Composer Of The Week: Holmes And Duparc

During her lifetime, Augusta Holmès’ musical compositions were lavish and expensive, creating grand spectacles that demanded 1,200 performers and huge crowds. Despite achieving considerable fame whilst alive, over the passage of time her name disappeared into obscurity, whilst that of her direct contemporary, Henri Duparc has grown and prospered.

To some he is regarded as one of the leading figures of French song, yet it’s still the case that relatively little is known about his life.

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. Together they consider the impact of both these composers and why their legacies, though closely intertwined, remain so different.

Monday: A Tale Of Two Composers

Holmès’ 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 the law.

Tuesday: A Composer In The Making

Duparc was a perfectionist, who was often driven to destroy his compositions. Today, a chance to hear his only surviving chamber work, a cello sonata.

Wednesday: A Time Of Conflict

Holmès and Duparc both contributed to the war effort, as a nurse and as a member of the 18th Battalion respectively. Yet despite the difficulty of their situation, music making was still possible.

Thursday: France’s Muse

A celebrated figure by the 1880s, Holmès held a weekly salon of her own where she was able to present her own music, while Duparc was a prominent attendee at the most exclusive musical soirées in Paris.

Friday: When The Music Stops

The failure of her opera La Montagne Noire was a huge disappointment to Holmès, but it did not prevent her from working on new projects.

Duparc’s creative life came to an abrupt end through the reappearance of a debilitating illness, but despite a long compositional silence his songs continued to find new audiences.

Publicity contact: EB2