Sonia Malkine
Sonia Malkine | |
|---|---|
 Malkine on Rainbow Quest (1966) | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Sonia Niel October 7, 1923 Paris, France |
| Died | May 31, 2014 (aged 90) Shady, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | French folk music |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1950s–1980s |
| Label | Folkways Records |
Sonia Malkine (born Sonia Niel; October 7, 1923 – May 31, 2014) was a French-American folk singer. She performed French regional folk songs in which she sang and played the lute. She recorded for Folkways Records, hosted folk-music radio programs in New York's Hudson Valley, and appeared on Pete Seeger's television series Rainbow Quest.
Early life
Malkine was born Sonia Niel in Paris in 1923 and spent much of her childhood in Saint-Tropez.[1] Her mother was the French anarchist writer May Picqueray.[1]
During World War II she left occupied Paris and worked with the French Resistance.[1] In the resistance, she went south to the Dordogne in southwestern France where she served as a courier carrying papers, money, and sometimes weapons.[2]
In 1948 she married the Surrealist painter Georges Malkine, and later that year the couple emigrated to the United States, eventually settling in Woodstock, New York.[1][3]
Music career
Malkine's music career began in 1958 when she performed at the Alliance Française.[2]
Malkine performed traditional folk songs of the French provinces, particularly the Auvergne, including the shepherd's song "Baïlèro."[4] She recorded two albums for Folkways Records: Sonia Malkine Sings French Folk Songs (FW08741, 1964) and Sonia Malkine Sings French Songs from the Provinces (FW08743, 1966), singing to her own six-string lute.[5][6][7]
She hosted several folk-music radio programs, including The World of Folk Music on WKNY in Kingston and Troubadour Songs From Then and Now on WBAI in New York City.[4] Malkine appeared as the sole guest on episode 19 of Pete Seeger's Rainbow Quest (1965–66), performing French folk material.[8]
She is listed in the folklife performer records of the State Library and Archives of Florida.[9]
Death
Malkine died on May 31, 2014, in Shady (near Woodstock), New York, at the age of 90.[1][4]
Discography
- Sonia Malkine Sings French Folk Songs (Folkways FW08741, 1964)
- Sonia Malkine Sings French Songs from the Provinces (Folkways FW08743, 1966)
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Sonia Malkine passes on". Hudson Valley One. June 5, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- 1 2 Malkine, Sonia (January 18, 2002). "Sonia Malkine Interview" (PDF) (Transcript). Interviewed by Mike Russert and Wayne Clark. Shady, New York: New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
- ↑ "On the Cover: Georges Malkine". Chronogram. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Smithsonian Folkways Remembers Sonia Malkine (1923–2014)". Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ "Sonia Malkine: Sings French Folk Songs". Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. 1964. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ "Sonia Malkine: Sings French Songs from the Provinces". Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. 1966. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ Brunswic, Anne (December 2012). "May Picqueray : écoutez-la chanter !". Images de la culture (in French). Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
- ↑ "Rainbow Quest, Episode 19: Sonia Malkine". Internet Archive. 1966. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ "Sonia Malkine". Florida Memory, State Library and Archives of Florida. Retrieved May 25, 2026.