need help with French choral

[Rob H]

Hi, a English friend of mine conducts and amateur choir in Paris and wants to give them some good, second empire sacred choral music to sing in French and he can't find anything. He has tried Saint-Saens and Massenet and wasn't impressed, hates Gounod and generally finds that normally good composers go to pieces with sacred choral music - bombastic, heavy-handed and unimaginative. Does anyone have any suggestions, please?
Thank-you

[mikehopf]

Try the sacred music of Paladilhe.

[Mark Thomas]

Cesar Franck?

[reiger]

Perhaps Faure's Cantique de Jean Racine?

[Ser Amantio di Nicolao]

Perhaps Faure's Cantique de Jean Racine?

This is quite good - I've sung it twice in my choral career.  It's fairly simple, quite lovely, and relatively easy to pull off with an organ.

[Rob H]

Thanks for the help so far. I mentioned the Faure but this is a bit late - he is thinking further back, maybe mid 19th century. I found a piece by Pierne which I'm passing on to him but even that is more third republic than second empire.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks for the help so far. I mentioned the Faure but this is a bit late - he is thinking further back, maybe mid 19th century.

A bit late? As I understand it, the Second Empire lasted between 1852 and 1870. Fauré's Cantique de Racine would therefore fit perfectly as was written in 1864-5...

[dafrieze]

Berlioz wrote a number of wonderful little choral pieces.  "Le ballet des ombres" is a terrific piece for a decent amateur chorus - challenging but very effective.

[reiger]

Berlioz wrote a number of wonderful little choral pieces.  "Le ballet des ombres" is a terrific piece for a decent amateur chorus - challenging but very effective.

Good suggestion... Hélène is another Berlioz piece that might work well.

[Rob H]

Whoops, I never checked the date of The Faure. However I think this is one that he has done. I'll mention the Berlioz to him but he was specifically asking me for sacred choral works not secular. Thanks again