Geneviève Touraine, real name Geneviève Tisserand, (20 November 1903 – 10 July 1982) was a French classical singer (

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

). She was baritone

Gérard Souzay Gérard Souzay (8 December 1918 – 17 August 2004) was a French baritone, regarded as one of the very finest interpreters of mélodie (French art song) in the generation after Charles Panzéra and Pierre Bernac. Background and education He w ...

's older sister.

Biography

She was born in

Fontenay-sous-Bois Fontenay-sous-Bois () is a Communes of France, commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Name The name Fontenay was recorded in the Middle Ages as ''Fontanetum'', meaning "the spring ...

in a family of musicians settled in

Chinon Chinon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Indre-et-Loire Departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. The traditional province around Chinon, Touraine, became a favorite resort of French kings and their nobles beginn ...

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...

(hence the choice of her pseudonym). Her father, Georges Tisserand, a career officer, played the cello, and her mother, Madeleine Hennique, had a beautiful soprano voice. Her three brothers also showed good dispositions for singing, especially the youngest who would make an international career under the name of

. In 1942, Geneviève Touraine premiered the

mélodie A ''mélodie'' () is a form of French art song, arising in the mid-19th century. It is comparable to the German '' Lied''. A ''chanson'', by contrast, is a folk or popular French song. The literal meaning of the word in the French language is " ...

cycle Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in ...

Fiançailles pour rire ''Fiançailles pour rire'' ("Betrothal for Laughs"), FP 101, is a song cycle of six '' mélodie''s for voice and piano by Francis Poulenc on poems from the collection of the same name by Louise de Vilmorin. Composed in 1939, it was premiered on ...

'' by

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...

, composed in 1939 on poems by

Louise de Vilmorin Louise most commonly refers to: * Louise (given name) Louise or Luise may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Songs * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 * "Louise", by The Yardbirds from the album '' Five Live Yardbirds'', 1964 * "Louis ...

. She also realized several records of melodies of which two with her brother but went relatively eclipsed by the reputation of the latter. She taught her art for several years at the

École Normale de Musique de Paris The École Normale de Musique de Paris "Alfred Cortot" (ENMP) is a leading conservatoire located in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. The school was founded in 1919 by Auguste Mangeot and Alfred Cortot. The term ''école normale'' (English: no ...

Selected discography

*''Mélodies françaises'', with Gérard Souzay (baritone),

Jacqueline Robin Jacqueline Robin (; 11 December 1917 in Saint-Astier – 3 February 2007 in Taverny) was a French pianist. Born Jacqueline Pangnier, she also performed as Jacqueline Bonneau. She entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of ten, and obtained f ...

and

(piano) – Lumen, 1954–1957 :Mélodies et duos by

Jacques Leguerney Jacques Leguerney (19 November 1906 – 10 September 1997) was a French composer especially noted for his art songs. Biography Jacques Leguerney was born in Le Havre. He has been referred to as "the latest – perhaps the last – great exponent o ...

Albert Roussel Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (; 5 April 1869 – 23 August 1937) was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His ...

Joseph Canteloube Marie-Joseph Canteloube de Malaret (; 21 October 18794 November 1957) was a French composer, musicologist, and author best known for his collections of orchestrated folksongs from the Auvergne (province), Auvergne region, ''Chants d'Auvergne''. ...

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

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. ...

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

Emmanuel Chabrier Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (; 18 January 184113 September 1894) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and pianist. His Bourgeoisie, bourgeois family did not approve of a musical career for him, and he studied law in Paris and then worked ...

and

External links

Geneviève Touraine Discographie
on Discog
Noëls populaires français (Mono Version) by Geneviève Touraine, Irène Aïtoff
on BNF collection
All tracks by Touraine
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Touraine, Genevieve 1903 births 1981 deaths People from Fontenay-sous-Bois French operatic sopranos 20th-century French women singers Academic staff of the École Normale de Musique de Paris