Faure wrote Pelleas et Melisande in 1898 originally as incidental music to Maurice Maeterlinck's like-named play. After the premiere and subsequent performances, he set about reworking the musical material into an orchestral suite. The premiere of the originally three-movement suite took place in February 1901 under the baton of Camille Chevillard. In December 1912, the four-movement version of Pelleas et Melisande was finally premiered. The additional movement, the Sicilienne, was taken from the third interlude of the incidental music. This delightful piece would later become one of Faure's most popular compositions and now exists in countless arrangements. / Orchestre
