Faure, G
COMMON NAME: Gabriel Faure
ORDERBY-NAME: Fauré, Gabriel Urbain
ALIAS:
DATE OF BIRTH: 12 May 1845
PLACE OF BIRTH: Pamiers, Ariege, France
DATE OF DEATH: 4 November 1924
PLACE OF DEATH: Paris, France
DISCIPLINE: Music
FIELD: Composition
ASSESSMENT: Fauré is widely regarded as the greatest master of French song.
LANGUAGE/S: French
EDUCATION: Ecole Niedermeyer. Studied composition with Camille Saint-Saëns.
ACHIEVEMENTS: Fauré received the Grand-Croix of the Légion d’Honneur. He was the director of the Conservatoire. He greatly influenced later composers through his music and teachings.
MAJOR-WORK/S: Requiem (1887). Operas: Prométhée (1900), Pénélope (1913). Songs: Après un Rêve (1865) Clair de lune (1887) Cinq melodies (1890).
PARENTS: Father: Toussant-Honoré Fauré
Mother: Marie-Antoinette-Hélène Lalene-Laprade
SPOUSE: Marie Fremiet
SIBLINGS:
CHILDREN: Two sons: Emmanuel and Phillipe Fauré
LIFE AND TIMES/DETAILS:
Gabriel Fauré was born into the minor aristocracy of France in 1845. His father, director of a school in Montgauzy, realized his son’s musical talent when Fauré was found playing the school’s harmonium. A year later, in 1853, his father was advised to send Fauré to the Ecole de Musique Classique et
Religieuse (later known as the Ecole Niedermeyer) in Paris. In 1854, Fauré began an eleven-year stay in Paris, where he studied to be an organist and choirmaster. His studies of church music were complemented by rigorous literary studies.
The death of Louis Niedermeyer in 1861 led to the fortunate meeting of Fauré’s and <taught by> Saint-Saëns*. Saint-Saëns became the school’s piano teacher. He introduced the students to modern works by Schumann, Liszt and Wagner. Fauré spent the next four years studying composition with Saint-Saëns* and was his protégé for many years.
Fauré graduated from the Ecole Niedermeyer in 1865 with first prize in composition. For the next few years, he worked as an organist at various churches in and around Paris. During the Franco-Prussian War (1870) he enlisted in the infantry. A year later he was discharged and spent the summer in Switzerland, where he taught composition at Ecole Niedermeyer’s new location. In the fall of 1871 he returned to Paris as assistant organist at St. Sulpice.
He became a regular visitor at Saint-Saën’s salon and the salon of singer Pauline Viardot. He quickly became part of the Paris musical society. In February 1871, he joined with other composers d’Indy, Lalo, Duparc, and Chabrier to form the Société Nationale de Musique. Composer <a pal of> Bizet* was also an early member of the Society. This musical association was to host the first public performances of Fauré’s compositions.
In 1874 he left St. Sulpice to teach at the Madeleine during Saint-Saëns’ absences. In 1877, Fauré became choir master at the school. He tried to marry a long-time love, Pauline Viardot’s daughter Marianne, but to Faure’s great chagrin she broke off the engagement. He met <he met> Liszt* in Weimar in December 1877, after a performance of a piece by Saint-Saëns. Fauré presented Liszt with his Ballade op. 19 but even Liszt found it too difficult to perform.
Fauré also traveled to hear performances of Wagner’s operas. He was impressed by Wagner’s compositions, as were many other composers. Although he was influenced by the complex harmonies of <influenced by> Wagner*, he maintained his own style, where he applied these harmonies in a subdued and balanced manner.
In 1883 Fauré married Marie Fremiet. He had two sons, Emmanuel and Phillipe. His compositions earned him little money, so he spent much of his time teaching at the Madeleine. Despite his family and work, Fauré had some satisfying musical experiences. During the 1880’s he was invited to Venice where he spent a carefree period surrounded by friends and free from responsibility. The trip was paid for by his patron the Princesse de Polignac* (ex-Winaretta Singer) and while there he met the French historian and ‘naturalist’ Hippolyte <met>Taine*. While in Venice he composed the Cinq Melodies op. 55. Two other works composed during this period were dedicated to Emma Bardac, the future wife of <dedicated work to wife of> Debussy*.
In 1896, Fauré became chief organist at the Madeleine and attained the position of professor of composition at the Conservatoire. He became a successful teacher. His many students include the well-known composer <taught> Ravel* and the great music teacher Nadia <taught> Boulanger*.
Fauré began to be more widely recognized. He had for many years been well-known as an important musical figure among the Société Nationale de Musique and the grand salons of Paris. His reputation was increasing through his teaching reputation and the connections and opportunities forged by his former teacher, Saint-Saëns. Saint-Saëns urged Fauré to accept a commission he had received for an opera. This work, Prométhée, was an important milestone since it was one of the few large scale works that Fauré produced.
In 1905, Fauré succeeded Théodore Dubris as the director of the Conservatoire. His compositions were in great demand but he had little time to compose. His only opportunities to write music were summers and holidays. It took five summers for him to complete the lyric opera Pénélope.
In 1920, at age 75, he retired from the Conservatoire. He received the Grand-Croix of the Légion d’Honneur. He composed numerous works now regarded as the height of his compositional style: the Second Cello Sonata, Nocturne No. 13, and the song cycle L’horizon chimerique.
He spent 1922-1924 in bed with declining health and increasing deafness. This did not keep him from continuing his compositions. His two pieces during this period – the Piano Trio and the String Quartet – are regarded as masterpieces.
Fauré is remembered as the greatest master of French song. His influence on future composers was continued after his lifetime by the teachings of Boulanger.
EXTRA CONNECTIONS: He met English composer <met> Delius*
He was part of a group of Paris composers including <associated with> Massenet*
ONELINER: Gabriel Faure, great French song composer
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Sadie, S. and Tyrell, J. (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed. (Vol. 8, pp. 594-599). London: Macmillan.
Grout, D.J. and Palisca, C.V., A History of Western Music (4th ed). New York: Norton & Company, 1988.