The French composer Joseph-Guy Ropartz was born in Guingamp in 1864. He studied at the Paris Conservatory under the composer Jules Massenet, and later privately with César Franck. The two major musical influences upon Ropartz were Franck and Wagner, both of whom he admired greatly. Ropartz’s musical style is extremely personal, embracing both his religious beliefs and his roots in Britanny. To his contemporaries he remained an enigmatic composer, working outside of the mainstream. But to today’s listeners the sheer beauty of his highly spiritual music stands out in all its glory.