The welcome rediscovery of Mel Bonis continues with a new studio recording by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and conductor Rumon Gamba, who do full justice to her finely crafted, perfumed orchestral music. Bonis, a contemporary of Debussy, wrote slender but perfectly-formed pieces of beguiling beauty, and this album showcases her instrumental intrigue on a smaller scale.
Trois Femmes de Légende: Tone Poems of Mystery
Bonis's most ambitious orchestral works are the Trois Femmes de Légende, composed around 1909. These brief tone poems depict legendary women: Ophelia as a tragic water nymph, Salome as a princess from a far-off, exotic east. Cleopatra is portrayed with music that is sensuous yet uneasy, featuring quiet writing for bass instruments that underpin her languid melody.
Orchestral Songs and Dances
Of the two orchestral songs on the recording, both beautifully delivered by soprano Elizabeth Watts, Le Chat sur le Toit is especially appealing. It is a mercurial and imaginative depiction of a cat scampering and meowing across rooftops. A fleet-footed lightness infuses the other works, most of which are dances. Several feel like interludes, over almost before they have begun, but no less enjoyable for that; these pieces are slender yet perfectly formed.
Recording Details
The album, released on Chandos, features the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rumon Gamba, with soprano Elizabeth Watts. It includes orchestral songs and dances that highlight Bonis's unique voice, comparable to Debussy in terms of instrumental intrigue but on a smaller scale.
