a particular interest in 19th-century music and women composers.
Holmès’s musical aspirations didn’t get off to a flying start, as her mother, who was a painter, held an aversion to music, while Duparc’s family saw their son’s eventual future in Law.
Duparc: Chansons triste
Margaret Price, soprano
James Lockhart, piano
Duparc: Aux étoiles
Lyon Opera Orchestra
Pierre Bleuse, conductor
Holmès: Trois petites pièces for flute and piano
Juliette Hurel, flute
Hélène Couvert, piano
Holmès: Rolando Furieux
Â鶹ԼÅÄ National Orchestra of Wales
Valentina Peleggi, conductor
Duparc: L’invitation au voyage
Felicity Lott, soprano
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Armin Jordan, conductor
Produced by Johannah Smith for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Wales.
Last on
More episodes
Previous
You are at the first episode
Music Played
-
![]()
Henri Duparc
Chanson Triste
Performer: James Lockhart. Singer: Margaret Price.- ORFEO : C-038831.
- ORFEO.
- 4.
-
![]()
Henri Duparc
Aux Etoiles for orchestra
Orchestra: Lyon Opera Orchestra. Conductor: Pierre Bleuse.- Alpha ALPHA 401.
- ALPHA CLASSICS.
- 13.
-
![]()
Augusta Holmès
3 Petites Pièces
Performer: Juliette Hurel. Performer: Hélène Couvert.- Alpha 573.
- Alpha.
- 15.
-
![]()
Augusta Holmès
Roland Furieux (Symphony after Ariosto)
Orchestra: Â鶹ԼÅÄ National Orchestra of Wales. Conductor: Valentina Peleggi. -
![]()
Henri Duparc
L'invitation au voyage
Singer: Felicity Lott. Orchestra: Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Conductor: Armin Jordan.- AEON : AECD-0314.
- AEON.
- 7.
Broadcasts
- Mon 6 Jul 2020 12:00Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3
- Mon 6 Jun 2022 12:00Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3
Vaughan Williams Today
Programmes, concerts and features celebrating Vaughan Williams's 150th anniversary.
Beethoven Unleashed – the box set
The complete set of Radio 3 Beethoven Unleashed podcasts, with Donald Macleod.
What was really wrong with Beethoven?
Georgia Mann and neurosurgeon Henry Marsh examine the composer's numerous health problems
Composers A to Z
Visit the extensive audio archive of Radio 3 programmes about Composers and their works.
Who knew? Five eye-opening stories from Composer of the Week
The production team reflects on 5 of Donald Macleod’s best stories from the last 20 years
Five reasons why we love Parry's Jerusalem
What is the strange power of Jerusalem which makes strong men weep?
A man out of time – why Parry's music and ideas were at odds with his image...
The composer of Jerusalem was very far from the conservative figure his image suggests.
Composer Help Page
Find resources and contacts for composers from within the classical music industry.