Gabriel Fauré

Pavane op. 50

The music of small forms was what the French composer Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) focused on. In 1874, after many years spent in the 'provinces', the teacher of Camille Saint-Saëns took the position of organist in Paris; later he not only worked as a church musician but also as a teacher. In the summer of 1887 Fauré wrote his Pavane Op. 50, originally intended for a concert providing light entertainment, which soon gained wide popularity as an orchestral setting with and without the chorus added by Fauré. The romantic, slightly melancholy melody is a catchy tune which, thanks to the present arrangement, can now also be performed soloistically with piano accompaniment.