# Your favorite works by French composers.



## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

So if someone wants to get into music by French composers (any era), what pieces would you choose to introduce that person to French music?


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

In sort of a pseudo-chronological arc: Saint-Saens' organ symphony, some of Faure's piano work, then anything by Debussy because he's Frencher than a frog eating a baguette. 

If I had to choose a favorite, it might be Satie's Gnossiennes. But it sounds like they could have come from anywhere in the world.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

I'd start out with this kind of thing :

*Faure* - Requiem, and Piano Quartet No. 1 (all chamber)
*Ravel* - String quartet, Piano concertos, Daphne and Chloe, Pavane Pour une Infante Defunte, Rapsodie Espagnole, Piano Trio, Introduction and Allegro, solo piano music
*Debussy* - La Mer, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, Piano music, String Quartet, Nocturnes
*Satie* - Piano Works

(I know I'm over-looking baroque and many other great french composers, I'm just listing recs of my personal favs off the top of my head here)


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## Air (Jul 19, 2008)

There's a lot more to French composers than the late Romantic and impressionist periods! 

So to add on to tdc's excellent suggestions I'll first mention a pair of Baroque composers.

*Rameau* - _Les Indes Galantes_, _Pièces de Clavecin_
*Couperin* - _Les Concerts Royaux_

Then three of my favorite early-mid Romantics.

*Berlioz* - _Romeo et Juliette_ Symphony, _Symphonie Fantastique_, _La Damnation de Faust_
*Alkan* - Concerto for Solo Piano, Symphony for Solo Piano
*Bizet* - _Carmen_, _Les pêcheurs de perles_

Other good suggestions for French operetta and opera that I'm still not very familiar with are Offenbach, Gounod, and Massenet. I'll be working my way down the TC operas list.

It would never hurt to add a few more turn of the century French composers I suppose.

*Pierné* - Piano Concerto
*Franck* (if he counts!) - Violin Sonata, Symphony in D minor
*Roussel* - Symphony No. 3, _Bacchus et Ariadne_
*Ibert* - Flute Concerto
... and all the *Saint-Saens*, *Fauré*, *Debussy* and *Ravel* mentioned above. 

Les Six!

*Poulenc* - Organ Concerto, or any of his wonderful choral works
*Milhaud* - _Le bœuf sur le toit_, _La création du monde_

Finally, one simply can't leave out France's wonderful contributions to modernism (and two of my very favorite composers represented here!).

*Varèse* - _Arcana_, _Amériques_, _Déserts_
*Messiaen* - _Quatuor pour la fin du temps_, _Turangalîla-Symphonie_, _Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus_
*Boulez* - _...explosante-fixe..._
*Dutilleux* - Cello Concerto

Hopefully, someone will drop by some Renaissance pieces since I'm still clueless about that era of music.

*Vive la France!*


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Saint-Saëns' organ symphony is incredible, perhaps my favourite of all French music! Other favourites include Daphnis & Chloe and Gaspard de la nuit by Ravel, Symphony in d minor by Franck (if he counts as French instead of Belgian, I'm not sure), and Symphonie Fantastique, Harold en Italie and especially the world-shaking Requiem by the mighty Berlioz! I don't care that much of Debussy, but his Prelude blaablaablaa apres-midi blaa Faune is great; it has a sort of subtle, revelatory quality.


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## Sofronitsky (Jun 12, 2011)

Air said:


> *Pierné* - Piano Concerto


:clap:

A work that constantly gets stuck in my head, and I consider to be my favorite chamber work, is Ravel's Introduction and Allegro. The piece has everything: Soft, intimate themes. Big climax. Impressive solo exposition. Complex harmony, etc. So I think I would suggest this piece to someone new to classical music, even. It's a good way to adjust to Symphonic works, having a good range of instruments, and the length is pretty good too.





Although, if that doesn't work you can always check out Clair de Lune and Pavane pour une Infante Defunte for the 1000th time.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Member regressivetransophobe mentioned Saint-Saens' _Organ Symphony_, so I'll kind of talk to that. My knowledge of the *French organ realm* is not exhaustive, but I have enjoyed greatly what I've heard so far in that department (Messiaen is my "blindspot" but perhaps a better place to start are his chamber, orchestral works & song-cycles?) -

*F. Couperin* - His two _Organ Masses_ are excellent, esp. if you like solo organ music, much lighter & kind of playful compared to the usually heavy German stuff of that time.

*C.M. Widor* - His famous _Toccata_, a wedding "hit" from his (solo) _Organ Symphony No. 5_ is a lot of fun, but his other solo organ symphonies are excellent as well, either as a whole or movements from them. He also composed a number of symphonies for organ & orchestra - I haven't heard those, they are more obscure, but I imagine them to be pretty good.

*Jean Langlais* - _Three Meditations_ for solo organ is a work I've heard which is good.

*Jehan Alain* - This short-lived composer (died defending France from the Germans during WW2) composed some of the finest works for solo organ of the time, his famous _Litanies_ is a favourite.

*Maurice Durufle* - His tribute to Alain, _Prelude & Fugue on the name A-L-A-I-N_ is typical of his flowing style, which seems contradictorily both tonally vague & tonally centred at the same time. Understated & nuanced emotion is the word here...


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## altiste (Jun 11, 2008)

*I. Stravinsky* - Violin Concerto. A huge chunk of his work was written in France, he acquired French nationality, therefore he's indisputably a French composer.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

altiste said:


> *I. Stravinsky* - Violin Concerto. A huge chunk of his work was written in France, he acquired French nationality, therefore he's indisputably a French composer.


I think he was more a "composer of the world" more than anything else - Russian-born, but with long stints in France, Switzerland & the USA (where he died). Adding to that, the man is not buried in any of those countries, but lies next to fellow Russian - the ballet impresario - Sergei Diaghilev in Venice, Italy - the city of the premiere of his opera _The Rake's Progress_, _Canticum Sacrum_, and _Threni_. (Stravinsky actually chose his burial place next to his former associate, being the methodical man that he was, & also talking to the fact that he personally loved Venice)...


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## altiste (Jun 11, 2008)

You are right, and I agree that he was more a "composer of the world". I wasn't really meaning French in an exclusive sense, I should have added something to this effect.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

*@ altiste* - This issue regarding nationality came up on the English composers thread just yesterday regarding whether Handel was German or British/English, or both? I admit it's a "rubbery" area, because so many composers lived in various countries & added to different cultures.

P.S. (a bit off-topic, but anyway) - I actually didn't know Stravinsky became a French national (which you said) - it makes sense since things like his _Rite of Spring_ are (in my mind) quite connected to Paris, I think he had the Frenchmen's love of ballet strongly on his mind when he wrote that (although the Parisians hated it as it was initially, a ballet, but not long after loved it & fully embraced it as a purely concert work)...


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## altiste (Jun 11, 2008)

Just a little story about Stravinsky being a French composer; a few years ago I went to an international congress (viola) and there was a concert where participants were to play a short work from their own country. The French player wanted to play Stravinsky's "Elegie" for solo viola but this idea was rejected by the organiser as he didn't think Stravinsky would be seen as a French composer. So the French player ended up playing the solo viola Capriccio by H. Vieuxtemps and everyone was happy. Of course the irony was that HV was Belgian.


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## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

altiste said:


> *I. Stravinsky* - Violin Concerto. A huge chunk of his work was written in France, he acquired French nationality, therefore he's indisputably a French composer.


But he also acquired Swiss and US Citizenship, so you can't apply that rule to him.

Stravinsky's more (in)famous French output (regardless of which flag is flying at his house) are his many ballets for the Paris-based Ballets Russes and Diaghilev.


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## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

As usual, our TC friends are insightful and I support their many votes for the Saint-Saens organ symphony, Debussy's La mer and solo piano works, Ravel's quartet and would add the Poulenc piano concerto to the list.

My music montage for this week (by happenstance) is dedicated to music "inspired" by France and includes the Poulenc concerto:
http://itywltmt.blogspot.com/2011/07/montage-15-sejour-musical-en-france.html


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## altiste (Jun 11, 2008)

As the topic is "Your favourite works by a French composers" I included Stravinsky as he had French Citizenship realizing of course that he was also a national of other countries, so it was in that non-exclusive sense as mentioned in the next post. I relate to this as I've got two nationalities myself, so consider myself both a NZ and French composer and wouldn't necessarily want to be seen as only one of those at the expense of the other.


itywltmt said:


> But he also acquired Swiss and US Citizenship, so you can't apply that rule to him.


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Air said:


> Hopefully, someone will drop by some Renaissance pieces since I'm still clueless about that era of music.


You might want to try some Guillaume de Machaut. My recommendation for extended listening is "Le Remede de Fortune".


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## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

Sid James said:


> *@ altiste* - This issue regarding nationality came up on the English composers thread just yesterday regarding whether Handel was German or British/English, or both? I admit it's a "rubbery" area, because so many composers lived in various countries & added to different cultures.
> 
> P.S. (a bit off-topic, but anyway) - I actually didn't know Stravinsky became a French national (which you said) - it makes sense since things like his _Rite of Spring_ are (in my mind) quite connected to Paris, I think he had the Frenchmen's love of ballet strongly on his mind when he wrote that (although the Parisians hated it as it was initially, a ballet, but not long after loved it & fully embraced it as a purely concert work)...


I believe Stravinsky left Russia after the 1917 revolution, and was a French citizen between the two wars. He was "stranded" in the US at the on-set of WW2, and chose to stay there.

The interesting thing to note about Stravinnsky in the US, is that he spent most of his time "revising" his earlier works. As I understand it, it had to do with royalties, and his need to get the pieces published in the US . This explains, for example, the many versions of his three major ballets (Firebird, Petrouchka and the Rite of Spring) who typically have an "original" version, a "1945-ish" revision and then a "1962-ish" version, (coinciding with his ambitious project with Columbia records to record all his works for his 80th birthday).

There's also an anecdote about Stravinsky meeting Louis B. Mayer. He got an audience with the movie mogul, and when asked "How long would it take you to write a score for a 90-minute movie?", Stravinsky paused for a moment, and said "I think I could pull it off in about 18 months." To which Mayer said "Sir, you'll never work in this town!" (or words to that effect).

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Louis Couperin - harpsichord music
Marin Marais - music for viols
Denis Gaultier - lute music
Alkan - everything
St. Saens - most of his works
Ravel - Gaspard, Miroirs
Debussy - etudes


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## Chris (Jun 1, 2010)

*Poulenc* - Sextet for piano and wind


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## jaimsilva (Jun 1, 2011)

just one composition for composer!

ALKAN, Charles-Valentin (1813-1888) - Concerto "da camera" n.2 piano and orchestra. op.10 n.2
BERLIOZ, Hector (1803-1869) - "Harold en Italie" symphony with viola op.16
BIZET, George (1838-1875) - "Carmen" opera in 4 acts
BOIELDIEU, François-Adrien (1775-1834) - Concerto for harp and orchestra
CAPLET, André (1878-1925) - "Le Masque de la mort rouge" for harp and strings
CHABRIER, Emanuel (1841-1894) - "Suite pastorale" suite for orchestra
CHAUSSON, Ernest (1855-1899) - "Poème de l'amour et de la mer" for soprano and orchestra op.19
DEBUSSY, Claude (1862-1918) - "Nocturnes" - Triptych for orchestra and choir
FAURÉ, Gabriel (1845-1924) - "Requiem" for soloists, choir, organ and orchestra op.48
FRANÇAIX, Jean (1912-1987) - Concerto for 2 pianos and orchestra
GOUNOD, Charles (1818-1893) - Requiem in C major for soloists, choir and orchestra
IBERT, Jacques (1890-1962) - Flute concerto
d'INDY, Vincent (1851-1931) - Symphony "Sur un chant de montagnard" for piano and orchestra
LALO, Edouard (1823-1892) - Cello concerto
MASSENET, Jules (1842-1912) - "Werther" opera in 5 acts
MILHAUD, Darius (1892-1974) - "Le Boeuf sur le Toit (Cinéma-Fantaisie)" ballet music
OFFENBACH, Jacques (1819-1880) - Cello concerto "Militaire"
PIERNÉ, Gabriel (1863-1937) - "Conzerststück" for harp and orchestra op.39
POULENC, Francis (1899-1963) - Organ concerto
RAVEL, Maurice (1875-1937) - Piano concerto in G
ROUSSEL, Albert (1869-1937) - Concertino for cello and orchestra
SAINT-SAENS, Camille (1835-1921) - Symphony n.3 with organ
SATIE, Eric (1866-1925) - "Sports et Divertissements" for piano

[there are a lot more french music I love!]


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Berlioz' Romeo et Juliette is one of the most amazing pieces of music ever written. In some ways (especially in la scene d'amour) it sounds like Tristan almost twenty years before Wagner wrote it. The Queen Mab scherzo, the ball scene, the fight scenes are all alive and vibrant. Try to get the entire piece instead of the usual excerpts. I don't know of any orchestra that has put it on recently - has anyone here ever heard it live?

And speaking of rarely performed pieces, has anyone ever heard Chausson's opera le roi Arthus? I heard a radio broadcast of it a few years ago, and I was very impressed.


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## Guest (Jul 22, 2011)

waldvogel said:


> Berlioz' Romeo et Juliette is one of the most amazing pieces of music ever written. In some ways (especially in la scene d'amour) it sounds like Tristan almost twenty years before Wagner wrote it.


That might be because that's where Wagner got some of his music for _Tristan._


waldvogel said:


> Try to get the entire piece instead of the usual excerpts. I don't know of any orchestra that has put it on recently - has anyone here ever heard it live?


Indeed. And be warned, so far only one recording so far has really nailed this piece, and that's the one with Pierre Monteux. That's been released twice on CD, once on MCA and once on Westminster (after DG bought them). Only the second one has decent sound. It's a two CD set with a forgettable performance of Symphonie fantastique as filler. (Filler?!!) [At the moment, Amazon has 6 used from $22.97. I didn't see the earlier set when I looked just now, but I think there are copies of that floating around, still. That one has Tchaikovsky's _Romeo & Juliet_ as filler. Same recording but its sonics leave much to be desired.)

Otherwise, I can only recommend the second Davis and the Muti, and I don't put them even close to the Monteux, but I know some people will whinge at the sound of the Monteux. I think the Westminster sonically cleaned up version is perfectly listenable, though. The second Davis is the one on Philips with Borodina and the Wiener Philharmoniker. Amazon has used ones of that starting at $7.99, so that might be the decider for ya right there!!]

I've heard this live only once, in L.A. with Gergiev. I was not expecting to be blown away, but I was. It was magical, and I say that even though the soloists and the chorus were not at all ready to take this piece on. So that made the totality's magicalness even more miraculous. In a manner of speaking.


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## Noak (Jul 18, 2009)

Varèse was one of the first avant-garde composers I heard. He has a special place in my heart even though I don't think he's the greatest by any means. Arcana, Déserts and Poème Électronique are some of my favorite pieces of him.


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## Guest (Jul 23, 2011)

Varèse has a special place in many of our hearts. He's one of the first people I think of when I hear "French composer," even though he did all of his surviving stuff in the U.S.

For really French composers, though, I now listen most often to eRikm, Francis Dhomont, Michèle Bokanowski, Christine Groult, and, if Québécois are permitted (and why the _enfer_ not?), Martin Tétreault, and a few others.

And what is one to do with transplants like Beatriz Ferreyra? She's lived and worked in France most of her life, though she was born in Argentina, and is most associated with GRM and Bourges, two mighty French institutions. (France, just by the way, is the birthplace of electroacoustic music.)

Bottom line for me, my favorite music comes from all over the world. It's not that big a place, and that whole "nation" idea was not a very happy one, I don't think.


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## Llyranor (Dec 20, 2010)

St-Saens is my favorite French composer.

Organ Symphony, 3rd Violin Concerto, Dance Macabre, Intro & Rondo Capriccioso - all wonderful pieces.

I'm still getting to know Ravel, but his Piano Concerto is quite beautiful, especially the 2nd movement 





Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole is great too!

Chausson's Poeme (for violin/orchestra) is also great!


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

waldvogel said:


> Berlioz' Romeo et Juliette is one of the most amazing pieces of music ever written. In some ways (especially in la scene d'amour) it sounds like Tristan almost twenty years before Wagner wrote it...


Wagner was Berlioz's "baby." This caricature by Cham proves it! -


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Just by the sound of the name, I nearly mentioned Glière as a great French composer - except he was Russian, or Ukrainian or something. That name surely looks French though. 

Honorable mention should go to Charles Tournemire, one of my favorite romantic or post romantic composers. 

For baroque I would recommend Boismortier (is that how it is spelled?) He had a knack for combining flutes into ensembles to make some of the sweetest lacy baroque suites you can find. I like that quirkiness far better than the overblown trilly frilly fussy baroque of the bigger French names like Lully, the various Couperins, Forqueray and the like.


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## Nix (Feb 20, 2010)

My favorite french works include:
Debussy: String Quartet, Afternoon of a Faun, La Mer
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Les Nuits d'ete
Faure: Requiem 
Saint-Saens: Organ Symphony 

But I still have lots more to explore!


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## hocket (Feb 21, 2010)

Perotin:




Machaut:




Brumel:




Janequin:




du Caurroy:





Well, Lully's not French but he's integral to French music and culture:


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## hocket (Feb 21, 2010)

Charpentier:




Charpentier:




Marais:




Couperin:




Couperin:




Leclair:





Enough?


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## hocket (Feb 21, 2010)

Here's something amazing from Antoine Boesset that I forgot in a moment of madness:


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

to name a few:

Saint Saens: Poco Adagio from Symphony #3
Faure: Pavane op 50, Requiem op 48, Apres Un Reve, Op 7#1
Ravel: All orchestral works 
Debussy: Afternoon of a Faun, La Mer, La Damoiselle Elue,
Ibert: Escales


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## DamoX (Sep 14, 2014)

One of my favourites ... Lalo, Saint-Saens, and PIERRE FOUNIER; French gems!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Le tombeau de Couperin, Ravel

Les Troyens, Berlioz


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## mtmailey (Oct 21, 2011)

Dukas best work SORCERERS APPRENTICE he also had a nice symphony though.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

Most of Messiaen's oeuvre, particularly 'St. Francis of Assisi'.


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## Guest (Oct 29, 2014)

eRikm and Noetinger, What a Wonderful World
Francis Dhomont, Frankenstein Symphony
Christine Groult, Les Frontieres De L'Autre
Giles Gobeil, Le vertige inconnu 
Luc Ferrari, Archives sauvées des eaux
Michele Bokanowski, L'etoile absinthe
Beatriz Ferreyra, Les larmes de l'inconnu


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## Aecio (Jul 27, 2012)

Two composers nobody has talked on this thread:

KOECHLIN: String Quartet #1, paysages et marines for Piano
GABRIEL DUPONT: Les heures dolentes for piano


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

I don't know if its been mentioned yet, but I am very fond of the work of *Emanuel Chabrier*.

Particularly Espana, Pieces Pittoresque, Marche Francais, Overture to Gwendoline, and Feullet D'Album.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

The four MAGNARD symphonies are well worth exploring.


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

Some petit bonbons

Messiaen: Turangaglila Symphony
Messiaen: La Nativite de Seigneur

Boulez: Repons

Alain: Litanies

Debussy: Cello Sonata

Ravel: La Valse


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## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

an opera, Gounod - _Faust_.


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## Picander (May 8, 2013)

I love Ma mère l'Oye, by Maurice Ravel; it sounds magical to me.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

*Berlioz *: Les Nuits d' été

*Massenet* : Esclarmonde

*Gounod*: Faust


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Seems I posted in this thread three years ago, let's see if I have anything to update.

Berlioz: _Grande Symphonie Funebre et Triomphale, Te Deum_
Franck: Piano quintet, _Les Beatitudes, Le Chasseaur Maudit_
Gounod: _Messe Solennelle de Sainte Cécile_
Messiaen: _L'Ascension_
Couperin: _Lecons de Tenebres_
if he counts, Cherubini: _Messe Solennelle #2_, Requiem in C minor, and the EXCELLENT string quartets.


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