![]() ![]() L'Anneau d'Argent performed by Allison Charney and Donna Weng Friedman (recorded live in WQXR studios)Īllison: Chaminade's songs and piano miniatures were really hailed by critics of the time. And we too, fell in love with this charming beautiful song, and we'd love to play it for you today. Allison and I decided to see what all the fuss was about. In fact it was broadcast throughout France the day after Chaminade's death. One of them, L'Anneau d'Argent, was programmed so frequently that it became known as her signature song, and she was known as the composer of The Little Silver Ring. She wrote 133 of them and her melodies were infectious. But of course Chaminade also loved writing songs for voice and piano. Les Sylvains, Performed by Donna Weng Friedmanĭonna: You know her miniature piano pieces were often called “songs without words”, because of their incredible melodies. Les Sylvains, which is performed here by none other than my friend and colleague Donna Weng Friedman from Her/Music: Her/Story concert live at Steinway Hall. We'd like to play a miniature piano solo, which is typical of the type of piece Chaminade would have programmed on her concerts, which she really began in earnest when she was 21, which really was 1878. She did have great teachers like Godard, but she was not at the height of the inner musical circle of elite musicians, because she wasn't allowed to be at the Conservatory. And Chaminade's father was a violinist who really stood in the way of Chaminade's career in a sense, he wouldn't let her attend the Paris Conservatory which she had been recommended to by the likes of George Bizet, the composer of Carmen, which meant that she had to study privately. And it ended up being one of the main sources of information we have today about Chaminade. Her mother was a singer and a pianist and her first piano teacher, and more importantly she kept a scrapbook that documented Chaminade’s career. The first one is one of my favorites - you know, it's protocol to list a composer's birth date and if they're no longer living their death date on any sort of program where their music is being played, which is not so easy or it wasn't in the case of Chaminade, since she wanted to appear younger to the public, so she lied about her age by four years.ĭonna: Yeah, well we know she was born in 1857, although virtually all of her writings list her birth year as 1961.Īllison: She was born into a musical family and a wealthy family, both of which are really important to her life story. So tell me Allison, why was it that in 1944 at the age of 87 Cecile Chaminade died alone, and her music completely forgotten?Īllison: Let's first start with a little bit of biographical basic fun facts about Chaminade. In this country alone there were 200 Chaminade clubs created with the sole purpose of playing her music. President Teddy Roosevelt invited her to play at the White House. ![]() Queen Victoria was a huge fan of hers and awarded her the Jubilee Medal. For instance, she was the first woman musician ever to have won the French Legion of Honor award. You know Allison, it's always surprising to me when I find out how many people, including musician friends, who have never heard of Cecile Chaminade before.ĭonna: But what's amazing is that she really was one of the most popular and successful composers, male or female, in the late eighteen hundreds - early nineteen hundreds. Together we've created a new series called Her/Music: Her/Story, to shine a light on the music and lives of women composers past and present. I'm Allison Charney.ĭonna: And I'm Donna Weng Friedman. ![]() Allison: I'm so happy to be back here with you today on WQXR, to talk about The Rise and Fall of Cecile Chaminade. ![]()
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