Vincent d’Indy was born in Paris in 1851 and became a pupil and leading disciple of César Franck, whose music he did much to propagate. He distinguished himself as a teacher, founder of the influential and rigorous Schola Cantorum, and writer on musical subjects, and was an important figure in the musical life of Paris in his time, although by the time of his death a new era in music was well under way.

Orchestral Music

Vincent d’Indy wrote music in all principal genres. His Symphonie sur un chant montagnard français (‘Symphony on a French Mountain Air’) for piano and orchestra, completed in 1886, is overtly patriotic, based on a French folksong. His Fantaisie for oboe and orchestra is based on a French folk-theme. He completed six operas, writing also the libretti for Fervaal, L’Étranger (‘The Stranger’) and La Légende de Saint-Christophe. Incidental music for the theatre includes Médée and Karadec, while his Tableaux de voyage had their origin in a set of piano pieces.

Chamber Music

Although generally associated with larger orchestral forms, d’Indy also composed a certain amount of chamber music. His fourth string quartet was left incomplete, but he contributed to a varied chamber-music repertoire from early in his career until the end of his life.