BERCY, Anne De

Anne de Bercy was a French composer and writer. Her real name was Eugénie Anna Henriette Laborie. Born in Paris, France, she showed an early aptitude for both music and writing. In 1903, at the age of 26, she married Léon Drouin de Bercy, a well-known songwriter, poet, and man of letters who was twenty years her senior. Her husband was deeply embedded in the famous Parisian bohemian cabaret scene, notably associating with groups like the Chat Noir and the Hydropathes, and he authored Montmartre et ses Chansons.

Adopting the pen name Anne de Bercy, she spent years collaborating closely with her husband. Even before their marriage, she composed a collection of music titled Chansons pour elle (1902) based on his poetry. Over her career, she put nearly 30 of Léon's songs to music. Following his death in 1917, she continued to work within the French songwriting and cabaret tradition, setting the words of other prominent lyricists like Albert Deligny and W. Naudin to music. Beyond standalone songs, her creative output extended into co-writing popular theatrical pieces, stories, and dramas.