Charlotte Sohy (7 July 1887 - 19 December 1955) was a French composer.

Life

Charlotte Sohy was born as Charlotte Marie Louise Durey on 7 July 1887 in Paris, the daughter of an industrialist. A precocious child, she received a broad education including musical training from George Marty on piano and music theory. She was introduced to the musical world at a young age and was friends with both

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...

and

Mel Bonis Mélanie Hélène "Mel" Bonis (21 January 1858 – 18 March 1937) was a prolific French late-Romantic composer. She wrote more than 300 pieces, including works for piano solo and four hands, organ pieces, chamber music, ''mélodies'', choral musi ...

. She continued her musical studies at the

Schola Cantorum The Schola Cantorum de Paris ( being ) is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History The Schol ...

(Paris), where she studied organ with

Alexandre Guilmant Félix-Alexandre Guilmant (; 12 March 1837 – 29 March 1911) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of La Trinité from 1871 until 1901. A noted pedagogue, performer, and improviser, Guilmant helped found the Schola Canto ...

and later with

Louis Vierne Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death. As a composer, much of his output was Organ (music), organ music, including six ...

, as well as composition with

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Pa ...

. On 12 June 1909 she married the composer Marcel Labey, with whom she had 7 children. At their home on Rue Greuze 24 they organized musical gatherings, inviting personalities from the artworld. She wrote the libretto for the lyrical drama ''Bérengère'' composed by her husband that was published in 1912 under the pseudonym Charles Sohy. As a composer, Charlotte Sohy wrote masses,

art song An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...

s, piano pieces, trios, string quartets, in addition to a

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

and the lyrical drama ''L'Esclave couronnée'', composed between 1917 and 1921. She signed her works under the names of Sohy, Charlotte Sohy, Charles Sohy, Ch. Sohy, and Charlotte Sohy-Labey, and often used other pen names such as Louis Rivière or Claude Vincent. She also wrote plays and a novel. Her musical compositions were performed by

Paul Dukas Paul Abraham Dukas ( 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His best-k ...

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

, and

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...

frequently at the Salon of

Marguerite de Saint-Marceaux Lucie Frederica Marguerite "Meg" de Paul de Saint-Marceaux (née Jourdain; 9 May 1850 – 23 February 1930), formerly Baugnies, was a French salonnière, arts patron, diarist, and amateur pianist and opera singer. She was celebrated for her salon ...

, where she and her husband were regulars (he starting in 1908, she in 1913). After the first World War, Charlotte Sohy's pieces were performed less often. In Florence Launay's list of the most important female composers who were active in 19th century France, Sohy's life and creative period falls between those of

Lili Lili may refer to: People * Lili (given name), for a list of people with the given name or nickname Other uses * ''Lili'' (1953 film), a musical starring Leslie Caron and Mel Ferrer * Lili (Tekken), a character from the Tekken fighting game seri ...

and Nadia Boulanger, who were her contemporaries. She is one of the approximately 20 women who, between 1789 and 1914, achieved professional status and public success as composers. She was the cousin of

Louis Durey Louis Edmond Durey (; 27 May 18883 July 1979)Randel, Don Michael (1996)The Harvard biographical dictionary of music, p. 232. Harvard University Press. . was a French composer. He was among the Les Six group of composers. Life Louis Durey was bor ...

, a member of

Les Six "Les Six" () is a name given to a group of six composers, five of them French and one Swiss, who lived and worked in Montparnasse. The name has its origins in two 1920 articles by critic Henri Collet in '' Comœdia'' (see Bibliography). Their mu ...

Compositions

The complete works of Charlotte Sohy, published as ''Présence Compositrices'', comprises 35 opus numbers.

Vocal works

* ''Berceuse triste'', op. 1, for soprano and piano, text by Sohy (1905) * ''Chants de la Lande'', op. 4, for mezzo-soprano and piano, text by Sohy (1908) * ''Trois chants nostalgiques'', op. 7, for mezzo-soprano and piano (or orchestra), text by Cyprien Halgan (1910) * ''Poème'', op. 8, for Alto, Baritone, Choir and Orchester (1911), premiered by Claire Croiza and Morel under the direction of Marcel Labey on 24 May 1913 at the

Société nationale de musique Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

* ''Les quatre rencontres de Bouddha'', op. 9, for Vocal quartet, flute, clarinet, string quartet, harp and piano. Text von Louis Rivière (1912–1913). * ''L'Esclave couronnée'', op. 12, drama in three acts, text by Sohy after

Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish writer. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she was ...

(1917–1921), * ''Deux poèmes chantés'', op. 17, for Baritone (or Mezzo-soprano) and piano (or orchestra), text by

Camille Mauclair Séverin Faust (December 29, 1872, Paris – April 23, 1945), better known by his pseudonym Camille Mauclair (), was a French poet, novelist, biographer, travel writer, and art critic. Background Mauclair was a great admirer of Stéphane Mallarm� ...

(1922) * ''Méditations'', op. 18, for Soprano and piano, text by Sohy (1922) * ''Messe sur des cantiques bretons'', op. 32, for mixed voices , two violins, cello and organ (1945)

Choral music

* ''Adoro te'', op. 2, for SATB choir (1906) * ''Les Mains lentes'', op. 16, text by Camille Mauclair * ''Deux chœurs'', op. 20, texte by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

and Eugène Le Mouël (1923) * ''Messe'', op. 22, for three voices and organ (1930) * ''Conseils à la mariée'', op. 26, for female choir and piano (1938) * ''Conseils à la bergère'', op. 27, for men's choir (1939) * ''Messe a cappella'', op. 31, for SATB choir (1944) * ''Cantique à Sainte Claire'', op. 35, for female choir and organ, text by Sohy (1953)

Symphonic music

* Symphonie in cis-Moll, "Grande Guerre" (The Great War), op. 10 (1914–1917) * ''Thème varié'', op. 15, for violin and orchestra (1921) * ''Danse mystique'', op. 19, symphonic poem (1922) * ''Histoire sentimentale'', op. 34, film composition (1952)

Chamber music

* ''Prélude'', op. 5, for violin and piano (1909) * ''Petite suite'', op. 13, piano trio (1921) * ''Thème varié'', op. 15, for violin and piano (1921) * ''Triptyque champêtre'', op. 21, for flute, violin, viola, cello and harp (1925) * ''Octobre'', op. 23 no 1, for celli and piano (1931) * ''Sérénade ironique'', op. 23 no 2, for eight celli (1931) * ''Trio'', op. 24, piano trio (1931) * ''String quartet No. 1'', op. 25 (1933) * ''String quartet No. 2'', op. 33 (1945–1947)

Works for piano

* ''Fantaisie'', op. 3 (1907) * ''Sonate'', op. 6 (1909–1910), premiered at

Salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by the acoustician Gustave Lyon together with the architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed i ...

in April 1910 by the

* ''Deux pièces'', op. 11, for four hands (1919) * ''Six pièces'', op. 14 (1921) * ''Piano trio, op. 24 (1931)'' * ''Tambourins'', op. 29 (1943) * ''Quatre pièces romantiques'', op. 30 (1944)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Launay, F. (Vorwort Françoise Nyssen), ''L'Occultation des compositrices dans l'histoire de la musique'', in Compositrices : l'égalité en actes, Éditions MF, CDMC, 12. Februar 2019 (ISBN 978-2-37804-011-6, OCLC 1086278476) * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sohy, Charlotte 1887 births 1955 deaths 20th-century French women composers 20th-century French composers 19th-century French women composers 19th-century French composers Schola Cantorum de Paris alumni Composers from Paris