born Jan. 21, 1848, Paris, France
died Feb. 12, 1933, Mont-de-Marsan
French song composer.
He studied music with César Franck while also studying law. His composing career lasted about 16 years; he stopped composing at age 36 for psychological reasons. Highly self-critical, he destroyed an incomplete opera and other works and acknowledged only 13 completed songs, including "L'Invitation au voyage," "Phidylé," "Testament," and "Extase," as his lifetime oeuvre. Almost all the songs, universally admired, were originally for voice and piano; he later orchestrated eight of them.