On hearing the name of Charles Gounod, one tends to think spontaneously of his operas Faust and Romeo et Juliette. But his legacy is far greater than that … We are pleased to give this great composer’s musical achievements all the space needed to shine forth.

Gounod was able to liberate French music from Italian and German influences, restore meaning to the true message of faith and do away definitively with superficial musical effects.

He thus serves as a bridge between past and future: he had a major impact on the next generation of composers. They inherited his typically French sensibility and his aristocratic taste – which makes Gounod’s music so timeless.

Flagey, Vlaams Radio Koor