Born: 17 June, 1818, Paris, France
Died: 18 October 1893, St.-Cloud, France

Gounod, Charles

With a painter father and a pianist mother, Gounod was a lyrical composer with a deep understanding of the human voice, and a skillful orchestrator. He mostly wrote religious and operatic music.

Like Berlioz, he won the Prix de Rome, and spent two and a half years in Rome, where he studied church polyphonic music. He also stayed in Germany for some time, became a friend with Mendelssohn, and was influenced by his music. He also lived in England for a long time, during the war between France and Germany.

His big break came with the opera "Faust", which is one of the most popular operas in the repertoire, with an enormous richness of charming melodies. Also remembered are the operas "Romeo et Juliette" and "Mireille", and the "Funeral March of a Marionette" which is another very popular piece.

A particularly loved work he wrote is "Ave Maria", from his "Meditation on Bach’s Prelude" ("Méditation sur le prélude de Bach"), based on Prelude No. 1 of the "Well-Tempered Clavier" by Bach- one of the most beautiful classical songs ever.

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