Gabriel Fauré

The Pavane, the Sicilienne and a few other 'lollipops' are all that most people know of Fauré's music, apart from the ever-popular Requiem. But Gabriel Fauré was more than just a 'salon' composer--'the master of charms' Debussy called him--and his powerful wartime and final-period compositions in particular are often misunderstood. Although he lived through one of the most difficult and yet exciting periods for a musician--a period of rapid and often unexpected developments in the arts as a whole--yet he remained true to himself. The inspired professional musician of the nineteenth century developed into a 'classic' in the twentieth. The results of a great deal of research, carried out by the author and others, are included in this, the first major book on Fauré's life and music to appear in English for over thirty years. Dr Orledge comprehensively covers the whole of Fauré's extensive output, and deals in detail for the first time with the composer's manuscripts and notebooks. Copiously illustrated with plates and music-examples, this book will be essential reading for all concerned with the music of an unduly neglected French genius.