The career of François Giroust reads like a novel. Born in Paris in 1737, he began his musical life as a choirboy at Notre-Dame. His talent was such that at age 19 he was hired as maître at the Cathedral in Orleans. A spectacular success with his grand motets at the Concert Spirituel in 1768 led him back to Paris and the Church of the SS Innocents. His fame in Paris gained him a position at the Royal Chapel in 1775, at the court of Louis XVI. Later he was promoted to Surintendant of the King's m...