Gabriel Fauré (born May 12, 1845, Pamiers, Ariège, France—died Nov. 4, 1924, Paris), was a composer whose gentle music strongly influenced modern Western composers. Fauré excelled not only as a songwriter of great refinement and sensitivity but also as a composer in every branch of chamber music. He wrote more than 100 songs and enriched the literature of the piano with a number of exquisite and original works.

In Faure’s delicate and spiritual setting of the “Tantum Ergo” text, he displays craftsmanship and a light touch, as well as the elegant and striking “Madrigal.” Written in 1883, and dedicated to his former roommate, about to get married, it’s the only work in which he borrowed a theme from another composer – none other than J.S. Bach. The opening line is derived from Bach’s cantata “Aus Tiefer Not” (From Deepest Need) and the piece (a dialogue between men and women about love’s inconstancy) conveys the tone of a speech by the best man at a wedding.