The music of small forms and of chamber-music instrumentations was to become the focus of the French composer Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924). 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 opus 50, originally intended for a concert providing light entertainment, which soon gained wide popularity as an orchestral setting without and with 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.
