The Civici Cori have chosen to devote several years of their choral activity to studying and presenting in concert significant works from the European choral repertoire composed in the nineteenth century. We began last year, focusing on music by Austro‑German composers such as Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Schubert and Anton Bruckner. In the 2025/2026 season, the selected works for performance continue within the nineteenth century but turn to the French repertoire.

The concert programme therefore includes works by César Franck, Camille Saint‑Saëns, Charles Gounod and Gabriel Fauré, alongside pieces by Daniel Auber and Léo Delibes. The inclusion of the very Italian Gioachino Rossini is justified by the fact that the great composer—“born for Opera Buffa,” as he defined himself—abandoned musical theatre in 1829 at the age of 37 and moved to France. He did not stop composing; instead, he dedicated himself to chamber music, both vocal and instrumental, and to sacred music. It is precisely in this field that he wrote his most significant and at the same time most original works: the Stabat Mater for soloists, choir and orchestra, the Petite Messe Solennelle for soloists, choir, two pianos and harmonium, and many other smaller‑scale compositions, including the Ave Maria presented in this concert.

A common feature shared by many of the composers considered here is their professional activity as organists in various Parisian churches (Sainte‑Clotilde, Saint‑Sulpice, Saint‑Eustache, La Madeleine, Notre‑Dame Cathedral, Saint‑Germain‑des‑Prés). They were therefore musical “actors” within the liturgies celebrated there. As organists, they also carried out concert activity in several European countries and taught in France’s conservatories.

Many of them are known primarily for their large‑scale works: symphonies, symphonic poems, concertos for soloists and orchestra, operas, solemn Masses with soloists, choir and orchestra, as well as “symphonic” music for organ. Beyond belonging to the same historical period, they also shared the experience of playing instruments built by the same maker: the organs of Aristide Cavaillé‑Coll. The sonorities of these majestic instruments—rich in timbres inspired by the French Romantic symphonic orchestra and endowed with remarkable expressive possibilities—undoubtedly influenced the style and sound of their organ compositions, while also inspiring a choral writing that is full, blended, legato, and capable of refined sonic sweetness.

Flor Peeters’ Jubilate Deo, which closes the concert, functions as a kind of “encore.” Although the composer was Belgian and the piece belongs to the twentieth century, its strong ties to late‑nineteenth‑century French style are evident—even through its more modern harmonic language—in its evocation of a modal atmosphere and in the close melodic‑rhythmic relationship shaped around the meaning of the text.

CHARLES GOUNOD (1818–1893)

Magnificat – Soprano, four‑voice choir, and organ Gounod’s Magnificat belongs to the composer’s mature sacred output. The writing alternates solo and choral sections, employing a clear harmonic language characteristic of his devout and melodically linear aesthetic. The organ provides support without overwhelming the texture, in keeping with French liturgical practice of the period.

Sicut cervus – Four‑voice choir and organ This is not a reworking of Palestrina’s celebrated motet, but a new setting of the text from Psalm 42. Gounod adopts a predominantly homophonic and cantabile style, with moderate use of modulation, appropriate to its liturgical function.

LÉO DELIBES (1836–1891)

Gloria in excelsis Deo – from the Messe Brève for women’s choir and organ Although Delibes is best known for his contributions to musical theatre, the Messe Brève demonstrates his skill in writing for treble and women’s choirs, which were widespread in nineteenth‑century French chapels. The Gloria alternates syllabic passages with more lyrical moments, supported by an essential organ accompaniment.

CAMILLE SAINT‑SAËNS (1835–1921)

Quam dilecta – Four‑voice choir and organ Composed in 1865, the work reflects Saint‑Saëns’s training as an organist and his attention to contrapuntal clarity. The text of Psalm 84 is treated with a balanced interplay of homophony and brief imitative gestures.

Inviolata – Soprano and organ A concise Marian motet built upon a highly singable vocal line. The organ provides harmonic support, with short interludes that recall the idiom of French liturgical organ writing.

GIOACHINO ROSSINI (1792–1868)

Ave, Maria – Four‑voice choir and organ This piece belongs to Rossini’s sacred production from his later years, when, having withdrawn from the theatre, he composed numerous liturgical and paraliturgical works. The Ave Maria displays the characteristic “plain” writing of late Rossini, with simple harmonies and a measured use of chromaticism.

GABRIEL FAURÉ (1845–1924)

Ave verum corpus – Two‑voice women’s choir and organ A brief motet reflecting Fauré’s restrained and luminous aesthetic. The two‑voice female texture evokes the tradition of French choral schools.

En Prière – Soprano and piano Composed in 1890, it is one of Fauré’s most well‑known devotional pieces. The vocal line, marked by great simplicity, rests upon a piano accompaniment that alternates arpeggiated chords with modal progressions typical of his style.

Cantique de Jean Racine – Four‑voice choir and organ/piano Written in 1865, when Fauré was still a student at the École Niedermeyer, it is one of his earliest published works. The choral writing is already mature: broad phrases, supple harmonies, and a measured use of modulation. It stands as one of the emblematic pieces of the revival of French sacred music.

FRANCIS POULENC (1899–1963)

Salve, Regina – Four‑voice choir Hodie Christus natus est – Four‑voice choir Both motets belong to Poulenc’s sacred production of the 1930s, following the composer’s spiritual “conversion” after his pilgrimage to Rocamadour (1936). The writing alternates homophonic sections with more animated passages, employing a harmonic language that combines modal simplicity with sudden expressive accents.

CÉSAR FRANCK (1822–1890)

Psalm 150 – Four‑voice choir and organ Psalm 150 is among Franck’s most renowned sacred works. The choral writing is solid and radiant, with the organ treated in an almost symphonic manner, in line with the tradition inaugurated by the Cavaillé‑Coll instruments. The celebratory character of the text is reflected in the progressive harmonic expansion and in a final crescendo typical of Franck’s style.