Flute and piano

In France women composers took a great interest in the flute as a solo instrument. Was it because they felt that the instrument was being neglected? Or because its sound is close to that of the female voice? Whatever the case may be, in composing concertante pieces or chamber music for the instrument, they covered an area that had largely been disregarded by their male colleagues, and found in flautists strong supporters of their art. Here, Juliette Hurel and Hélène Couvert, champions of this repertoire, reveal the secrets of compositions – suites, sonatas and genre pieces – by Clémence de Granval, Cécile Chaminade, Mel Bonis, Augusta Holmès and Lili Boulanger.