Augusta Holmes

Augusta Mary Anne Holmès (1847–1903) was a French composer of Irish descent. She was raised in Versailles, and could speak English, German, Italian, and French by the age of 12. Her mother actively discouraged music lessons, so Augusta had private music lessons as a child instead of attending the Paris Conservatoire. After her mother’s death, Holmes flourished as a composer in Paris.

Augusta’s “beauty” and “highly developed emotional intelligence” helped her to pave her way through 19th-centruy, male-dominated Europe. By 1875, her compositions were performed in France, which may have been helped by her owning a very popular salon from a young age. Holmes had many connections with other great artists during her time, as shown through her being a close friend of Franz Liszt. Augusta had 5 children with the prominent literary figure Catulle Mendèz as his mistress.

Overall, Holmes’ impressive musical output ranges from dramatic symphonies to symphonic poems, choral works to operas, as well as many songs. Augusta created many compositions in support of patriotic or humanistic causes, including Ode triomphale for the 1889 Exposition Universelle, the year that saw the iconic Eiffel Tower rise above Parisian rooftops. She was inspired by classic myths and, like Wagner, wrote the majority of her own lyrics (texts and libretti).

Here is a clip of Augusta Holmes Irlande symphonic poem: