CHARLES GOUNOD
(17 June 1818 – 17 October 1893)
Charles-François Gounod was born in Paris and died in Saint-Cloud, France. He was a French composer, known for his "Ave Maria" as well as his operas "Faust" and "Roméo et Juliette". Perhaps his most well-known piece in modern times, however, is his "Funeral March of a Marionette", known as the theme song for the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
In 1839, he won the Prix de Rome for his cantata "Fernand". In 1951, Gounod wrote his first opera, "Sapho". In 1854, Gounod completed a "Messe Solennelle", also known as the Saint Cecilia Mass. During 1855 Gounod wrote two symphonies. His "Symphony No. 1 in D major" was the inspiration for the "Symphony in C" composed later that year by Georges Bizet, who was then Gounod's 17-year-old student.
He had no great theatrical success until "Faust", in 1859. The romantic and melodious "Roméo et Juliette" (based on the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet), premiered in 1867, is revived occasionally then but has never come close to matching Faust's popularity. "Mireille", first performed in 1864, has been admired by connoisseurs rather than by the general public. The other Gounod operas have fallen into oblivion.
From 1870 to 1874 Gounod lived in England, and becoming the first conductor of what is now the Royal Choral Society. "The Well-Tempered Clavier" inspired Gounod to devise an improvisation of a melody over the C major Prelude (BWV 846). To this melody, in 1859, Gounod fitted the words of the Ave Maria, resulting in a setting that became world-famous. Later in his life, Gounod returned to his early religious impulses, writing much sacred music.
He was made a Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur in July 1888. In 1893, shortly after he had put the finishing touches to a requiem written for his grandson, he died of a stroke.
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