Symphony in C-sharp minor (Sohy)
{{Short description|1917 symphony by Charlotte Sohy}}
The Symphony in C-sharp minor, Op. 10, subtitled the Great War, is the only symphony by French composer Charlotte Sohy. It was written between 1914 and 1917 during World War I and may have been inspired by the death of Sohy's colleague Albéric Magnard.{{cite web|title=Bru Zane mediabase|date=January 1917 |url=https://www.bruzanemediabase.com/en/exploration/works/symphony-c-sharp-minor-op-10-charlotte-sohy|access-date=22 August 2024}}
History
= Composition =
Sohy began work on the symphony in autumn 1914 and completed it October 1917.
The symphony was possibly inspired by the death of Albéric Magnard, in September 1914, who was a family friend of Sohy and her husband Marcel Labey.{{cite web|title=Debora Waldman Conducts World Premiere of Charlotte Sohy's "War Symphony" (1917)|date=11 June 2019 |url=https://www.concertclassic.com/article/debora-waldman-dirige-la-creation-mondiale-de-la-symphonie-de-guerre-1917-de-charlotte-sohy|access-date=22 August 2024}} Sohy's symphony adopts the same key — little used — of C sharp minor as Magnard's Symphony No. 4. Around the same time, Sohy's husband Marcel was mobilised to fight in World War 1, and the symphony, whilst not programmatic, has a dark, anxious tone, taking the subtitle Grand Guerre (Great War).
= Performances =
The symphony was not performed in Sohy's lifetime. It was premiered in June 2019 with the Orchestre de Besançon Franche-Comté conducted by Debora Waldman. Waldman had been introduced to the work by Sohy's grandson, François-Henri Labey, and both worked alongside guest concertmaster François-Marie Drieux to prepare the work for performance.{{cite book|last= Debora Waldman |first= Pauline Sommelet|date=2021 |title= La symphonie oubliée
|url= |location= |publisher= Robert Laffont|page= |isbn=}}{{cite web|title=Presence Compositrices, "Charlotte Sohy: Rebirth of a composer"|url=https://www.presencecompositrices.com/en/mag/charlotte-sohy-renaissance-dune-compositrice/|access-date=22 August 2024}} The American premiere took place on 5 March 2024 at the Zilkha Hall of the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in Houston, Texas. It was performed by the Texas Medical Center Orchestra conducted by Libi Lebel.{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Chris |date=27 February 2024 |title=Texas Medical Center Orchestra hosts US premiere of female composer's symphony |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/classical/article/international-womens-day-charlotte-sohy-18689267.php |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240830230953/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/classical/article/international-womens-day-charlotte-sohy-18689267.php |archive-date=30 August 2024 |access-date=30 August 2024 |work=Houston Chronicle}}
Music
The symphony is written for a orchestra of:
2 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 3 oboes (1 doubling cor anglais), 3 clarinets (1 doubling bass clarinet), 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, harp and strings.{{cite web|title=Catalogue of Works by Francis Paraïso| url=https://www.presencecompositrices.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/catalogue-C.Sohy_-2.pdf|date=2021|page=6}}
The symphony is in three movements:
{{Ordered list
| type = upper-roman
| Lent. Vif
| Vif. Lent. Vif
| Vif
}}
Discography
- Orchestre national Avignon-Provence, Debora Waldman (dir.), in Charlotte Sohy: Orchestral Music, La Boîte à Pépites, 2022.
- Orchestre national de France, Debora Waldman (dir.), in Compositrices, New Light on French Romantic Women Composers, 8 CD, vol. 2, Bru Zane, 2023.
References
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Category:Compositions by Charlotte Sohy
Category:Compositions in C-sharp minor
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