Gounod

Charles-François Gounod, born on 17 June 1818 and died on 18 October 1893, was a French composer. He composed twelve operas, of which the most popular remains Faust (1859). His Roméo et Juliette (1867) also features in the international repertoire. He composed an abundant amount of sacred music, numerous songs, and popular short pieces, notably his Ave Maria (an adaptation of a work by Bach) and the Marche funèbre d’une marionnette.

Born in Paris into a family of artists and musicians, Gounod studied at the Conservatoire de Paris and won the Prix de Rome, France's most prestigious musical award. His studies took him to Italy, Austria, and then Prussia, where he met Felix Mendelssohn, whose commitment to Bach's music had an early influence on him. Deeply religious, he considered becoming a priest for a time upon his return to Paris. He composed extensively: sacred music, lieder, orchestral music, and operas.

Gounod's career was interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War. In 1870, fleeing the Prussian advance on Paris, he took refuge in England with his family. After peace returned in 1871, his family went back to Paris, but he remained in London, staying with an amateur singer, Georgina Weldon, who exerted a decisive influence on his life. After nearly three years, he separated from her and returned to his family in France. His absence, combined with the emergence of young French composers, caused him to lose his prominent position on the French musical scene. Although he remained a respected figure, he was considered old-fashioned by the end of his life, and operatic success eluded him. He died in his home in Saint-Cloud, near Paris, at the age of 75.

Few of Gounod's works still feature in the regular international repertoire, but his influence on later French composers was considerable. A current of romantic sentiment can be found in his music, which continued in the operas of Jules Massenet and other composers; one also detects a classical restraint and elegance that influenced Gabriel Fauré. Claude Debussy wrote that Gounod embodied the essential French sensibility of his time.