Born: 21 January 1828, France
Died: 15 January 1907
Country most active: France
Also known as: Marie Félicie Clémence de Reiset, Caroline Blangy, Clémence Valgrand, Maria Felicita de Reiset, Maria Reiset de Tesier
The following is republished from the Library of Congress. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
Marie Clémence de Reiset first studied composition with German composer Friedrich Flotow (1812-1883) during his first few years breaking into the Parisian opera scene, and later with Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921). Before Marie Clémence de Reiset gained her aristocratic title of “Vicomtesse” through marriage, the pianist, vocalist, and composer was a beloved performer-composer in Parisian chamber music salons. She was programmed in her lifetime alongside male contemporaries programmed far more often today than she is, like César Franck (1822-1890) and Camille Saint-Saëns.
Marie de Grandval appears in the Parisian musical press through the 1880s as a performer and composer. She composed for virtually every genre: operas, choral works, songs for voice and piano, orchestral works, and instrumental chamber music. Personally, I adore playing her 1876 Suite for flute and piano – which absolutely gives Charles-Marie Widor’s Suite, Op. 34 from 1877 a run for its money – and Villanelle in G minor for high voice, flute, and piano.
After Marie married military officer Charles de Grandval, her reputation and musical productivity thankfully did not diminish. Her established fame made the marriage newsworthy in the March 23, 1851 issue of La Revue et gazette musicale de Paris, where she is referred to as a composer (“compositeur”). A May 9, 1852 review in that publication refers to her as a vocalist, pianist, and composer, and expresses happiness that marriage did not force her to neglect her talents: “Dédaignant la phrase consacrée: Depuis mon mariage, j’ai négligé tout ça, Mme de Grandval, née de Reiset, la cantatrice, la pianiste-compositrice au talent gracieux, inspiré, mélodique et suffisamment scientifique, n’a heureusement négligé tout ça depuis elle mariage.”
Marie de Grandval was held in high regard by her contemporaries; composers Saint-Saëns, Charles Gounod (1818-1893), and Pauline Viardot García (1821-1910) all dedicated musical works to her. Grandval herself even dedicated her lyric poem for choir and orchestra La Forêt to Saint-Saëns. Despite prominent musical dedications to “Mme C. de Grandval,” her own compositions varied greatly with the name she chose for publication! Her pen names were Caroline Blangy, Clémence Valgrand, Maria Felicita de Reiset, and Maria Reiset de Tesier. The Music Division has scores printed in Marie de Grandval’s lifetime with pen names, including ones with handwritten dedications.
A Grandval publication of note in our collection is her 1860 one-act operetta Le sou de Lise. This piano-vocal reduction is published under one of her pen names, Caroline Blangy. You can see at the top of the title page that there is a signed dedication as “C. de Grandval” to an individual whose name has been crossed out. Another wonderful example in our collections is a likely 1867 edition of Marie de Grandval’s Messe in keyboard-vocal reduction. Her signed dedication at the top of the title page indicates that this copy was a personal gift to French composer Georges Bizet (1838-1875); it even has his blue ownership stamp! The inscription reads, “A monsieur G. Bizet souvenir amical, C. de Grandval.” This score is bound with a second gift from Grandval to Bizet, the piano-vocal reduction of her 1863 opera Les fiancés de Rosa, also inscribed at the top of the title page. Look carefully at the cover, though – it is published under one of Grandval’s pen names, Clémence Valgrand!