She was a musical prodigy who excelled in harp performance from a young age, advancing through her training rapidly and receiving several prestigious awards in her youth.

Renié was inspired to learn the harp after she heard her father perform a concert in Nice featuring Alphonse Hasselmans, a prominent harpist.

[3]: 8  At a young age, she began performing for many prominent figures such as Queen Henriette of Belgium, Princess Mathilde, and the Emperor of Brazil.

Her professors Théodore Dubois and Jules Massenet encouraged her to compose, but she was reluctant to attract attention; she hid Andante Religioso for six weeks before she showed it to them.

She made strides in the world of women in music during these concerts as she received the first applause directed towards a woman for both her performance and composition.

[3]: 11 In 1903, she composed a substantial harp solo called Légende, inspired by the poem "Les Elfes" by Leconte de Lisle.

Following his win, he enjoyed a long and successful career as he introduced the Renié method to the United States at the Juilliard School.

[3]: 15 During World War I, Renié survived by giving lessons, and gave charity concerts almost nightly, going to a fund called the "Petite Caisse des Artists" that gave immediately and anonymously to artists in need, even when a battle was being fought 90 kilometers from Paris and Big Bertha was bombarding the city.

In 1937, Renié began complaining in her diary about fatigue and overexertion; illness forced her to postpone and cancel concerts, which had become painful and draining.

[4]: 237 Severe sciatica and neuritis, as well as bouts of bronchitis, pneumonia, and digestive infections in winter, nearly disabled Renié, but she continued giving lessons and concerts despite the intense level of sedatives she was taking.

[8] The next year, she gave a concert, featuring Légende, saying it was the last time she would play it, and died a few months later in March, 1956 in Paris, France.

[1]: 1  Henriette's mother, Gabrielle Mouchet was related to the well-known Parisian furniture-maker Jacob Desmalter and was a distant cousin of Jean-Émile.

Her father was adamantly opposed to their marriage, but M. Mouchet eventually gave in after insisting that Jean-Émile continue to pursue his career as a painter.

When Renié's father died, she lost twenty pounds in a short time and began supporting her mother financially.

Still, though she was struggling financially, she refused to take a commission on the many harps she picked for her students at Erard, and sometimes gave lessons for free.

[5]: 113–114 Renié was deeply religious and when the Third Republic was trying to separate the church and state, she ostentatiously wore a gold cross to show her support.

Ironically, Renié demonstrated the rival Érard harp at the Brussels World's Fair, and was the major cause of its demise.