Gabriel Fauré

Late Romantic · 1845–1924

Gabriel Fauré spent most of his working life as a church musician in Paris, ending as organist and choirmaster at the Madeleine, and composed in the hours around his duties. Born in the south of France in 1845, he trained not at the Conservatoire but at a school for church musicians, yet he went on to teach composition at the Conservatoire, where his students included Ravel, and in 1905 became its director. In his final years he went deaf, hiding it as long as he could while continuing to compose.

His music prizes restraint: long supple melodies, quietly shifting harmonies, nothing overstated. Nowhere is that clearer than in his Requiem, which leaves out most of the terror traditional to the form and offers consolation instead.

Start with the Requiem, then the suite from Pelléas et Mélisande for his orchestral side.

127 works in the catalog, across 5 genres. Log what you listen to with Opus, the classical music journal for iPhone.

Chamber

Piano Quartet no. 2 in G minor, op. 45
Piano Quintet no. 2 in C minor, op. 115
Allegretto Moderato, for cello and piano
Andante for Violin and Piano in B flat major, op. 75
Berceuse, for violin and piano, op. 16
Cello Sonata no. 1 in D minor, op. 109
Cello Sonata no. 2 in G minor, op. 117
Fantaisie for Flute and Piano or Orchestra in E minor, op. 79
Impromptu for Harp in D flat major, op. 86
Morceau de Concours in F major, for flute and piano
Morceau de Lecture, for 2 cellos
Morceau de Lecture, for flute and piano
Morceau de Lecture, for violin and piano
Papillon, for cello and piano, op. 77
Piano Quartet no. 1 in C minor, op. 15
Piano Quintet no. 1 in D minor, op. 89
Piano Trio in D minor, op. 120
Piece for Oboe and Harp
Piece for treble/alto instrument and piano in A minor
Romance, for cello and piano, op. 69
Romance in B flat major, for violin and piano, op. 28
Sicilienne, for cello and piano, op. 78
String Quartet in E minor, op. 121
Sérénade in B minor, for cello and piano, op. 98
Une Châteleine en sa tour, for harp, op. 110
Violin Sonata no. 1 in A major, op. 13
Violin Sonata no. 2 in E minor, op. 108

Keyboard

3 Nocturnes, op. 33
3 Romances sans paroles, op. 17
8 Pieces breves, op. 84
8 Pièces brèves, op. 84
9 Preludes, op. 103
Barcarolle no. 1 in A minor, op. 26
Barcarolle no. 2 in G major, op. 41
Barcarolle no. 3 in G flat major, op. 42
Barcarolle no. 4 in A flat major, op. 44
Barcarolle no. 5 in F sharp minor, op. 66
Barcarolle no. 6 in E flat major, op. 70
Barcarolle no. 7 in D minor, op. 90
Barcarolle no. 8 in D flat major, op. 96
Barcarolle no. 9 in A minor, op. 101
Barcarolle no. 10 in A minor, op. 104, no. 2
Barcarolle no. 11 in G minor, op. 105
Barcarolle no. 12 in E flat major, op. 106bis
Barcarolle no. 13 in C major, op. 116
Dolly Suite, op. 56
Impromptu no. 1 in E flat major, op. 25
Impromptu no. 2 in F minor, op. 31
Impromptu no. 3 in A flat major, op. 34
Impromptu no. 4 in D flat major, op. 91
Impromptu no. 5 in F sharp minor, op. 102
Mazurka in B flat major, op. 32
Nocturne no. 1 in E flat minor, op. 33
Nocturne no. 3 in A flat major, op. 33
Nocturne no. 4 in E flat major, op. 36
Nocturne no. 5 in B flat major, op. 37
Nocturne no. 6 in D flat major, op. 63
Nocturne no. 7 in C sharp minor, op. 74
Nocturne no. 9 in B minor, op. 97
Nocturne no. 10 in B minor, op. 99
Nocturne no. 11 in F sharp minor, op. 104, no. 1
Nocturne no. 12 in E minor, op. 107
Nocturne no. 13 in B minor, op. 119
Souvenirs de Bayreuth, op. posth.
Theme and Variations in C sharp minor, op. 73
Valse-Caprice no. 1 in A major, op. 30
Valse-Caprice no. 2 in D flat major, op. 38
Valse-Caprice no. 3 in G flat major, op. 59
Valse-caprice no. 4 in A flat major, op. 62

Orchestral

Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra in G major, op. 111
Pelléas et Mélisande, op. 80
Ballade for Piano and Orchestra, op. 19
Berceuse for Violin and Orchestra, op. 16
Elégie for Cello and Orchestra, op. 24
Masques et Bergamasques, op. 112
Pelléas et Mélisande, op. posth. Incidental music
Shylock, op. 57
Violin Concerto, op. 14

Stage

Pénélope Opera

Vocal

Requiem, op. 48
2 Madrigals, op. 87
2 Songs, op. 1
2 Songs, op. 2
2 Songs, op. 3
2 Songs, op. 4
2 Songs, op. 27
2 Songs, op. 43
2 Songs, op. 46
2 Songs, op. 76
2 Songs, op. 83
3 Songs, op. 5
3 Songs, op. 6
3 Songs, op. 7
3 Songs, op. 8
3 Songs, op. 18
3 Songs, op. 23
3 Songs, op. 85
4 Songs, op. 39
4 Songs, op. 51
5 Melodies 'De Venise', op. 58
Ave Maria, motet for 2 sopranos and organ
Ave Maria, op. 67, no. 2
Ave verum corpus, motet for soprano, alto and organ, op. 65, no. 1
Cantique de Jean Racine, for chorus and organ, op. 11
Chanson, op. 94
En prière
L'Horizon chimérique, op. 118
La Bonne chanson, op. 61
La chanson d'Eve, op. 95
La naissance de Venus, for solo voices, chorus and orchestra, op. 29
Le Don silencieux, op. 92
Le Jardin clos, op. 106
Le ruisseau, for 2-part women's chorus and piano, op. 22
Les Djinns, for chorus and orchestra, op. 12
Madrigal, for chorus and piano or orchestra, op. 35
Maria Mater gratiae, offertory for tenor, baritone, and organ, op. 47, no. 2
Messe basse, for solo voices, chorus and organ
Messe des pêcheurs de Villerville, for solo voices, women's chorus, organ and violin or small orchestra
Mirages, op. 113
Noël d'enfants, for children's chorus and organ
O Salutaris, offertory for voice and organ or chamber orchestra in B major, op. 47, no. 1
Pavane, op. 50
Poème d'un jour, op. 21
Tantum ergo, for chorus, 3 children's voices and organ, op. 65, no. 2
Tantum ergo, for tenor, chorus, harp and organ in A major, op. 55
Tu es Petrus, for baritone, chorus and organ
Vocalise-étude

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