France has a long and rich music history that has had a far-reaching impact upon music and cultures around the world. This accessible Companion provides a comprehensive introduction to the music of France. With chapters on a range of music genres, internationally renowned authors survey music-making from the early middle ages to the present day. The first part provides a complete chronological history structured around key historical events. The second part considers opera and ballet and their institutions and works, and the third part explores traditional and popular music. In the final part, contributors analyse five themes and topics, including the early church and its institutions, manuscript sources, the musical aesthetics of the Siècle des Lumières, and music at the court during the ancien régime. Illustrated with photographs and music examples, this book will be essential reading for both students and music lovers. "Few devotees of French music and culture will not find a treasure-trove of enlightening information in this brilliantly cast multi-author book … This excellent book is much more than a springboard and will provide an invaluable key for any Francophile wanting to deepen their knowledge of issues, periods and repertoire with which they are not so familiar: questions addressed by the contributors to this learned and expert volume." Richard Langham Smith, H-France This accessible Companion provides a wide-ranging and comprehensive introduction to French music from the early middle ages to the present. Simon Trezise is an Associate Professor in the School of Drama, Film and Music at Trinity College, Dublin. His research focuses on the music of Debussy and France in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the history and practice of recording, aspects of performance practice and film music. His publications include Debussy: La Mer (Cambridge, 1995) and The Cambridge Companion to Debussy (editor, Cambridge, 2003).