Charles Gounod
Charles Gounod is best known for his operas Faust and Romeo et Juliette and for his Ave Maria based on the first Prelude of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 (1859). Except for concertos, he composed music in the major genres, but with varying success in the instrumental realm. Gounod was more at home in the vocal arena, particularly in opera and sacred music. Though his reputation began to fade even before he died, he is still generally regarded as a major figure in 19th century French music. Stylistically, he was a conservative whose influence nevertheless extended to Bizet, Saint-Saëns, and Massenet, although he could not be called a trailblazer or the founder of any movement or school. His works are tuneful, his vocal writing imaginative, and orchestral scoring masterly. Gounod's compositions, even his two symphonies and lesser known operas, are occasionally explored today, and the aforementioned Faust and Romeo et Juliette and, particularly, the Ave Maria are widely performed and recorded.
Gounod was born on June 17, 1818. His mother was a pianist who served as the young boy's first teacher. While still in his youth she arranged for him to receive composition lessons from Anton Reicha. After Reicha's death, Gounod began studies at the Paris Conservatory, where he won a Grand Prix in 1839 for his cantata Fernand.
After further composition studies in Rome, where he focused on 16th century church music, particularly the works of Palestrina, he became deeply interested in religion and by 1845 was contemplating the priesthood. Though he would eventually reject the idea and marry, he remained religious throughout his life and wrote many sacred works, including masses, the most popular being the 1855 St. Cecilia Mass. In that year Gounod also turned out two symphonies, which achieved attention, but not lasting success. It was the 1859 opera Faust, however, that, after a slow start, became Gounod's calling card and is now core to the operatic repertoire. Mireille (1864) and especially Romeo et Juliette (1867) added to his reputation, not only in France, but throughout Europe.
From 1870-1875 Gounod lived in England owing to the exigencies of the Franco-Prussian War. In his years there and in the period following his return to France, Gounod wrote much music, especially religious music, but never again attained the kind of success he experienced in the 1850s and '60s. Among his more compelling and imaginative late works is the 1885 Petite Symphonie, scored for nine wind instruments. Gounod died in St. Cloud on October 18, 1893.
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Les plus beaux "Ave Maria"
Classical - Lançado por ISIS em 01/07/2011
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Charles Gounod: Requiem En Do Majeur / Messe No. 2 En Sol Majeur
Classical - Lançado por Claves Records em 01/01/1993
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GRANDI VOCI FRANCO CORELLI Una collana dedicata con registrazioni originali Decca e Deutsche Grammophon rimasterizzate con le tecniche più moderne che ne garantiscono eccellenza tecnica e artistica
Franco Corelli, Charles Gounod, Giacomo Puccini
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 25/06/2021
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Musik in Luzern: A Capella Chormusik (A Capella Choir Music)
Classical - Lançado por VDE-GALLO em 13/10/2014
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Charles Gounod: Missa Solemnis & Gioacchino Rossini: Stabat Mater
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Fête de la Musique - French Composers
Léo Delibes, Charles Gounod, Camille Saint-Saëns
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 19/06/2021
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Gounod: Faust Ballet Music
Sir Georg Solti, Royal Opera House Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Radio Tower Records em 05/08/2013
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Highlights from Faust
Opera - Lançado por Stage Door em 01/01/1962
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Gounod: Faust, Opera: Aria Faust Act III: "Oh Marguerite..." (Digitally Remastered)
Württemberg State Opera Orchestra, Ricardo Casinelli
Classical - Lançado por EMG Classical em 06/08/2013
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Rediscovering French Operas in 21 Volumes - Vol. 7/21 : Mireille
Orchestre et Choeurs de l'Opera de Paris
Opera - Lançado por ISIS em 02/02/2017
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Rediscovering French Operas in 21 Volumes - Vol. 8/21 : Roméo et Juliette
Opera - Lançado por ISIS em 25/01/2017
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Romeo et Juliette - Charles Gounod
Classical - Lançado por Ermitage Records em 27/10/2020
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Flower Song
Classical - Lançado por Pastel Records Canada em 04/03/2024
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Gounod: Symphony No.2 in E-flat, CG 528: No.4 Finale Allegro leggiero assai
Charles Gounod, Michael Stewart
Classical - Lançado por Pastel Records Canada em 15/01/2024
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Highlights from Faust
The Orchestra of the Theatre National de L'Opera, The Chorus of the Theatre National de L'Opera, André Cluytens
Opera - Lançado por Radio Tower Records em 01/01/1962
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Gounod: Faust II
Classical - Lançado por Piros Comercial Digital em 24/06/2013
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Gounod: Faust I
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Ave Maria
Viacheslav Ivashkevich, Johann Sebastian Bach, Charles Gounod
Classical - Lançado por RUMEDIA.IO em 06/01/2024
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