French Music Monday: Let’s get Classical

Here at Ma Vie Française™ we understand that Mondays can be a drag, so we bring you a selection of French musicians and French-language songs to help start your week. Because if you’re going to force yourself through a Monday, it might as well have theme music.

How well do you know your French classical composers and compositions? With a little help from the ABC, and their recent ‘Classic 100 – Music of France’ series, we thought we’d bring you the top five classical compositions you should hear. Whether you love all things classical, or prefer your music to be a bit more current, they’re worth a listen just to say you’ve listened.

For some weird and wonderful facts on the composers below, read our guide to the French Romantic composers.

‘Carmen’

An opera in four acts, composed by Georges Bizet, 1875.

‘The Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78’

Composed by Camille Saint-Saëns, 1886.

‘Requiem in D minor, Op. 48’

Composed by Gabriel Fauré, 1890.

‘Gymnopédies’

Composed by Erik Satie, 1888.

‘Les pêcheurs de perles’

An opera in three acts, composed by Georges Bizet, 1863.