Mel Bonis: Femmes de Légende

Описание: Six odes to women of mythology and fiction.

Phœbé

An epithet of Selene, the goddess of the Moon. This piece induces an unsettled, mysterious feeling with a melodic line in a different rhythmic metre as compared to the flowing accompaniment. And I thought I might enhance that sensation further by pedalling in a third different metre. It seems to work?

Viviane

The Lady of the Lake of Arthurian legend inspired this delightful piece, with its bouncy off-beat dance movement contrasted against a trio that evokes her glittering castle beneath the waves.

Salomé

Daughter of a king, she famously expanded the notion of ordering "à la carte" in asking for the head of a man she didn't like. This piece has all the knives and drama of that incident.

Mélisande

Heroine of the the Maurice Mæterlinck play "Pelléas et Mélisande". This piece was composed before Debussy's opera based on the same story and is noted in the writings of Bonis as her favourite of her own compositions.

Desdémona

The tragic Venetian woman of Shakespeare's play "Othello" who knows her own heart, asserts her will and, of course — because it's the 16th century — pays the price for that in the end. The exquisitely mournful sounds of this piece seem to be floating on a canal, lilting gently along, with the occasional wave splashing over the gondola.

Ophélie

Possibly the most tragic character in the English dramatic canon, this piece perfectly captures the flighty moods of the tormented mind of Shakespeare's Ophelia. Moments of quiet and clear serenity give way to episodes of terror and despair.


Cover art generated by stable diffusion from the prompt "Ophelia on the stage of the Globe Theatre in 1607. In the style of French Impressionist painting."

00:00 - Phœbé
02:30 - Viviane
05:37 - Salomé
09:39 - Mélisande
12:19 - Desdémona
14:51 - Ophélie