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Donald Macleod and Anastasia Belina explore the lives and music of Augusta Holmès and Henri Duparc.

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’ l’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' music, several of her works have been recorded by the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Performing Groups, as part of the Forgotten Women Composers project, which was developed by the ´óÏó´«Ã½ 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 nineteenth century music and women composers.

Music Featured:
Duparc: Chansons triste
Duparc: Aux étoiles
Holmès: Trois petites pièces for flute and piano
Holmès: Rolando Furieux
Duparc: L’invitation au voyage
Holmès: Molto lento
Duparc: Sérénade, Le manoir de Rosemonde,Soupir
Holmès: À Trianon
Duparc: Sonata in A minor for cello and piano
Holmès: Ouverture pour une comèdie
Holmès: La Haine (excerpt)
Duparc: La Vague et la cloche
Holmès: Memento mei deus
Duparc: Lénore, symphonic poem
Duparc: Au pays où se fait la guerre
Holmès: Irlande
Duparc: Sérénade Florentine
Duparc: Extase
Holmès: Pologne
Duparc: Le Galop, Romance de Mignon
Holmès: La vision de la Reine
Duparc: Phidylé
Holmès: La Nuit et l’Amour (from Ludus pro Patria)
Duparc: Élégie
Holmès: Le château du rêve
Duparc: Danse lente
Holmès: Andromède
Duparc: La via antérieure

Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Johannah Smith for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Wales

For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Holmes & Duparc, where you can also find links to the documents mentioned /programmes/m000kn8f

And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

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