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Sophie Wyss

January 12, 2023

Sophie Adele Wyss (5 July 1897[1] – 25 December 1983[2]) was a Swiss soprano who made her career as a concert singer and broadcaster in the UK. She was noted for her performances of French works, many of them new to Britain, for giving the world premieres of Benjamin Britten's orchestral song cycles Our Hunting Fathers (1936) and Les Illuminations (1940), and for encouraging other composers to set English and French texts. Among those who wrote for her were Lennox Berkeley, Arnold Cooke, Roberto Gerhard, Elizabeth Maconchy, Peter Racine Fricker, Alan Rawsthorne and Mátyás Seiber.

Wyss c. 1920s

Life and career

Wyss was born to a musical family in La Neuveville, Canton of Bern, Switzerland.[3] Her two sisters, Emilie Perret-Wyss and Colette Feschotte-Wyss, were also singers, and the three sometimes performed together.[4] She studied at the Geneva Conservatoire and the Basle Music Academy. In 1925 she married a British army officer, Captain Arnold Gyde, who had retired from the armed forces and become a publisher in London.[3] He also became the treasurer of the Committee for the Promotion of New Music,[4] founded in 1943.[5]

Making her home in England, Wyss embarked on a career as a soloist.[3] At first she failed to impress the critics. After an early recital in London in 1927, The Times said, "Miss Wyss has some pleasant notes in her voice, but the tone was tight in the upper range. A pronounced wobble, which appeared now and then, and a tendency to go out of tune showed that she has not yet gained sufficient control over her voice."[6] By the 1930s her notices had improved from reserved to enthusiastic. The Times said that Wyss "possesses a soprano voice of an exquisitely yielding quality ... a singer so completely satisfying that we would not trust ourselves to say how much of the pleasure we derived from her performances was due to her or the music itself."[7]

In 1936, together with Adolph Hallis, Benjamin Britten, Alan Rawsthorne and Christian Darnton, Wyss was a founder of the Hallis Concert Society, which gave a number of innovative concerts in London in the period 1936–1939. These included British premieres of both contemporary and historical British and European music, including works of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, François Couperin, Alban Berg, Paul Hindemith, Elisabeth Lutyens and Elizabeth Maconchy.[8]

Wyss encouraged British composers to set French texts for her to perform.[3] The most famous work that resulted from this was Britten's Les Illuminations to words by Rimbaud, which Wyss premiered in London in 1940 with Boyd Neel and his orchestra.[9][n 1] Wyss was equally at home with English texts, such as those in Britten's Our Hunting Fathers (1936)[3] and On This Island (1937).[13] Britten dedicated Vol. 2 of his Folk Song Arrangements (1942) to Wyss and Gyde's two sons, Arnold and Humphrey.[14] Britten was also Humphrey's godfather.[15] [n 2] She gave the first performance of his 8 French Folksongs, in a 1942 National Gallery recital with Gerald Moore, and she and Britten later recorded five of these songs.[17] However, by 1942, Britten's knowledge of voice and vocal technique had greatly increased, and he preferred Peter Pears's interpretation of Les Illuminations to Wyss's performance, which he described to a close friend as "hopelessly inefficient, subjective & (of all things) so coy & whimsey!!!"[18] Though Wyss was keen to resume her professional relationship with Britten, he was no longer interested but confessed to Pears that he was "too fond of her to be rude, & not interested enough to be critical".[19][n 3]

As a near neighbour of Gerald Finzi's, from 1941 Wyss performed in several of his concerts involving the Newbury String Players, singing the Aria from Finzi's Dies Natalis as well as works by William Byrd, Henry Purcell, George Frideric Handel, Ivor Gurney, and Ralph Vaughan Williams.[21] Wyss gave many first performances of works in French or English by composers including Lennox Berkeley,[22] Arnold Cooke, Roberto Gerhard, Elizabeth Maconchy, Peter Racine Fricker, Alan Rawsthorne, George Enescu, Antony Hopkins[23] and Mátyás Seiber.[3][4] She was also a leading exponent in the UK of songs by Gabriel Fauré, Claude Debussy, Reynaldo Hahn, Maurice Ravel and other French composers.[4] During a career that lasted until the early 1960s Wyss broadcast extensively for the BBC, and made concert tours in continental Europe and Australia.[3] She died in Bognor Regis on the south coast of England at the age of 86. In an obituary notice, The Times concluded, "Her contribution to British musical life was something special and will be hard to replace".[3]

Recordings

Wyss recorded for Decca Records from 1941 to 1946. The works she sang included some by English composers: Bliss's "The Hare" and "The Buckle" from his Three Romantic Songs; Britten's sets Two French Folk Songs and Three French Folk Songs, and Rawsthorne's Three French Nursery Songs. From the French repertoire she recorded Chabrier's "Villanelle des petits canards" and "Les cigales"; Debussy's "L'échelonnement des haies"; Duparc's "Chanson triste"; Fauré's La bonne chanson, "Aurore" (Op. 39/1), "Les roses d'Ispahan" (Op. 39/4) and "Les berceaux" (Op. 23/1); and Ravel's "Nicolette". Her accompanists included Britten and Kathleen Long.[24] In 2012 Symposium Records released recordings made by Wyss in the 1950s. They were: Louis Durey's Images à Crusoé; George Enescu's Sept chansons de Clément Marot; Arthur Honegger's Six poésies de Jean Cocteau; Frank Martin's Trois Chants de Noël; and Jules Massenet's Poème d'Avril.[4]

Notes, references and sources

Notes

  1. ^ In April 1939 Wyss had premiered the only two songs then composed for the cycle, "Marine" and "Being Beauteous".[10] She repeated them with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Henry Wood at a promenade concert in August of that year.[11] In later years Britten insisted that the cycle should be sung by a tenor, though this was almost certainly due to the influence of Pears.[12]
  2. ^ The boy's godmother was the UK-based Australian novelist Henry Handel Richardson.[16]
  3. ^ Towards the end of her life, Wyss claimed that the final rift between herself and Britten was due to her husband, Arnold Gyde, taking offence that Britten preferred Pears singing Les illuminations. Although Wyss would have preferred to remain friends, her husband "could not forgive the slight" he believed Britten had committed.[20]

References

  1. ^ Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., 1954, vol. IX, p. 377
  2. ^ "Deaths". The Times. London, England. 29 December 1983. p. 18. 'Gyde'. On Dec 25th, 1983 peacefully at Bognor Regis aged 86, Sophie Adele Gyde (née Sophie Wyss), widow of Captain Arnold Gynde [sic] and mother of Arnold and Humphrey.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Sophie Wyss", The Times, 2 January 1986, p. 10
  4. ^ a b c d e Gyde, Humphrey. Liner notes to Symposium Records CD 1409, retrieved 9 June 2014
  5. ^ Payne, Anthony. "Society for the Promotion of New Music", Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press, retrieved 15 June 2014. (subscription required)
  6. ^ "Miss Sophie Wyss", The Times, 17 December 1927, p. 10
  7. ^ "Recitals of the Week", The Times, 22 March 1935, p. 14
  8. ^ Plant 2001. Details of the programmes of these concerts are given at the Concert Programmes: Darnton collection site of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (accessed 10 June 2014).
  9. ^ "Contemporary Music Centre", The Times, 31 January 1940, p. 11
  10. ^ Matthews 2013, p. 50.
  11. ^ Proms archive 1939 BBC, retrieved 15 June 2014
  12. ^ Matthews 2013, p. 57.
  13. ^ Kildea 2013, p. 136.
  14. ^ Bridcut 2010, p. 122.
  15. ^ Britten 1991a, Diary, 19 September 1936: p. 443.
  16. ^ The Argus (Melbourne), 20 July 1948. "Noted Swiss singer has brought old songs with 'a new look' ", retrieved 9 June 2014
  17. ^ Bridcut 2010, p. 395.
  18. ^ Britten 1991b, Letter 397, 30 September 1942: p. 1089.
  19. ^ Britten 1991b, Letter 392, 25 September 1942: p. 1080.
  20. ^ Britten, Beth (2013). My Brother Benjamin. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 9780571299959.
  21. ^ McVeagh, Diana. Gerald Finzi: His Life and Music. Boydell Press, 2005: pp. 120, 123, 128, 131.
  22. ^ "Lennox Berkeley: The Low Lands of Holland", Boosey & Hawkes, retrieved 5 July 2022
  23. ^ British Classical Music: The Land of Lost Content, Thursday 9 Aug 2012, Antony Hopkins: Portrait of a Composer CD1..., retrieved 9 June 2014
  24. ^ Stuart, Philip. Decca Classical 1929–2009 retrieved 15 June 2014.

Sources

External links

  • "Sophie Wyss", Oxford Reference
  • Discography, recordings.online.fr

January 12, 2023
sophie, wyss, sophie, adele, wyss, july, 1897, december, 1983, swiss, soprano, made, career, concert, singer, broadcaster, noted, performances, french, works, many, them, britain, giving, world, premieres, benjamin, britten, orchestral, song, cycles, hunting, . Sophie Adele Wyss 5 July 1897 1 25 December 1983 2 was a Swiss soprano who made her career as a concert singer and broadcaster in the UK She was noted for her performances of French works many of them new to Britain for giving the world premieres of Benjamin Britten s orchestral song cycles Our Hunting Fathers 1936 and Les Illuminations 1940 and for encouraging other composers to set English and French texts Among those who wrote for her were Lennox Berkeley Arnold Cooke Roberto Gerhard Elizabeth Maconchy Peter Racine Fricker Alan Rawsthorne and Matyas Seiber Wyss c 1920s Contents 1 Life and career 2 Recordings 3 Notes references and sources 4 External linksLife and career EditWyss was born to a musical family in La Neuveville Canton of Bern Switzerland 3 Her two sisters Emilie Perret Wyss and Colette Feschotte Wyss were also singers and the three sometimes performed together 4 She studied at the Geneva Conservatoire and the Basle Music Academy In 1925 she married a British army officer Captain Arnold Gyde who had retired from the armed forces and become a publisher in London 3 He also became the treasurer of the Committee for the Promotion of New Music 4 founded in 1943 5 Making her home in England Wyss embarked on a career as a soloist 3 At first she failed to impress the critics After an early recital in London in 1927 The Times said Miss Wyss has some pleasant notes in her voice but the tone was tight in the upper range A pronounced wobble which appeared now and then and a tendency to go out of tune showed that she has not yet gained sufficient control over her voice 6 By the 1930s her notices had improved from reserved to enthusiastic The Times said that Wyss possesses a soprano voice of an exquisitely yielding quality a singer so completely satisfying that we would not trust ourselves to say how much of the pleasure we derived from her performances was due to her or the music itself 7 In 1936 together with Adolph Hallis Benjamin Britten Alan Rawsthorne and Christian Darnton Wyss was a founder of the Hallis Concert Society which gave a number of innovative concerts in London in the period 1936 1939 These included British premieres of both contemporary and historical British and European music including works of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Francois Couperin Alban Berg Paul Hindemith Elisabeth Lutyens and Elizabeth Maconchy 8 Wyss encouraged British composers to set French texts for her to perform 3 The most famous work that resulted from this was Britten s Les Illuminations to words by Rimbaud which Wyss premiered in London in 1940 with Boyd Neel and his orchestra 9 n 1 Wyss was equally at home with English texts such as those in Britten s Our Hunting Fathers 1936 3 and On This Island 1937 13 Britten dedicated Vol 2 of his Folk Song Arrangements 1942 to Wyss and Gyde s two sons Arnold and Humphrey 14 Britten was also Humphrey s godfather 15 n 2 She gave the first performance of his 8 French Folksongs in a 1942 National Gallery recital with Gerald Moore and she and Britten later recorded five of these songs 17 However by 1942 Britten s knowledge of voice and vocal technique had greatly increased and he preferred Peter Pears s interpretation of Les Illuminations to Wyss s performance which he described to a close friend as hopelessly inefficient subjective amp of all things so coy amp whimsey 18 Though Wyss was keen to resume her professional relationship with Britten he was no longer interested but confessed to Pears that he was too fond of her to be rude amp not interested enough to be critical 19 n 3 As a near neighbour of Gerald Finzi s from 1941 Wyss performed in several of his concerts involving the Newbury String Players singing the Aria from Finzi s Dies Natalis as well as works by William Byrd Henry Purcell George Frideric Handel Ivor Gurney and Ralph Vaughan Williams 21 Wyss gave many first performances of works in French or English by composers including Lennox Berkeley 22 Arnold Cooke Roberto Gerhard Elizabeth Maconchy Peter Racine Fricker Alan Rawsthorne George Enescu Antony Hopkins 23 and Matyas Seiber 3 4 She was also a leading exponent in the UK of songs by Gabriel Faure Claude Debussy Reynaldo Hahn Maurice Ravel and other French composers 4 During a career that lasted until the early 1960s Wyss broadcast extensively for the BBC and made concert tours in continental Europe and Australia 3 She died in Bognor Regis on the south coast of England at the age of 86 In an obituary notice The Times concluded Her contribution to British musical life was something special and will be hard to replace 3 Recordings EditWyss recorded for Decca Records from 1941 to 1946 The works she sang included some by English composers Bliss s The Hare and The Buckle from his Three Romantic Songs Britten s sets Two French Folk Songs and Three French Folk Songs and Rawsthorne s Three French Nursery Songs From the French repertoire she recorded Chabrier s Villanelle des petits canards and Les cigales Debussy s L echelonnement des haies Duparc s Chanson triste Faure s La bonne chanson Aurore Op 39 1 Les roses d Ispahan Op 39 4 and Les berceaux Op 23 1 and Ravel s Nicolette Her accompanists included Britten and Kathleen Long 24 In 2012 Symposium Records released recordings made by Wyss in the 1950s They were Louis Durey s Images a Crusoe George Enescu s Sept chansons de Clement Marot Arthur Honegger s Six poesies de Jean Cocteau Frank Martin s Trois Chants de Noel and Jules Massenet s Poeme d Avril 4 Notes references and sources EditNotes In April 1939 Wyss had premiered the only two songs then composed for the cycle Marine and Being Beauteous 10 She repeated them with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Henry Wood at a promenade concert in August of that year 11 In later years Britten insisted that the cycle should be sung by a tenor though this was almost certainly due to the influence of Pears 12 The boy s godmother was the UK based Australian novelist Henry Handel Richardson 16 Towards the end of her life Wyss claimed that the final rift between herself and Britten was due to her husband Arnold Gyde taking offence that Britten preferred Pears singing Les illuminations Although Wyss would have preferred to remain friends her husband could not forgive the slight he believed Britten had committed 20 References Grove s Dictionary of Music and Musicians 5th ed 1954 vol IX p 377 Deaths The Times London England 29 December 1983 p 18 Gyde On Dec 25th 1983 peacefully at Bognor Regis aged 86 Sophie Adele Gyde nee Sophie Wyss widow of Captain Arnold Gynde sic and mother of Arnold and Humphrey a b c d e f g h Sophie Wyss The Times 2 January 1986 p 10 a b c d e Gyde Humphrey Liner notes to Symposium Records CD 1409 retrieved 9 June 2014 Payne Anthony Society for the Promotion of New Music Grove Music Online Oxford University Press retrieved 15 June 2014 subscription required Miss Sophie Wyss The Times 17 December 1927 p 10 Recitals of the Week The Times 22 March 1935 p 14 Plant 2001 Details of the programmes of these concerts are given at the Concert Programmes Darnton collection site of the Arts and Humanities Research Council accessed 10 June 2014 Contemporary Music Centre The Times 31 January 1940 p 11 Matthews 2013 p 50 Proms archive 1939 BBC retrieved 15 June 2014 Matthews 2013 p 57 Kildea 2013 p 136 Bridcut 2010 p 122 Britten 1991a Diary 19 September 1936 p 443 The Argus Melbourne 20 July 1948 Noted Swiss singer has brought old songs with a new look retrieved 9 June 2014 Bridcut 2010 p 395 Britten 1991b Letter 397 30 September 1942 p 1089 Britten 1991b Letter 392 25 September 1942 p 1080 Britten Beth 2013 My Brother Benjamin London Faber and Faber ISBN 9780571299959 McVeagh Diana Gerald Finzi His Life and Music Boydell Press 2005 pp 120 123 128 131 Lennox Berkeley The Low Lands of Holland Boosey amp Hawkes retrieved 5 July 2022 British Classical Music The Land of Lost Content Thursday 9 Aug 2012 Antony Hopkins Portrait of a Composer CD1 retrieved 9 June 2014 Stuart Philip Decca Classical 1929 2009 retrieved 15 June 2014 Sources Bridcut John 2010 The Faber Pocket Guide to Britten London Faber and Faber ISBN 978 0 571 23776 0 Britten Benjamin 1991a Donald Mitchell ed Letters From a Life The Selected Letters of Benjamin Britten Volume 1 1923 39 London Faber and Faber ISBN 057115221X Britten Benjamin 1991b Donald Mitchell ed Letters From a Life The Selected Letters of Benjamin Britten Volume 2 1939 45 London Faber and Faber ISBN 0571160581 Kildea Paul 2013 Benjamin Britten A Life in the Twentieth Century London Penguin Books ISBN 9781846142338 Matthews David 2013 Britten London Haus Publishing ISBN 978 1908323385 Plant Andrew 2001 Darnton Philip Christian Grove Music Online 8th ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 gmo 9781561592630 article 07225 ISBN 978 1 56159 263 0 External links Edit Sophie Wyss Oxford Reference Discography recordings online frPortals Biography Classical music Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sophie Wyss amp oldid 1096630755, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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