It was in 1998 that we immersed ourselves in the music archives of Mel Bonis kept by his family in a cellar. Regarding these three pieces, a simple shirt of partions was found. It bears the handwritten words: Three Pieces for Violin with Piano Accompaniment (Organ or Harp), Mel Bonis, 1910. The order of the pieces, unspecified, is a choice of this edition, as is the decision to publish the third piece, the Largo, judged however severely by the author since she had written in the margin of the title: Bad! Each of the pieces existed only as a manuscript: a conductor and a separate violin part. The Andante religioso bears the dedication to Mademoiselle Sophie Baudot, affectionate memory. It is dated 1910. The Allegretto, also dated 1910, is dedicated to Raphael Kellert. For this page, the material has annotations and shows obvious signs of repetition work. It should be noted that between 1908 and 1913, the Russian trio Kellert, of which Raphael was the violinist, performed works by Mel Bonis in various Parisian theaters. The Largo, whose violin manuscript also bears marks of work, is dedicated to Paulin Gaillard. The Andante religioso and Largo, more ambitious in their subject than the Allegretto, display a beautiful violin line that escapes the modest genre of the salon piece and, as far as the Largo is concerned, this explains our desire to keep it in the triptych despite the reluctance we have mentioned. The Allegretto has a double charm, that of its time and that of its author, and we must understand this notion of charm in its deepest sense, that is to say, in the ability to grasp and concentrate the scent of a wine. time, and to restore it with a power of evocation that belongs only to music. Christine Géliot and Alexis Galpérine
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