Charles Gounod

Taught primarily by his mother, Charles Gounod became an accomplished French composer and important figure in French music during the latter part of the nineteenth century. In 1837 Gounod won the 2nd Prix de Rome with his cantata Marie Stuart et Rizzio. He won the Grand Prix in 1839 with his cantata Fernand. Gounod studied and composed in Rome and Vienna, receiving useful commissions in each city before finally returning to Paris. While his first music was sacred, he is best known for the operas he wrote. His Faust (1859) was such a success that it opened numerous doors for his career and is his best-known work. Gounod only received mild success with his operas written after Faust. However, he recaptured his universal acclaim with Romeo et Juliette (1867). The last years of his life were again devoted to sacred works, the most important of which was La Redemption, a trilogy. A Requiem (1893) was left unfinished. It was later arranged by Henri Busser after Gounod's death. One of his most popular settings to religious worlds is Ave Maria.