Francis Poulenc, composer

Born: January 7, 1899 in Paris

Died: January 30, 1963 in Paris

Education: his mother was an amateur pianist and taught him to play; first formal musical training was with Charles Koechlin in 1921

Les Six: the group of young French and Swiss composers in Jean Cocteau’s social circle that included Poulenc, Milhaud, Auric, Durey, Honegger and Tailleferre

Religion: while raised Roman Catholic, it wasn’t until the death of a friend and subsequent visit to the shrine of the Black Virgin of Rocamadour that he experienced a life changing transformation, which began a sizable output of liturgical and religious music, beginning with the Litanies à la Vierge Noire

Works: composed music in genres including art song, solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, opera, ballets, and orchestral music as well as choral music