Bertin, Louise-Angélique

Bertin, Louise-Angélique (15 February 1805, Les Roches; 1877, Les Roches), composer, tried her hand at painting before becoming interested in music. She had a contralto voice that led her to turn to dramatic music, but she had never studied harmony or counterpoint despite her ability to play the piano. She learned to write airs, duets, and overtures simply by attempting to compose them without preliminary training, and she managed gradually to put her ideas into more or less acceptable musical…