Gabriel Urbain Fauré was born in France in May 1845, and at an early age pleased his father by showing an aptitude towards music. He was sent the Ecole Neidermeyer in Paris, where he found the education thorough but somewhat unrewarding. During his time there Saint-Saens became the piano teacher and it was the stimulus he needed, for here was musician who was saying something new. It was to be a lasting friendship.

His discovery of the music of Wagner was to be the other major influence on his music, and throughout much of his life he attempted to write music on a large scale.

The appointment as organist at a church in Rennes in 1866, isolated him in provincial France, and on his return to Paris he could not obtain a major appointment. The situation was compounded by marriage and the birth of two sons, such financial commitments requiring his free time being devoted to teaching. It may have been a slight exaggeration, but his desire to compose now had to be r