Gounod

Gounod, Charles Francois, born 1818 at Paris, an eminent French composer. He was educated at the Paris Conservatoire, and in 1839 went to Rome, where he gave his mind chiefly to religious composition. A result of this was his Messe Solennelle, published on his return to Paris. In 1837 the opera of Sappho appeared. His most admired work, Faust, was published in 1859. The other most important of his works are Philemon et Baucis, Mireille, La Reine de Saba, Romeo et Juliette, and Polyeucte. An oratorio, Redemption, was performed in Birmingham in 1882, and Mors et Vita was produced in 1885. His style shows a curious mingling of religious and secular treatment. He died in 1893.