Home > Gabriel Fauré

Born in Pamiers , Ariège, Midi-Pyrénées, he studied at the Niedermeyer school of religious music in Paris with several of the greats including Camille Saint-Saëns. He eventually became organist at Église de la Madeleine.

He became a prolific composer, and among the most noteworthy of his works are his Requiem, an opera; Penelope , an orchestral suite Masques et Bergamasques (based on music for a dramatic entertainment, or divertissement comique), and music for Pelléas et Mélisande. He also wrote chamber music and his two piano quartetA piano quartet is a musical ensemble consisting of a piano and three other instruments, or a piece written for such a group. In classical music, those other instruments are usually a string trio, that is a violin, viola and cello. Piano quartets for thats are particularly well known. Other chamber music includes two piano quintetA piano quintet is a chamber musical ensemble made up of one piano and four other instruments, or the name of a piece written for such a group. The most common grouping is one piano, two violins, a viola and a cello--that is, a piano with a string quartets, two cello sonataA cello sonata is a sonata written usually for cello and piano, although other combinations may be used, including solo cello. Johannes Brahms wrote two cello sonatas and Ludwig van Beethoven wrote five; these are probably the most famous Romantic cello ss, two violin sonataA sonata for violin, in some works solo, in some works accompanied typically but not always by a keyboard instrument. The earliest violin sonatas date from the baroque era and typically used the violin either solo or paired with a continuo accompaniment.s, and a number of pianoPiano is a common abbreviation for pianoforte a large musical instrument with a keyboard (see keyboard instrument). Its sound is produced by strings stretched on a rigid frame. These vibrate when struck by felt-covered hammers, which are activated by the pieces. He is also known for his songs, such as Clair de lune, Après un rêve, Les roses d'Ispahan, En prière, and several song cycleA song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in sequence as a single entity. Usually all of the songs are by the same composer and use words from the same poet. A song cycle is unified by reference to a particular theme or by telling a story.s, including La Bonne Chanson with settings of poems by VerlainePaul Verlaine ( March 30, 1844 January 8, 1896) is one of the greatest and most popular of French poets. Born in Metz, he was educated at a lycee in Paris and then took up a post in the civil service. He began writing poetry at an early age, and was initi.

The Requiem , Op 48, was started after the death of his father, but before it was completed, his mother passed away as well. The Requeim thus is an expression of Faure's personal tragedy written after the death of his parents, though Fauré is thought not to have had strong religious beliefs, or at least not obviously CatholicGeneral meaning Catholic means universal or whole''. With respect to the Christian Church, the early Christians used the term to refer to the whole undivided church. It is in that sense that all Christians today claim ownership of the term, including Prot ones. In setting the requiem he played down the Dies Irae section, though there is a rather short outburst to this text. Several slightly different versions of the Requiem exist, and these have given rise to a number of different recordings. The Requiem is also acknowledged as a source of inspiration for the similar setting by Maurice Duruflé.

His position as head of the Paris Conservatoire meant he was regarded as being among the foremost musical educators of his time.

Gabriel Fauré died in Paris from pneumonia. He was given a state funeral at Église de la Madeleine and is buried in the Cimetière de Passy, Paris, France.