The music of small forms and of chamber-music instrumentations was to become the focus of the French composer Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924). In 1874, after many years spent in the 'provinces', the teacher of Camille Saint-Saëns took the position of organist in Paris; later he not only worked as a church musician but also as a teacher.

In the summer of 1887 Fauré wrote his Pavane opus 50, originally intended for a concert providing light entertainment, which soon gained wide popularity as an orche...