HOLMÈS, Augusta – All Classical Research

Born in Paris, Dec 16, 1847
Died in Paris, Jan 28, 1903

This video contains an interview and pronunciation of the composer’s name.

The composer’s parents emigrated from Ireland to France. The composer added the French accent mark to her surname.
Holmès was an influential member of artistic circles in Paris. She was a devotee of César Frank and a defender of Wagner’s music. Camille Saint- Saëns once called her “France’s muse.”
Holmès was a vocal supporter of independence efforts in many European nations, including her ancestral home of Ireland. She composed several nationalistic pieces of music in support of these causes.
Like several other Romantic composers (Berlioz comes to mind), Holmès had a tendency to mythologize her life as part of her artistic identity. It remains difficult to distinguish fact from fiction in her biographical record. Rumors she supported during her lifetime included that she was the natural daughter of poet Alfred de Vigny, and that she was forbidden to study music as a child.¹
Fun fact: Holmès’s partner was the poet and critic Catulle Mendès. Three of the couple’s daughters appear in a famous painting by Renoir, The Daughters of Catulle Mendès.
Biography from the Royal College of Music