Gabriel Faur� (original) (raw)

Gabriel Faur�, full name Gabriel Urbain Faur� (May 12, 1845 - November 4, 1924) was a French composer.

Born in Pamiers, Ari�ge, Midi-Pyr�n�es, France.

Faur� studied at the Niedermeyer school of religious music in Paris with several of the greats including Camille Saint-Sa�ns. He eventually became organist at �glise 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 Pell�as et M�lisande. He also wrote chamber music and his two piano quartets are particularly well known. Other chamber music includes two piano quintets, two cello sonatas, two violin sonatas, and a number of piano pieces. He is also known for his songs, such as Clair de lune, Apr�s un r�ve, Les roses d\'Ispahan, En pri�re, and several song cycles, including La Bonne Chanson with settings of poems by Verlaine.

Faur�'s Requiem, Op 48, was written after the death of his mother, though Faur� is thought not to have had strong religious beliefs, or at least not obviously Catholic 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 Durufl�.

His position as head of the Paris Conservatoire entitles him to be regarded as being among the foremost musical educators of his time.

Gabriel Faur� died in Paris from pneumonia. He was given a state funeral at �glise de la Madeleine and is buried in the Cimeti�re de Passy, Paris, France.