Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is considered one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time. He was a master of polyphony and brought to perfection the musical form of the fugue. He composed 1126 musical compositions of various forms (they are referred to by the abbreviation BWV and serial number). In his time, Bach became famous mainly as a keyboard player, but as a composer he was less known. His music was perceived as conservative, and after his death it fell into oblivion for almost fifty years.

Charles-François Gounod (1818 -1893) was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, a large amount of church music and many songs and popular small pieces. Today, his best-known works are the operas Faust and Romeo and Juliet, and of his minor compositions, the most famous is his Ave Maria, based on the Prelude in C major by Johann Sebastian Bach.