The work of Henri Duparc exemplifies the great variety of art songs produced by European composers,
Born in Paris, Duparc had studied piano with César Franck at the Jesuit College in the Vaugirard district and become one of his first composition pupils.
Following military service in the Franco-Prussian War, he had married Ellen MacSwinney, from Scotland, on November 9, 1871.
In the same year, he joined Saint-Saëns and Romain Bussine to found the Société Nationale de Musique Moderne.
Duparc is best known for his seventeen mélodies ("art songs") with texts by poets such as Baudelaire, Gautier, Leconte de Lisle, and Goethe.
