Massenet was the most prolific French operatic composer in the second half of the 19th century. His many operas, such as Werther, Manon and Cendrillon, were overwhelmingly popular with audiences at the time- but not with the critics, who deemed him too old-fashioned and accused him of pandering to the sentimentalities of the common audience.
The popular Meditation from Massenet’s famous opera, Thais, has been artfully transcribed for solo Viola with Piano accompaniment by Alan Arnold.