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. As the daughter of an industrialist and 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 and

Mel Bonis Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

. She continued her musical studies at the

Schola Cantorum The Schola Cantorum de Paris 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 La Schola was founded i ...

(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 Cantor ...

and later with Louis Vierne, as well as composition with Vincent d'Indy. On 12 June 1909 she married the composer

Marcel Labey Marcel Labey (6 August 1875, Vésinet – 25 November 1968, Nancy) was a French conductor and composer. Life He was born to a family of magistrates and studied law in Paris (gaining his doctorate in 1898) before turning to music. He learned ...

, 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 vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such songs ...

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 com ...

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,

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, 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, 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 the 19th century France, Sohy's life and creative period falls between those of

Lili ''Lili'' is a 1953 American film released by MGM. It stars Leslie Caron as a touchingly naïve French girl whose emotional relationship with a carnival puppeteer is conducted through the medium of four puppets. The film won the Academy Award for ...

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. Life Louis Durey was born in Paris, the son of a local businessman. It ...

, a member of Les Six.

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

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* ''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 (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 Mallarmé ...

(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 (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

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 in April 1910 by the

* ''Deux pièces'', op. 11, for four hands (1919) * ''Six pièces'', op. 14 (1921) * ''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