In the house of France’s music there are many mansions; yet not only, or even primarily, mansions. Some French composers are best thought of as the equivalents to quiet, often overlooked yet lovingly maintained private chapels, to which a discerning soul will now and then retreat in gratitude, ‘far from the madding crowd’. Amid this category Ernest Chausson occupies a treasurable place.

Lived 1855-1899
Mostly in Paris
Best known for Poème, Symphony in B Flat, Viviane, Le roi Arthus, Poème de l’amour et de la mer
Similar to Franck, d’Indy, Debussy, Fauré

How to describe Chausson’s wider musical import? The classification ‘minor master’ – or its Gallic equivalent, petit-maître – sounds patronising and, worse, foolishly teleological, with its...