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Chandos

Mel Bonis: Orchestral Works

$19.79
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Details

Composer
Mel Bonis
Artist
Elizabeth Watts, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Format
SACD
Label
Chandos
Released
Jun 12, 2026
Catalog #
CHSA 5381
UPC
0095115538128

About

Mel (Melanie Helène) Bonis was born in Paris in 1858, and showed a prodigious talent for music from an early age, attending the Paris Conservatoire from the age of sixteen, studying alongside Debussy and Pierne under Cesar Franck. Her passionate relationship with the singer Amedee-Louis Hettich was frowned upon by her parents, who pressured her to marry edouard Domange, a twice-widowed industrialist with five children. Bonis threw herself into her role as wife and stepmother, until a reunion with Hettich in the 1890s reignited her serious interest in composition. She composed more than 300 works, including pieces for solo piano, chamber music, and over forty melodies for voice and piano. As Bonis was too modest for self-promotion, and a victim of gender-bias, her music fell into obscurity after the First World War, and she became bedridden from arthritis. She continued to compose until her death, in 1937. Her orchestral output dates from two decades, between 1891 and 1912, and is well represented on this album.

Tracklist 16 tracks

  1. 1 No. 2. Ophélie, Op. 165 04:31
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 2. Ophélie, Op. 165
    Duration
    04:31
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba
  2. 2 No. 3. Salomé, Op. 100 04:42
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 3. Salomé, Op. 100
    Duration
    04:42
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba
  3. 3 No. 1. Le Songe de Cléopâtre, Op. 180 08:21
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 1. Le Songe de Cléopâtre, Op. 180
    Duration
    08:21
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba
  4. 4 I. Ballabile, Op. 35 02:07
    Track
    4
    Title
    I. Ballabile, Op. 35
    Duration
    02:07
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba
  5. 5 II. Interlude et Valse lente, Op. 36: Interlude 01:57
    Track
    5
    Title
    II. Interlude et Valse lente, Op. 36: Interlude
    Duration
    01:57
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba
  6. 6 II. Interlude et Valse lente, Op. 36: Valse lente 02:03
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Interlude et Valse lente, Op. 36: Valse lente
    Duration
    02:03
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba
  7. 7 IV. Scherzo-valse, Op. 38 02:00
    Track
    7
    Title
    IV. Scherzo-valse, Op. 38
    Duration
    02:00
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba
  8. 8 I. Prélude 03:34
    Track
    8
    Title
    I. Prélude
    Duration
    03:34
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba
  9. 9 II. Danse d'Almée 03:52
    Track
    9
    Title
    II. Danse d'Almée
    Duration
    03:52
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba
  10. 10 Le chat sur le toit, Op. 93 (version for voice and orchestra) 03:14
    Track
    10
    Title
    Le chat sur le toit, Op. 93 (version for voice and orchestra)
    Duration
    03:14
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Performer
    Elizabeth Watts
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba
  11. 11 Bourrée, Op. 62 (version for orchestra) 02:16
    Track
    11
    Title
    Bourrée, Op. 62 (version for orchestra)
    Duration
    02:16
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba
  12. 12 Pavane, Op. 81 (version for orchestra) 03:08
    Track
    12
    Title
    Pavane, Op. 81 (version for orchestra)
    Duration
    03:08
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba
  13. 13 Sarabande, Op. 82 (version for orchestra) 03:41
    Track
    13
    Title
    Sarabande, Op. 82 (version for orchestra)
    Duration
    03:41
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba
  14. 14 Noël de la Vierge Marie, Op. 54 (version for voice and orchestra) 05:44
    Track
    14
    Title
    Noël de la Vierge Marie, Op. 54 (version for voice and orchestra)
    Duration
    05:44
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Performer
    Elizabeth Watts
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba
  15. 15 Suite en forme de valses: III. Danse sacrée, Op. 37 (version for orchestra) 03:43
    Track
    15
    Title
    Suite en forme de valses: III. Danse sacrée, Op. 37 (version for orchestra)
    Duration
    03:43
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba
  16. 16 Les gitanos, Op. 15 (version for orchestra) 03:38
    Track
    16
    Title
    Les gitanos, Op. 15 (version for orchestra)
    Duration
    03:38
    Composer
    Mélanie Bonis
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Rumon Gamba