Born 12 May, 1845, in Pamiers, l' î le d'Ari è ge, France, Gabriel Urbain Faur é was the youngest of six children born to Toussaint-Honor é Faur é and Marie-Antoinette H é l è ne Lal è ne. He is considered to have been one of the greatest French composers of the 19th Century.

Gabriel was the only musician in the Faur é family, descending from a line of butchers, smiths and military officers. With such a heritage of manual labourers, Toussaint-Honor é , Gabriel's father, had to work hard to surmount the obstacles presented to him in order to become a professor. Consequently, his youngest son was born into a very tolerant environment, where the development of an intelligent mind and a creative spirit was encouraged.

Faur é was not a virtuoso like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Camille Saint-Sa ëns [Who was his teacher and good friend. ] , nor did he have the musical background or the 'stage-parents' which both Mozart and Saint-Sa ë ns had. Even so, he did have an innate talent. For the first four years of his life Faur é lived in Verniolle, not far from Pamiers, with his nursemaid.