Mel Bonis was a French composer born in Paris in 1858 who studied at the Paris Conservatoire and began composing publicly in the late 19th century within the Romantic classical tradition. Her output for piano, chamber ensembles, voice and organ is characterised by lyrical melody and rich harmonic language that bridges salon-style miniatures and more formal concert works, and her music has been increasingly revived in twentieth- and twenty-first-century efforts to broaden the repertoire of women composers.
