French violinist Raphaelle Moreau and pianist Célia Oneto Bensaid have recorded an album under the Mirare label, featuring works by women composers Henriëtte Bosmans, Dora Pejačević, Grażyna Bacewicz, and Marguerite Canal. The album includes Bosmans’ Sonata for Violin and Piano (Netherlands, 1918), Pejačević’s Violin Sonata, Op. 43 (Croatia, 1919), Bacewicz’s “Kaprys No. 3” (Poland, 1930) and “Oberek No. 1” (Poland, 1951), and Canal’s Sonata for Violin and Piano (France, 1925).
The idea for this album originated from Marguerite Canal’s sonata, discovered by Moreau and Bensaid five years ago. They were astonished that such a masterpiece, with shades of Ravel and Fauré, was unknown. Canal was the second woman to win the Prix de Rome after Lili Boulanger. The album aims to capture the essence of 1920s Europe through the music of these women, who lived at the same time but created vastly different music styles and aesthetics.
Moreau and Bensaid fell in love with the music and wanted to follow their musical instincts in presenting these works. The album includes Pejačević’s “Slavic Sonata,” which blends folk inspiration with romanticism. Henriëtte Bosmans was a celebrated pianist and composer in the Netherlands until World War II. Her sonata showcases her compositional skill, culminating in a fugue.
Bacewicz’s virtuosic pieces, “Oberek” and “Kaprys,” add freshness to the album. Bacewicz, a violin virtuoso herself, wrote demanding and fun showpieces for violin. Moreau highlights the importance of rediscovering and performing works by women composers, who were often overlooked in musical education and concert repertoires.
Moreau notes the significance of their work with Héloïse Luzzati’s collective in Paris, dedicated to researching music by female composers. She hopes this album will help shine a light on these talented women. Recording these pieces for the first time gave Moreau and Bensaid immense freedom and responsibility, as their interpretations would introduce the music to new audiences.
The collaboration between Moreau and Bensaid has been natural and rewarding, rooted in a decade of performing together. They continually seek to discover new scores and incorporate works by female composers into their programs. Their friendship and mutual admiration have made the project enjoyable, and they look forward to future endeavors together.
Raphaelle Moreau, awarded the first Grand Prize of the Andrea Postacchini Competition and nominated in the “Rising Star” category at the French Victoires de la musique in 2020, has an impressive career. She has worked with renowned conductors and performed in prestigious venues such as the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and Vienna Musikverein.
Célia Oneto Bensaid, a Yamaha artist supported by various foundations, is a laureate of numerous competitions and a frequent collaborator with contemporary composers. She has performed with several orchestras and is the artist in residence at the Opera Grand Avignon for the 22/23 and 23/24 seasons.
Together, Moreau and Bensaid bring the forgotten works of these women composers to new audiences, celebrating their unique contributions to the violin repertoire.
