I've been teaching the history of the symphonic poem as a special topic for the course 'History and Analysis of Music II, 1750–1900' this semester. In an effort to promote a more comprehensive understanding of music produced in ca. 1850–1900, I’ve included Augusta Holmès’s Irlande (1882) as one of the set pieces from which students can choose to write their final essay.
Holmès was a French composer of Irish descent. She studied with #CesarFranck and wrote a number of symphonic poems, in addition to many cantatas, songs and operas. Irlande, as the title suggests, portrays the country of her origin at the time when the Irish Home Rule movement began to take root. A score can be found on IMSLP and I've attached a link to the recording below.
#AugustaHolmès #womencomposer #symphonicpoem #ireland #nationalism @womencomposers @classicalmusic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3NCj237djs