Albert Roussel was born into a bourgeois family in Tourcoing, April 5, 1869 and died in Royan August 23, 1937. Orphaned at the age of eight, he was taken in by his grandfather, Charles Roussel-Defontaine, the mayor of Tourcoing. After his grandfather's death, his uncle Félix Réquillard cared for him. Early on, Roussel was drawn to the sea and decided to become a sailor. In 1884, he enrolled at Collège Stanislas in Paris to prepare for the Naval Academy, which he joined three years later. In 1889, he began five years of naval service, navigating in the Near East, the Atlantic, and the Far East. However, the harsh conditions at sea took a toll on his health. Upon his return in 1894, he was granted medical leave from the Navy and turned to music. He studied harmony with Julien Koszul (grandfather of Henri Dutilleux) and counterpoint and fugue with Eugène Gigout. In 1898, Roussel was admitted to the Schola Cantorum, where he studied under Vincent d’Indy. He excelled so quickly that by 1902 he became a professor of counterpoint at the same institution, teaching students such as Paul Le Flem, Roland-Manuel, Erik Satie, and Edgar Varèse. That same year, he was officially discharged from the Navy, and his compositions began to be performed. In 1908, he married Blanche Preisach. The following year, the couple honeymooned in India and Cambodia. Upon their return, Roussel achieved significant success with his ballet Le Festin de l’araignée in 1913. A year later, with the outbreak of World War I, he resigned from the Schola Cantorum. Initially deemed unfit for military service, he joined the Red Cross and eventually served in the artillery in 1915. Despite the war's hardships, he managed to compose his opera Padmavati. After the war, he resumed teaching privately, gaining a reputation as an outstanding pedagogue. His students included Bohuslav Martinů, Jean Martinon, and Hans Krása. From 1920 onward, Roussel settled in Varengeville, near Dieppe, dedicating himself to composition. During this final phase of his life, he produced his greatest symphonic masterpieces: the Third and Fourth Symphonies, the Suite in F, the Sinfonietta, and particularly the ballet Bacchus et Ariane. Albert Roussel passed away in 1937 in Royan and was buried in Varengeville. His works encompass all genres: instrumental music for various solo instruments, chamber music, symphonic and concertante works, ballets, operas, and songs. Listening to these masterpieces, one might perceive them as the creations of a composer apart from artistic trends, so imbued are they with energy, vitality, and freedom. In truth, while Roussel freed himself from the influences of Claude Debussy and Vincent d’Indy, he remained rooted in the French tradition, evident in his daring harmonies and masterful orchestration, all wrapped in a rhythmically rich and bold framework. Fanfare pour un sacre païen, (Fanfare for a Pagan Coronation) dated October 22, 1921, in Varengeville, was a commission by Leigh Henry for the British musical journal Fanfare. The work, included in the fifth issue of the journal, published in December 1921, was originally scored for four trumpets and three timpani. The score was later revised with a new orchestration for four trumpets, four horns, three trombones, and three timpani. The piece premiered at the Roussel Festival held at the Paris Opera on April 25, 1929, performed by members of the Orchestre Lamoureux under the direction of Albert Wolff.