Fauré for kids: his life, his music, and what to play first

Gabriel Fauré was a French composer who lived from 1845 to 1924. He wrote songs, piano pieces, and chamber music of great calm and beauty. He was also a famous teacher, and Maurice Ravel was one of his students. The best first piece for a child is the Berceuse from his Dolly Suite, a lullaby for two players at one piano.

Quick facts

• Born: 1845, in Pamiers, in the south of France
• Died: 1924, in Paris, France
• Era: Romantic and early Modern
• Played: piano and organ
• Known for: the Requiem, the Pavane, the Dolly Suite, and many songs

The life in short

Fauré was the youngest of six children. Nobody in his family was a musician. As a small boy, he spent hours at the old harmonium, a small reed organ, in a chapel next to his father’s school, playing whatever he could work out.

An elderly woman heard him and told his father the boy had a gift. At nine, he was sent to Paris, to a boarding school that trained church musicians. He stayed for 11 years.

One of his teachers there was the young composer Camille Saint-Saëns, who showed the students the newest music of the day. The two became friends for life.

Fauré earned his living as a church organist. For years, he had time to compose only in the summer holidays. He rose to be the organist of one of the grandest churches in Paris.

At 51, he became a professor of composition at the Paris Conservatory. Nine years later, he was made its director. He swept away old rules and opened the school to new music. The staff nicknamed him after a famous revolutionary.

In his last 20 years, he lost much of his hearing. High and low sounds came to him out of tune. He kept this secret as long as he could and went on composing. Read deaf and blind composers and how they wrote music.

What the music sounds like

Fauré’s music does not shout. The tunes are long and smooth, and the harmony shifts in gentle, surprising ways. A piece by Fauré often feels calm on the surface while it keeps moving underneath.

He wrote more than 100 songs. French singers treasure them.

Pieces to play first

Berceuse, from the Dolly Suite. “Berceuse” means lullaby. He wrote the suite for Dolly, the small daughter of a friend, and gave her a new piece on her birthdays. It is for piano four hands, which means two people at one piano.

Pavane. A slow, graceful dance for orchestra. A flute plays the tune over plucked strings.

“Pie Jesu,” from the Requiem. A song for one high voice, often a boy soprano. It lasts three minutes and is calm from the first note to the last.

Sicilienne. A swaying tune for flute and harp, or for cello and piano.

“In Paradisum,” from the Requiem. The last part of the Requiem. High voices float over rippling notes from the organ.

Things to do together

Four hands. If two people in your house play the piano, try a duet. If not, watch a video of the Dolly Suite and see how the players share the keys without bumping.

Lullaby test. Play the Berceuse at bedtime. Ask the next day whether it worked.

Pluck and sing. In the Pavane, listen for the plucked strings and the singing flute. Pluck an air cello for one and hum for the other.

A gift in music. Fauré gave Dolly pieces of music as presents. Ask your child who they would write a piece for.

A requiem without fear

A requiem is church music for the dead. Many composers filled theirs with thunder and terror. Fauré left most of that out. He said he saw death as a happy release, and his Requiem ends in paradise.

Teacher of composers

His students included Maurice Ravel and the famous teacher Nadia Boulanger. Read who taught whom. Read Ravel for kids. For the teacher who became his friend, read Saint-Saëns for kids.

Print and play

Fill in a composer study notebook page for Fauré. For more calm listening, see calm classical music for kids at bedtime and classical music for babies.

For more composers from the same country, read French composers for kids. For more composers by era, see classical composers for kids.